James Blunt, E-40 Outsold by Tweens
Tweens came out in force this week, snatching up the soundtrack to the Disney Channel movie High School Musical to propel the album back to Number One. The chipper CD, which sold another 142,000 copies this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, locked out singer-songwriter sensation James Blunt, a.k.a. “Beautiful” Boy. With his strong-selling debut, Back to Bedlam, so close to the top spot, the heartthrob was kept in second place (126,000) for a second week.
This week’s brightest debut came from Bay Area rapper E-40, whose latest, My Ghetto Report Card, bowed at Number Three (94,000). While this is the hip-hopper’s seventh album to crack the pop Top Twenty, it marks
his breakthrough into the Top Ten, riding high on his single “Tell Me When to Go.” E-40, the face of the “Hyphy” movement, may do for the Northern California scene what Mike Jones did for Houston.
But while E-40 hit high, last week’s chart-topper, New Orleans rapper Juvenile’s Reality Check, fell to Number Five (75,000). R&B newcomer Ne-Yo rises one spot to Number Four with his album In My Own Words (77,000
copies).<.p>
Steady sellers included a collection of Johnny Cash tunes, The Legend of Johnny Cash, which held fast at Number Eight (56,000). And Jack Johnson’s soundtrack to the animated film Curious George did not budge from Number Ten (51,000).
But among the week’s surprises was the dramatic reception the reissue of pop-punk outfit Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree received. With the original release already at double-platinum status, this reissue — packed with demos, bonus tracks and remixes — gave the album a massive boost: from Forty-Two to Number Nine (52,000). And that little bit of pre-release promotion — courtesy of some saucy online photos of bassist Pete Wentz — did not appear to hurt sales.
Beginning the slide down the slippery slope this week were Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu, whose studio debut, Youth, fell three spots to Number Seven (58,000). And David Gilmour’s latest solo album, On an Island dropped ten places to Number Sixteen (41,000).
Next week, buyers of legal drinking age may challenge High School Musical‘s chart domination, picking up big releases from Ben Harper and
the always enigmatic Prince.
This week’s Top Ten: High School Musical: The Original Soundtrack; James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam; E-40’s My Ghetto Report Card; Ne-Yo’s In My Own Words; Juvenile’s Reality Check; Carrie Underwood’s Some Hearts; Matisyahu’s Youth; Johnny Cash’s The Legend of Johnny Cash; Fall Out Boy’s From Under the Cork Tree; Jack Johnson and Friends’ Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film “Curious George”.