“Godzilla” Storms Charts At No. 4, Merchant Bows At No. 8
Garth Brooks’ stint at the top of the charts with his six-CD boxed
set, Limited Series turns out to be, well, pretty
limited.
After just two weeks, the country boy was sent packing — and
booted all the way down to No. 6 by rapper DMX and a posse of
hip-hop artists and fast-selling soundtracks. According to
SoundScan, five new records crashed the Top Ten for the week ending
May 24, with DMX’s debut, It’s Dark & Hell
is Hot, taking the No. 1 slot with a sturdy 251,000 copies
sold.
Joining DMX in the winner circle was R&B newcomer
Sparkle (whose duet with R.
Kelly, “Be Careful,” is the No. 1 song on R&B radio),
the soundtrack to Godzilla (featuring the
Wallflowers, Ben Folds Five, Foo Fighters, Jimmy
Page), southern rap star Eightball (a
three CD package featuring raps from Busta
Rhymes and Master P) and Lilith standout
Natalie Merchant. (Making a less forceful debut
was the much-talked about record by Sean Lennon,
the son of the late Beatle, coming in at a distant
No. 153.)
From the top it was It’s Dark & Hell is Hot,
followed by the soundtrack to City of Angels (selling
164,000 copies); Sparkle (146,000); the soundtrack to
Godzilla (140,000); Eightball’s Lost (127,000);
Garth Brooks’ Limited Series (120,000); Dave
Matthews’ Before These Crowded Streets (109,000);
Natalie Merchant’s Ophelia (102,000); the TV soundtrack to
Ally McBeal (101,000); and LeAnn Rimes’
Sittin’ On Top of the World (91,000).
Making way for the five new entries at the top were records by
Backstreet Boys, Hanson, George Strait, and yes,
even the soundtrack to Titanic, which all fell out of the
Top Ten.
Meanwhile, one of the strangest sales stories playing out on the
charts right now surrounds the Green Day record,
Nimrod, a six-month-old release. In just the last two
weeks the record’s sales have spiked, jumping from No. 98 to No.
60. What’s driving sales? Would you believe NBC’s Must See TV?
Yep.
Several weeks ago the band’s single “Time of Your Life” was
featured on two episodes of “E.R.” when a young patient died and
the song was sung at his funeral. Then two weeks ago, as part of
the finale of “Seinfeld,” the song was played in its entirety over
a montage of greatest hits scenes.