50 Remains in Top Spot
The Massacre, 50 Cent‘s follow-up to 2003’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, continues to hold strong at Number One, selling another 364,000 copies. In its first three weeks — including its 1.1 million debut, the second highest in hip-hop history — The Massacre has sold nearly 2.3 million copies.
Coming in at Number Two is the eighteenth installment of the blockbuster series, Now That’s What I Call Music!. This time featuring artists such as U2, Gwen Stefani, Destiny’s Child and Nelly, the hits compilation moved 339,000 units in its debut week. In a distant third place, with 100,000 copies sold, is surfer folkie Jack Johnson’s third effort, In Between Dreams, holding onto the Top Five for its third week. Rounding out the Top Five are Green Day’s American Idiot (Four, 76,000) and the Game’s The Documentary (67,000).
Former American Idol Kelly Clarkson has proven she’s got legs with her sophomore effort, Breakaway, which spends its second week at Number Six (66,000) in its fourth month in stores. But pop diva Jennifer Lopez’s Rebirth disappoints with modest sales in its third week, putting it at Number Seven (60,000).
Meanwhile, the heroes of the week are steadily rising Las Vegas rockers the Killers, whose debut Hot Fuss spends its second week in the Top Ten (Eight, 58,000) after nine months in stores. And rounding out the Top Ten are R&B breakout John Legend’s debut, Get Lifted (51,000) and Ray Charles’ Grammy-winning Genius Loves Company (49,000).
Next week, expect 50 to get some competition from electronic crossover artist Moby, who has returned with his electronic double CD Hotel, and California hard rockers Queens of the Stone Age, who just released their much-anticipated fourth album, Lullabies to Paralyze.
This week’s Top Ten: 50 Cent’s The Massacre; Now That’s What I Call Music! Volume 18; Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams; Green Day’s American Idiot; the Game’s The Documentary; Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway; Jennifer Lopez’s Rebirth; the Killers’ Hot Fuss; John Legend’s Get Lifted; Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company.