Chicks Hold Off Avril
No big surprises at the top of the charts this week, as the
unchallenged Dixie Chicks managed to sell another 214,000 copies of
Home, according to SoundScan, to handily hold onto Number
One for the third straight week. But a cluster of summer releases
are duking it out for an opportunity to jump into the top slot,
should the Chicks’ sales start to falter. Avril Lavigne’s Let
Go crept one slot closer to Number One, in the second spot,
with sales of 123,000. Lavigne mustered 1,000 copies more than
Eminem’s The Eminem Show, and only 2,000 more than Nelly’s
Nellyville, as the trio of high-profile summer releases
try to keep their legs just long enough to enjoy the sweep that is
fall holiday shopping.
The rest of the chart doesn’t offer a lot of light. Aside from
the top four albums, no release is spitting distance from
six-figure sales. Toby Keith’s Unleashed bounded from
Number Eleven to Number Five with sales of 69,000, but most sales
were moving south. And strong debuts were few. Weak sales by
flagship releases this year have opened the charts up to some
unlikely chart visitors. Wedged in between albums by Pink and Trick
Daddy is one of the year’s oddest chart entries, a pair of releases
by gospel institution Bill Gaither — Let Freedom Ring and
God Bless America — both of which were recorded with wife
Gloria and their Homecoming friends at New York City’s Carnegie
Hall. The two-CD sets (which also contain VHS/DVD components and
retail for a hefty $60) still managed to sell 39,000 and
36,000 copies, respectively.
Crossover country singer Rebecca Howard offered the week’s next
highest debut with her second album, Forgive, which landed
at Number Thirty-one with sales of 26,000. And Ani DiFranco
continues to roll out the releases — this time the two-CD live
album So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter — and her fans
continue to snap up the indie releases. So Much Shouting
moved 25,500 copies, at Number Thirty-four.
Next week is anybody’s guess. The Chicks’ Home is still
selling strong, but it might be losing just enough steam for
Lavigne, Eminem or Nelly to squeeze back in up top. And Disturbed’s
Believe arrived in stores this week with a shot for a Top
Ten first week splash.
This week’s Top Ten: the Dixie Chicks’ Home; Avril
Lavigne’s Let Go; Eminem’s The Eminem Show;
Nelly’s Nellyville; Toby Keith’s Unleashed; Bruce
Springsteen’s The Rising; Norah Jones’ Come Away With
Me; Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head; Clupse’s
Lord Willin’; and James Taylor’s October
Road.