50 Cent Still At The Top
50 Cent‘s The Massacre slaughtered the competition this week, selling another 771,000 copies and maintaining its spot at Number One, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Despite a dip in sales from last week, 50’s record still outsold the competition by over 500,000 copies, marking yet another blockbuster week for the Queens rapper.
50’s chart competitors include crooner Jack Johnson and Latin diva Jennifer Lopez, both of whom released albums last week. Johnson’s breezy In Between Dreams blew into the Number Two slot, up one from last week, selling 118,000 copies. He knocked Lopez down two notches to Number Four. Lopez’s album, Rebirth sold 86,000 copies. This continues a sales slump for Lopez whose debut last week charted higher but sold about 50,000 fewer copies than her 2002 disc This Is Me . . . Then.
Besting Lopez, novice rapper the Game’s album The Documentary rose two places to Number Three this week, selling 87,000 copies. And Green Day gained momentum with their concept album, American Idiot, selling 77,000 copies to round out the Top Five.
Other big winners this week include Las Vegas-based new wave rockers the Killers whose Hot Fuss entered the Top Ten for the first time in its thirty-nine weeks on the chart. The band landed at Number Eight, selling 54,000 copies. Piano player, and Kanye West protege, John Legend also returned to the Top Ten, selling 53,000 copies of Get Lifted, arriving at Number Nine. And rapper Eminem’s album Encore remerged at Number Ten this week.
Indie rockers the Mars Volta, whose prog-rock flavored Frances the Mute debuted at Number Four last week, were this week’s major losers, dropping nine slots to Number Thirteen. The album sold 46,000 copies.
With no major new releases out this week to threaten 50’s dominance, expect the rapper to keep battling it out at Number One.
This week’s Top Ten: 50 Cent’s The Massacre; Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams; the Game’s The Documentary; Jennifer Lopez’s Rebirth; Green Day’s American Idiot; Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway; Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company; the Killers’ Hot Fuss; John Legend’s Get Lifted; and Eminem’s Encore.