“8 Mile” Stays on Top
The bad news for album sales is that the winter chill has set in,
and even those who did late holiday shopping have probably gotten
around to picking up gifts. If there is a silver lining, it’s that
with no blockbuster releases being issued at all (nevermind the
several-per-week pace of the fall) the charts have become something
of a free-for-all, with any number of records having a chance at
claiming a week at Number One.
The 8 Mile soundtrack held onto that coveted slot for
another week, with sales of 119,000 according to SoundScan. But it
was tight. Though last week, it seemed Avril Lavigne’s Let
Go might finally slip into the top spot, the record settled
for Number Three with sales of 113,000. The week’s big jump was by
jazz-tinged pop singer Norah Jones, whose debut, Come Away With
Me sold 118,000 copies at Number Two. Her five Grammy
nominations this week (tied with seven other acts for the most)
also seems to make Jones a good shot at Number One next week.
There were no new release among this past week’s Top 200 albums,
and only one release, the XXX soundtrack (Number
Eighty-five, 16,000 copies sold), enjoyed a sales increase. Only
the top three albums topped six figures, but, as a consolation, at
this time last year the charts were almost as bad, with only four
records topping six-figure sales.
Next week’s slugfest at the top won’t likely include any new
blood. With a continued scarcity of new releases, 8 Mile,
Come Away With Me and Let Go seem sure to duke it out another week.
This week’s Top Ten8 Mile soundtrack; Norah Jones’
Come Away With Me; Avril Lavigne’s Let Go; the
Dixie Chicks’ Home; Christina Aguilera’s Stripped; Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me . . . Then; Justin Timberlake’s Justified; Shania Twain’s Up!; Aaliyah’s I Care for You; and Now That’s What I Call Music? 11.