Wednesday 31 August 2005

Duff set remains "Most Wanted" at No. 1

For a second week, Hilary Duff finds her "Most Wanted" greatest hits set atop The Billboard 200. Despite a 51% second week decline to U.S. sales of 101,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the total is enough to keep the Hollywood collection ahead of the competition.

The 19th installment of "NOW! That's What I Call Music" compilation series gains 4-2 even though sales fell 12% to 96,000 units, while Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" holds out at No. 3 for a second week with 89,000, down 18% from the previous week. The Black Eyed Peas' "Monkey Business" advances 6-4 thanks to a 4% boost to 85,000 copies.

A quiet week for debuts finds Jim Jones' "Harlem: Diary of a Summer" the only top tier entry this week. The rapper earns his highest Billboard 200 chart position with a No. 5 bow, based on a career-best sales week of 74,000 copies, which also puts "Harlem" on top of Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list.

Jones, who is a member of hip-hop collective the Diplomats, last year debuted and peaked at No. 18 with the solo effort "On My Way to Church". That album moved 44,000 units in its first week and has so far sold 200,000.

Brad Paisley's "Time Well Wasted" slips 2-6 with a 63% slump to 70,000, while Young Jeezy's "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" jumps 10-7 on a 1% gain to 61,000. Rounding out the top 10, Gorillaz's "Demon Days" motors 14-8 on a barely-there (0.2%) gain to 52,000; Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" holds the No. 9 slot for a fourth week despite an 18% fall to 51,000; and Green Day's "American Idiot" rebounds 13-10 even though sales slid 4% to 51,000 units. Although both Clarkson and Green Day have matching rounded totals, the former "American Idol" trumps the rock group by about 200 copies.

Crazy Frog, the computer animated character that has caused a sensation overseas, is further staking its claim on U.S. shores. "Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits" enters The Billboard 200 at No. 19 with sales of 40,000 copies. The set includes a reworked version of Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" which continues to dominate the U.K. singles charts, and last week entered Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart at No. 37.

Trick Pony's "R.I.D.E." sold 34,000 to open at No. 20 on The Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The trio's third disc and first for Curb after two Warner Bros. releases nets its career-best placing on either chart, as well as its first top 10 on the country tally.

Also starting out in the big chart's top 50 are Neal McCoy's "That's Life" (No. 32); Jack's Mannequin's "Everything in Transit" (No. 37); and Fear Factory's "Transgression" (No. 45). Indie rock act the New Pornographers also make a big splash with the Matador album "Twin Cinema" at No. 44; the Canadian group's last set, "Electric Version," peaked at No. 196 in 2003.

The chart's greatest gainer by far is the Astralwerks soundtrack "Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends," which enjoyed a whopping 860% sales increase. The album, which previously spent just one week on Billboard's Top Soundtracks tally at No. 22, sold 14,000 to enter The Billboard 200 at No. 74. The gain follows the Aug. 21 finale of the HBO series, which featured Sia's "Breathe Me" in an emotional montage. That song has received the most radio airplay of the disc's lineup, which also boasts cuts from Coldplay, Radiohead and Nina Simone.

Overall U.S. album sales were down 6% from the previous week at 9.7 million units, down 11% from the same week last year. Year-to-date sales continue to trail 2004 by 8.3% at 365 million units.

(Billboard)



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