A quick look at the most notable jumps and drops on this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart.
— “Glee” Cast: Fox’s hit TV show can’t be stopped — at least perhaps until it goes on hiatus once its season finale airs in the coming weeks. This week the ensemble earns a second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “Glee: the Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers” bowing at No. 1 with 136,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. Also, sale pricing and placement in Target’s weekly circular advertisement last week yields gains for “Volume 1” (50-36; up 25%), “Volume 2” (57-42; up 30%) and “The Power of Madonna” (43-21; up 67%).
— Nas and Damian Marley: “Distant Relatives,” the collaborative set from Nas and Damian Marley debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with 57,000 sold according to Nielsen Soundscan. Among rappers, Nas is now tied for the second-most top 10s on the Billboard 200 (10) and No. 1s on the R&B Albums chart (eight). Jay-Z leads with 13 top 10s on the Billboard 200 and 11 No. 1s on R&B list.
— The Dead Weather: The band has the dishonor of earning the biggest percentage decrease on the chart, as its “Sea of Cowards” album declines by 72% in its second week, falling 30-5. But, a large drop for a rock album in its sophomore frame isn’t anything new. See also Keane’s “Night Train” (25-97, down 70%) and Jackson Browne and David Linley’s “Love Is Strange” (46-147, down 66%).
— Brooks & Dunn: CBS’ May 23 concert special “ACM Presents: Brooks & Dunn – The Last Rodeo” pushes the duo’s “#1s … and Then Some” 167-68 on the Billboard 200 (up 74%). Another increase is likely next week, too, once a full week of impact is felt from the all-star tribute. (May 23 was the final day of SoundScan’s tracking week, so much of the sales gain was from digital retail — the set’s download sales are up by 375%.)
— Muse: The band got a lot of love from iTunes last week, where the store hyped the act’s inclusion in the upcoming “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” soundtrack and sale priced the group’s “Resistance” album for $9.99. It sells 6,000 this week — up 10% (and up 54% in downloads) — and jumps 98-74. See also the Billboard Hot 100 recap, below.
— Jayhawks: The Jayhawks’ 1986 self-titled debut album was reissued last week through Lost Highway and debuts with 4,000 at No. 123. The set, which also bows at No. 5 on Pop Catalog, was available only on vinyl back in 1986 and only garnered a CD release last week.
— Ronnie James Dio: The death of Ronnie James Dio on May 16 resonates on the Billboard charts this week as his namesake band’s “Holy Diver” re-enters at No. 149 on the Billboard 200 and bows at No. 11 on Pop Catalog (4,000; up 322%). A best-of from the act also debuts on Catalog at No. 32 (up 617%).
The Billboard Hot 100:
A snapshot of the most notable jumps and drops on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
— Usher: Usher continues his Billboard Hot 100 dominance as “OMG” rolls to a third non-consecutive week atop the chart. The title also reclaims the No. 1 spot on the Digital Songs tally with 236,000 downloads (down 2%), according to Nielsen SoundScan, after last topping that list three weeks ago.
— Katy Perry: Last week’s download champ, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, falls 1-3 on Digital Songs with a modest 20% decrease in its second week of availability (to 231,000). That manageable dip in sales combined with the largest airplay gain of the week (up 57% to 52.3 million listener impressions, according to Nielsen BDS), enables “Gurls” to retain a stellar ranking on the Hot 100 (2-3).
— Miley Cyrus: Miley Cyrus makes another fast start on the Hot 100 as “Can’t Be Tamed,” the title track from her upcoming June 22 album, is the Hot Shot Debut at No. 8. First-week sales of 191,000 downloads are the main driver for “Tamed’s” top 10 arrival, with that sum representing her second-best debut sales week, following “Party in the U.S.A.” (226,000) last August. Radio airplay for Cyrus’ “Tamed” is also building at a nice clip as the track’s overall audience increases by 59% to 10.8 million impressions, while a gain of 563 plays pushes it 35-28 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart.
— La Roux’s: La Roux’s “Bulletproof” is the chart’s Digital Gainer (19-14), moving 97,000 downloads (up 21%). The song has posted digital download increases in each of its 12 chart weeks, progressing from 20,000 in the March 20 issue to this week’s nearly triple-digit sum. The main driver of sales is radio airplay. The song is on the cusp of the top 10 on Mainstream Top 40 (14-11) and moves 35-22 on Hot 100 Airplay with an audience gain of 26%. At the same time, the act’s album vaults 121-100 on the Billboard 200 with 5,000 (up 13%).
— “Glee” Cast: Another week, another five Glee Cast debuts, the fourth straight week the troupe has sent a handful of tracks onto the list. Leading the way this week is its rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” featuring actor Neil Patrick Harris, at No. 26. Also debuting are “I Dreamed A Dream” (No. 31), “Safety Dance” (No. 81), “Bad Romance” (No. 86) and “Poker Face” (No. 100).
— Muse: Muse opens at No. 77 with “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever),” the lead track from the soundtrack to the highly anticipated movie “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” The song also opens at an impressive No. 22 on Alternative Songs.
— Christina Aguilera: Not a good week for Christina Aguilera. Her summer North American tour was postponed and “Not Myself Tonight,” the first single from “Bionic” can be called officially over as it drops 57-73 on the Hot 100 in its sixth week and a whopping 22-39 on the Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart — her core radio format. She does place a new entry on the Hot 100 at No. 79 with “WooHoo,” featuring Nicki Minaj, which was made available digitally last week a la carte while also serving as the album pre-order preview download.
