The Shady/Interscope soundtrack to “8 Mile” debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally, on sales of 702,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set, the companion piece to the Eminem-starring film of the same name, wasn’t expected to perform as well as “The Eminem Show,” which sold 1.32 million units in its first full week of release earlier this year. But it has already spawned a No. 1 Hot 100 single for Eminem with “Lose Yourself.”
In a week of major releases, “8 Mile” is one of five albums to debut inside the top-10. At No. 2 with 330,000 units is Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped” (RCA), and right behind at No. 3 is Interscope’s long-awaited self-titled Nirvana hits set. Aguilera, now sporting an even more ribald look and some newfound songwriting abilities, previously reached No. 1 with her 1999 self-titled debut. “Nirvana,” containing the No. 1 rock airplay single “You Know You’re Right,” marks the band’s first appearance at the top of The Billboard 200 since live album “From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah” landed at No. 1 in 1996.
Country act Rascal Flatts scores a career best with the No. 5 entry of “Melt.” The Lyric Street album sells 169,000 units and also races to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums roundup. Previously, Rascal Flatts have not been higher than No. 43 on The Billboard 200, but “Melt” has been propelled by the success of “These Days,” which last week breached the top-40 of the Hot 100.
Tori Amos’ “Scarlet’s Walk,” her first set since jumping from Atlantic to Epic, strolls to No. 7 on The Billboard 200 on sales of 107,000 units, falling short of the No. 4 entry of last year’s “Strange Little Girls,” a covers set that sold 111,000 units in its debut week.
With all of the top-10 debuts, last week’s No. 1, Santana’s “Shaman” (Arista), dips to No. 4 on a 41% slide to 175,000 units. Faith Hill’s “Cry” (Warner Bros.) takes a 24% hit to 147,000 units and falls 4-6, Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go” (Arista) sinks one slot to No. 9, and the Dixie Chicks round out the top-10 with “Home” (Monument/Columbia), which drops from No. 6.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony enter just outside the top-10 at No. 12 with “Thug World Order” (Sony). The album, which arrives at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums count, sold 82,000 units, a hefty decline from 2000’s “BTHNResurrection,” which moved 280,000 units in its first week to arrive at No. 2 on The Billboard 200.
Other newcomers inside the top-20 include Lil Jon and Eastside Boyz with “Kings of Crunk” (TVT) at No. 15, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s solo debut “Now or Never” (Jive) at No. 17, and Tank’s “One Man” (Universal) at No. 20.
Elsewhere, Shaggy’s “Lucky Day” (MCA), the follow-up to the 6.5 million selling “Hot Shot,” arrives at a disappointing No. 24. Icelandic rock act Sigur Ros notches its first appearance on The Billboard 200 at No. 52 with “( )” (MCA). The group’s Shortlist Prize-winning 1999 set “Agaetis Byrjun” has sold 123,000 units to date.
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