After nine straight weeks of sales increases, the soundtrack to “High School Musical” returns to the top of the The Billboard 200. The Walt Disney Records set sold 142,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 3% increase over the previous week, prompting a move up from No. 3. The disc first sat at No. 1 three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, a 22% decrease to sales of 126,000 keeps British songwriter James Blunt’s “Back to Bedlam” (Atlantic) sitting tight at No. 2.
Rapper E-40 earns his first top 10 on the big chart in a decade as “My Ghetto Report Card” bows at No. 3. The Sick Wid’ It/BME release moved 94,000 copies and is also the Bay Area rapper’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. His 1996 set “Tha Hall of Game” was his last album to score a top tier position, moving 123,000 copies in its first week to land at No. 4.
Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words” (Def Jam) climbs 5-4 with 77,000 copies (-33%), while last week’s chart-topper, Juvenile’s “Reality Check” (UTP/Atlantic) tumbles 1-5 on a 57% sales decline to 75,000. In 18 weeks on the chart, Carrie Underwood’s Arista debut, “Some Hearts,” continues to linger in the top 10, climbing 7-6 with 64,000 copies (-14%).
Reggae artist Matisyahu’s “Youth” (JDub/Or) slides 4-7 on a 51% dip to 58,000 copies, while “The Legend of Johnny Cash” (Legacy/Columbia Nashville/American/Island) keeps the No. 8 spot warm with 56,000 copies (-20%).
Fall Out Boy’s “From Under the Cork Tree” surges 42-9 this week on a 122% increase to 52,000 copies, thanks to a March 14 reissue of the title with five bonus tracks. The Jack Johnson and Friends companion album to “Curious George” rounds out the top tier at No. 10 with 51,000 copies (-15%).
Among other debuts is country troupe SheDaisy’s “Fortuneteller’s Melody” (Lyric Street), which enters the chart at No. 22 with 33,000 units. Steely Dan principal Donald Fagen’s third solo disc, “Morph the Cat” (Reprise), bows at No. 26 with sales of 32,000. His last solo effort, “Kamakiriad,” flew in at No. 10 13 years ago.
The soundtrack to “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party,” which features performances by Jill Scott, the Roots and Mos Def, among others, debuts at No. 44 with 21,000 units. The Rogue Pictures film has grossed more than $12 million at the U.S. box office since its March 3 release.
At 10.4 million units, overall CD sales were down 3% from the previous week and down 4% compared to the same week a year ago. Sales for 2006 are down 3% compared to 2005 at 119 million units.
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