Faith Hill’s return to her country roots earns the songstress her third No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with “Fireflies.” Her sixth effort for Warner Bros. Nashville sold 329,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and is also her third album to top Billboard’s Top Country Albums list. Lead single “Mississippi Girl” is No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
Hill’s most recent studio sets, 2002’s “Cry” and 1999’s “Breathe,” debuted at No. 1 with sales of 472,000 and 242,000 units, respectively. She has to-date U.S. album sales of 16 million.
Roc-A-Fella’s latest hitmaker enters the big chart this week at No. 5. With 69,000 copies, “Roc-A-Fella Presents Teairra Mari” also earns the R&B newcomer the No. 2 slot on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums tally. Her song “Make Her Feel Good,” is in the top 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Covering hits by Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Gavin DeGraw and Rob Thomas, among many others, Razor & Tie’s “Kidz Bop 8” grabs the franchise its highest-charting compilation at No. 6 with 67,000 copies. “Kidz Bop 7,” which started at No. 7, holds the best sales week so far with a first-week total of 74,000.
Last week’s No. 1, the 19th volume in the “NOW That’s What I Call Music” compilation series (EMI Group/Universal/Sony BMG/Zomba/Capitol), falls to No. 2 after two weeks on top, followed by Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” (Island/Def Jam), which remains steady at No. 3. Young Jeezy’s “Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101” (Def Jam) falls 2-4, while Coldplay’s “X&Y” (Capitol) drops 6-7 and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Monkey Business” (A&M/Interscope) slips 7-8. Rounding out the top tier, Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” (RCA) rebounds 11-9, while Gorillaz’ “Demon Days” (Virgin) drops 8-10.
Natasha Bedingfield starts at No. 26 with the U.S. release of her Epic debut, “Unwritten.” Propelled by the single, “These Words,” which is rising on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 charts,” the U.K. artist saw first-week sales of 34,000.
Also new to the top half of The Billboard 200 this week is Emery’s “The Question” (Tooth & Nail, No. 45); Public Enemy’s greatest hits collection, “Power to the People and the Beats” (Def Jam/Chronicles/UME, No. 69); Grupo Bryndis’ “Por Muchas Razones Te Quiero” (Disa, No. 79); and Blindside’s “The Great Depression” (WASA/DRT, No. 89).
Coinciding with the film’s Aug. 5 opening, the soundtrack to “The Dukes of Hazzard” (Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax) earned a 41% increase to 30,000 copies, the chart’s greatest gainer, and jumps 45-32. Jessica Simpson, who stars as Daisy Duke, recently peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 with her cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”
Overall U.S. album sales were up 1.7% over the previous week at 10.6 million units, down about 14% from the same week last year. Year-to-date sales lag behind 2004 by 8% at 335 million units.
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