Jay-Z and Linkin Park take an underground concept to the top of the mainstream chart as their CD/DVD “MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z/Linkin Park: Collision Course” (Warner Bros./Roc-A-Fella) bows atop The Billboard 200 with U.S. sales of 368,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
One of the first legally released full mash-ups album, the set earns Jay-Z his second No. 1 on the big chart this year. His “Unfinished Business” (Jive/Def Jam/IDJMG) with R. Kelly topped The Billboard 200 just last month. The rapper boasts eight chart-toppers in all, with a U.S. sales total of 21 million.
“Numb/Encore,” the first single from “Collision Course,” last week earned Linkin Park its first hip-hop chart hit, entering Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks at No. 94. The group’s last album, “Meteora” (Warner Bros.), debuted at No. 1 last year and has sold 4.7 million.
“Mash-Ups” pushes U2’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (Interscope) down to No. 2 on a 66% sales slide from last week to 288,000 units.
Kelly Clarkson’s second RCA effort, “Breakaway,” earns at No. 3 with 250,000 units. The original “American Idol” winner opened at No. 1 last year with 297,000 copies of her debut, “Thankful,” which has moved 2.1 million to date.
Nas, who has three No. 1 Billboard 200 albums to his credit, enters at No. 5 with the two-disc “Street’s Disciple.” The Sony Urban/Columbia set sells 232,000 copies; his previous album, “God’s Son,” bowed at No. 18 with 156,000 copies in 2002.
Atlanta rapper T.I. opens at No. 7 with 193,000 copies sold of “Urban Legend” (Grand Hustle/Atlantic). However, the set beats Nas and “Mash-Ups” for the No. 1 spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. T.I.’s previous effort, “Trap Muzik,” opened at No. 4 with 109,000 copies in 2003 and has total sales of 903,000.
At No. 24, Josh Groban’s “Live at the Greek” (Reprise/Warner Bros.) moves 84,000 copies in its first week, while his 2003 studio set “Closer” jumps 20 spots to No. 51 on a 24% increase to 36,000. A former No. 1, that album has sold 4 million units.
Gerald Levert’s “Do I Speak for the World?” (Atlantic) rounds out the top-50 debuts at No. 29 with 66,000 copies. “Stroke of Genius” (Elektra) entered at No. 6 last year.
Now that the post-Thanksgiving shopping fervor has died down, overall U.S. album sales dip 8.5% from last week to 17.8 million units. Sales for the week are down about 5.3% from 2003’s comparable week. At 583 million units, year-to-date sales are up 2.3%.
