Rapper Juvenile scores the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 chart for the first time in his career this week. “Reality Check” (UTP/Atlantic) sold 174,000 copies this week in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and also takes over at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Juvenile’s previous peak was No. 2 with his 2001 album “Project English.”
“Reality Check,” which features the guest talents of Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and Fat Joe, bumps last week’s Billboard 200 No. 1, Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words,” down to No. 5. That set suffered a 62% sales decline from its opening frame, shifting 113,000 units compared to more than 301,000.
James Blunt’s “Back to Bedlam,” another Atlantic release, soars 9-2, a whopping 142% increase at 161,000 copies. In its 23rd week on the chart, “Bedlam” was boosted by Blunt’s appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” on which he performed his hit single “You’re Beautiful.”
The soundtrack to Disney’s television movie “High School Musical” slips slightly (2-3) with 138,000 units, an 8% increase.
Matisyahu’s “Youth” makes history this week by garnering the best opening sales week for a reggae album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The JDub/Or release debuts at No. 4 with 119,000 copies, slipping ahead of Sean Paul’s 2005 reggae set “The Trinity,” which bowed at No. 7 with 107,000 copies. Only Matisyahu, Sean Paul, Snow, Shaggy, UB40, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and his father, Bob Marley, have cracked the top 10 on the big chart.
David Gilmour’s Columbia set “On an Island” lands at No. 6 with 96,000 copies. The solo project is the first from the Pink Floyd principal since 1984’s “About Face.” Carrie Underwood’s Arista debut, “Some Hearts,” lingers in the top 10 in its 17th week, climbing 8-7 at 74,000 copies (+2%).
The Johnny Cash collection “The Legend of Johnny Cash” (Legacy/Columbia Nashville/American/Island) slips 6-8 with 70,000 units, a 12% dip. The soundtrack to the Cash biopic “Walk the Line” (Fox), however, jumps 11-9 with 63,000 copies, an 11% increase. Jack Johnson and Friends’ Brushfire companion album to “Curious George” rounds out the top tier, moving 7-10 with 60,000 units (-19%).
Rap veteran Scarface’s “My Homies Part 2” (Asylum/Rap-A-Lot) enters the chart at No. 12 with 58,000 copies, far behind the former Geto Boys’ member’s best charting album, 1997’s “Untouchable,” which debuted at No. 1. Van Morrison’s country effort, “Pay the Devil” (Polydor/Lost Highway) bows at No. 26 with 32,000 copies, the Irish rocker’s 36th effort to impact The Billboard 200.
The soundtrack to Disney’s “That’s So Raven Too!” bows at No. 44 with 22,000 copies, while the Little Willies’ self-titled Milking Bull debut enters at No. 48 with 20,000 copies. Alt-country chanteuse Neko Case’s Anti- release, “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” debuts at No. 54 with 18,000 copies, giving the artist her best sales week yet.
Exposure from the Academy Awards ceremony results in big jumps for the soundtracks to “Hustle & Flow” (143-73) and “Brokeback Mountain” (148-83).
At 10. 7 million units, overall CD sales were down by 2% from the previous week and down 1% compared to the same week a year ago. Sales for 2006 are down 3% compared to 2005 at 108.5 million units.
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