Kenny Chesney ropes his fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as “Lucky Old Sun” bows atop the list with 176,000. Over on Top Country Albums, it’s the singer’s eighth chart-topper . . . Last week’s No. 1, T.I.’s “Paper Trail,” slips to No. 2 in its third week on the tally . . . A big debut greets singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne while Keane and Lucinda Williams start in the top 10 … In Progress Reports, we’ve got updates on Kevin Rudolf’s first top 10 single, Toby Keith’s 17th No. 1 hit on Hot Country Songs and Beyonce’s double debuts.
FLASH POINTS
• Kenny Chesney’s “Lucky Old Sun” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 176,000 — the singer’s fifth chart-topper. On Top Country Albums, it’s his eighth No. 1 effort. However, this is Chesney’s lowest sales debut for a studio album since 1999 when “Everywhere We Go” bowed with 30,000 at No. 51. With his next five studio albums between 2002 and 2007, all but one launched with more than 300,000. Only 2002’s “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” started with a smaller number — 235,000.
• “Lucky Old Sun” was released last week on Oct. 14 exclusively in a deluxe edition, one week before the standard set reached stores. The deluxe configuration included a handful of bonus tracks and video footage. Sales of both versions will be merged on next week’s chart.
• Earlier this year, Sugarland did the same thing with its “Love on the Inside” album, when its deluxe edition bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 314,000 behind Miley Cyrus’ debut at No. 1 with “Breakout” (371,000). The second-week decline for “Love on the Inside” was rather smallish — just a 45% drop — thanks to the release of the standard version. Because of that, the album moved to No. 1 in its sophomore frame (171,000) while Cyrus’ “Breakout” fell to No. 2 (163,000; down 56%).
• Chesney won’t be sticking around in the Billboard 200 penthouse next week though, as the chart will greet a new No. 1 in the form of AC/DC’s “Black Ice.” The Columbia album was released Monday, Oct. 20, exclusively through Wal-Mart, the retailer’s Web site and the band’s official Web site, and all signs point to a monster bow in the top slot next week.
• Last week’s Billboard 200 No. 1, T.I.’s “Paper Trail,” slips to No. 2 in its third week on the list, shifting 176,000 (down 26%) . . . Coming in at No. 3 is Ray LaMontagne’s third album, “Gossip in the Grain,” starting with 60,000. The RCA singer/songwriter’s last set, “Till the Sun Turns Black,” opened at No. 28 with 28,000 in 2006. All of this is great news for a guy whose first album, “Trouble,” started with a low-key 3,000 units in its first week back in September 2004.
• Two more albums arrive in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 this week. Keane’s “Perfect Symmetry” starts at No. 7 with 43,000 while Lucinda Williams’ “Little Honey” sweetens up the No. 9 slot with 35,000. Keane’s last offering, 2006’s “Under the Iron Sea,” entered at No. 4 with 75,000. Williams has also seen better days — her last one, “West,” began at No. 14 but with a greater sales start: 57,000.
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The Billboard 200 Sales data provided and compiled from Nielsen SoundScan |
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| *1 | New | KENNY CHESNEY Lucky Old Sun (Blue Chair / BNA / SBN) | 11 | 12 | ROBIN THICKE Something Else (Star Trak / Interscope / IGA) |
| 2 | 1 | T.I. Paper Trail (Grand Hustle / Atlantic / AG) | 12 | 13 | LIL WAYNE Tha Carter III (Cash Money / Universal Motown / UMRG) |
| *3 | New | RAY LAMONTAGNE Gossip In The Grain (RCA / RMG) | *13 | New | BILLY CURRINGTON Little Bit Of Everything (Mercury Nashville ) |
| 4 | 2 | METALLICA Death Magnetic (Warner Bros. ) | 14 | 15 | YOUNG JEEZY The Recession (CTE / Def Jam / IDJMG) |
| 5 | 4 | JENNIFER HUDSON Jennifer Hudson (Arista / RMG) | 15 | 16 | JONAS BROTHERS A Little Bit Longer (Hollywood ) |
| 6 | 7 | KID ROCK Rock N Roll Jesus (Top Dog / Atlantic / AG) | 16 | 14 | JAZMINE SULLIVAN Fearless (J / RMG) |
| *7 | New | KEANE Perfect Symmetry (Interscope ) | 17 | 17 | RIHANNA Good Girl Gone Bad (SRP / Def Jam / IDJMG) |
| 8 | 8 | NE-YO Year Of The Gentleman (Def Jam / IDJMG) | 18 | 20 | SUGARLAND Love On The Inside (Mercury Nashville / UMGN) |
| *9 | New | LUCINDA WILLIAMS A Little Honey (Lost Highway ) | 19 | 3 | RISE AGAINST Appeal To Reason (DGC / Interscope / IGA) |
| 10 | 10 | JAMES TAYLOR Covers (Hear / Concord) | 20 | 22 | LEONA LEWIS Spirit (SYCO / J / RMG) |
| * indicates titles with greatest sales gains this week | |||||
MARKET WATCH
• Album units, current chart week: 6.53 million units
• UP 1.8% from last issue’s charts: 6.42 million units
• DOWN 17.6% from same week, 2007: 7.93 million units
• This week: The top two albums each sell more than 100,000 copies.
• This week last year on the Billboard 200: Bruce Springsteen’s “Magic” returned to No. 1, shifting 77,000 (down 42% in its third week). The previous week’s chart-topper, Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus,” moved to No. 2 with 77,000 (down 55%). Two albums debuted in the top 10: Jimmy Eat World’s “Chase This Light” (No. 5 with 62,000) and Santana’s “Ultimate Santana” (No. 8 with 56,000). No albums sold more than 100,000.
BORDERLINES
• The No. 100 album this week, Between the Buried and Me’s “Colors Live” (Victory), sold 5,000.
• The No. 100 album for the same week of 2007, Mark Knopfler’s “Kill to Get Crimson” (Warner Bros.), sold 7,000.
• Average total of the No. 10 album for the same week of the year during the past 100 years (1999-2008): 11,122.
PROGRESS REPORTS
• Toby Keith captures his 17th No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, as “She Never Cried in Front of Me” climbs from No. 2 to the top spot. It’s his first chart-topper since “Love Me If You Can” a year ago, and it extends his lead for most No. 1s this decade. Now that Keith has had 14 No. 1s since 2000, he further distances himself from Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, each with 12 No. 1s in the ’00s.
• Kevin Rudolf notches his first top 10 single on the Mainstream Top 40 chart as “Let It Rock” (featuring Lil Wayne) rises 11-9 in its ninth week on the list. On Rhythmic Top 40, it skips 28-25. The singer/guitarist’s debut album, “In the City,” drops Nov. 25 through Cash Money/Universal Republic.
• Also on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, Beyonce charges in at No. 26 with “If I Were a Boy.” It’s her highest debut yet. Her previous best debut was with “Deja Vu” in 2006 when it entered at No. 31 on its way to a No. 14 peak . . . On Rhythmic Top 40, “Boy” bows at No. 24 while another Beyonce track, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” starts at No. 38. Both songs are from her forthcoming album that’s due Nov. 18.
A LOOK AHEAD
• Among the titles released this week, due on next week’s charts: AC/DC’s “Black Ice,” the soundtrack to “High School Musical 3,” Lee Ann Womack’s “Call Me Crazy,” Mary Mary’s “The Sound,” Calle 13’s “Los De Atras Vienen Conmigo,” Craig Morgan’s “That’s Why” and Hector El Father’s “Juicio Final.”
• Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2007 when: Carrie Underwood’s “Carnival Ride” stormed in at No. 1 with 527,000 while five more sets debuted in the top 10. The previous week’s No. 1, Bruce Springsteen’s “Magic,” was pushed down to No. 12 with 51,000 (down 34%). Only the top two albums sold more than 100,000.