Joining eight of its predecessors, the multi-artist compilation “Now 22” bows atop The Billboard 200 this week. The BMG/Zomba/EMI/UME compilation moved 398,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a startling 300,000 copies more than the album that entered the chart at No. 2.
All of the other “NOW! That’s What I Call Music” discs have spent time in the top 10 and “Now 22” is the 19th consecutive set to reach the top three.
Having already enjoyed major chart success with Radiohead, vocalist Thom Yorke joins the club as a solo artist with “The Eraser,” which bows at No. 2 with 90,000 copies. The artist’s XL Recordings solo debut also opens at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
Radiohead’s last album, 2003’s “Hail to the Thief” only made it to No. 3 on the big chart, although it moved 300,000 copies in its debut week. 2000’s “Kid A” is the British group’s best charting set to date, debuting at No. 1.
Opening at No. 3, Pimp C earns his highest charting album on The Billboard 200 and his first No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with “Pimpalation.” The J Prince/Rap-A-Lot 4 Life effort sold 87,000 copies in its first week, a career best for the UGK principal.
Nelly Furtado’s “Loose” (Mosley Music/Geffen) slips from the No. 2 spot to No. 4 with 58,000, a sales dip of 28%. Gnarls Barkley’s Downtown/Atlantic set “St. Elsewhere” holds tight at No. 5 with 56,000 (a change of less than 1%) while last week’s chart champion, Johnny Cash’s “American V: A Hundred Highways” (Lost Highway), topples to No. 6 with 54,000 (-39%).
The soundtrack to Disney’s “High School Musical” ascends 8-7 in its 27th week on the chart, with 50,000 copies and a loss of 4%. Rascal Flatts’ “Me and My Gang” (Lyric Street) flip-flops with “Musical,” falling 7-8 with 49,000 and a -11% change.
Muse has its best week ever on The Billboard 200 as “Black Holes and Revelations” (Warner Bros.) debuts at No. 9 with 48,000 copies. Only one other of the group’s records has even spent time on the chart: 2004’s “Absolution” bowed at No. 107, although it reached No. 1 on the Heatseekers tally.
Rihanna’s “A Girl Like Me” (SRP/Def Jam) tops off the top 10, slipping 6-10 with 47,000 (-15%).
Other big debuts this week include MTV reality show star Cheyenne Kimball with “The Day Has Come” (Daylight, No. 15, 40,000); JR Writer, as presented by the Diplomats, with “History in the Making” (Koch, No. 25, 29,000); the Early November’s triple-disc effort “The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path” (Drive-Thru, No. 31, 26,000); and Seether’s CD/DVD “One Cold Night” (Wind-Up, No. 50, 17,000).
At 9.3 million units, overall CD sales were up 3% from the previous week and down 9% compared to the same week a year ago. Sales for 2006 are down 5% compared to 2005 at 288.9 million units.
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