The Shady/Interscope soundtrack to “8 Mile” maintains its grip on the No. 1 position of The Billboard 200 for a second-straight week, withstanding a mighty charge from Justin Timberlake’s “Justified” (Jive). Sales of the Eminem-heavy soundtrack slipped 28% to 508,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan, but that total was still enough to fend off “Justified,” which sold 439,000 units and bows at No. 2. The two albums hold the same positions on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
As impressive as the numbers for Timberlake’s set are, the ‘N Sync member’s solo debut expectedly fell far short of the 1.9 million units sold by the group’s most recent Jive release, 2001’s “Celebrity.”
Yet in a battle of solo efforts from boy band members, Timberlake is the clear winner. As “Justified” debuts at No. 2, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s solo Jive debut “Now or Never” plummets from No. 17 to No. 63 in its second week on The Billboard 200. Timberlake’s first single, “Like I Love You,” made it into the top-15 of Billboard’s Hot 100 last week; Carter’s “Help Me,” meanwhile, managed only a No. 36 peak last month on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart.
“Justified” is one of four top-10 debuts on The Billboard 200, with a comfortable lead over the No. 3 entry of U2’s “The Best of 1990-2000/The B-Sides” (Interscope). That two-disc set sold 185,000 units; a single-disc version that does not include a compilation of B-sides, was released yesterday (Nov. 12). The band’s last two-disc greatest hits set, a collection of songs from 1980-1990, arrived at No. 2 in November 1998 on sales of 237,000 units.
Jaheim’s “Still Ghetto” (Warner Bros.) lands at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 on sales of 111,000 units, a stronger entry than last year’s “Ghetto Love.” The latter sold 80,000 units in its first week to arrive at No. 9. On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Jaheim’s set debuts at No. 3.
The latest live effort from the Dave Matthews Band, “Live at Folsom Field” (RCA) soars to No. 9 on a sales of 110,000 units. The number isn’t quite as strong as the 131,000 copies posted by “Live in Chicago 12.19.98,” which entered at No. 6 at this time last year.
Christina Aguilera’s “Stripped” (RCA) suffered a 49% sales hit to 168,000 units and falls two two slots to No. 4, while Santana’s “Shaman” dips one to No. 5 after a 20% slide to 140,000 units. Faith Hill’s “Cry” (Warner Bros.), which is No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums roundup for a fourth-straight week, holds at No. 6 on The Billboard 200. With Eminem’s movie riding high, his album “The Eminem Show” (Shady/Interscope) saw a 14% gain to 115,000 units, earning it a one-rung boost to No. 7. Interscope’s self-titled Nirvana collection, saw a 53% sales slide to 109,000 units, and slides from No. 3 to No. 10.
Another three new albums land inside the top-20 of The Billboard 200 , led by Andrea Bocelli’s collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, “Sentimento” (Phillips), at No. 12. His last album, “Cieli di Toscana,” performed similarly, soaring to No. 11 last November. On the other end of the musical scale, Detroit’s Insane Clown Posse arrives at No. 15 with “The Wraith: Shangri-La” (Riviera), and U.K. singer/songwriter David Gray notches his highest album chart-position to date with the No. 17 bow of “A New Day at Midnight” (ATO).
Elsewhere, “Irv Gotti Presents the Remixes” (Universal) arrives at No. 24, the Wallflowers’ “Red Letter Days” (Interscope) enters at No. 32, Alison Krauss + Union Station dock at No. 36 with their latest live collection from Rounder, and Deborah Cox’s “The Morning After” (J Records) settles in at No. 38.
Tony Bennett’s collaboration with k.d. lang, “A Wonderful World” (Columbia), glides to No. 41 to give Bennett” his best showing on The Billboard 200 since 1966 when “The Move Song Album” hit No. 18. “A Wonderful World,” a collection of interpretations of Louis Armstrong songs, was heavily promoted on television last week, with a feature on “20/20” and appearances by the two on “Live With Regis and Kelly” and “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”
Further down the chart, Alan Jackson’s “Let It Be Christmas” (Arista) arrives at No. 52, and thanks to the increased focus on the artist after his five wins at last week’s CMA Awards, his album “Drive” receives a major boost. That former No. 1 set cruises 94-23 on a whopping 293% burst to 50,000 units.
All of Billboard’s latest charts will be posted tomorrow (Nov. 14) on Billboard.com.