Remember a couple years ago when 50 Cent said he’d stop making music if Kanye West‘s Graduation sold more than his Curtis in its opening week battle? He probably shouldn’t have welched on his bet. Two years later his new album sold less than a quarter of what Curtis sold. To further the insult, he was beat out by wimps like John Mayer, Andrea Bocelli, and Norah Jones! He even got outsold by a Christian lite rock band! That’s gotta hurt.
1. John Mayer – “Battle Studies” – 286,000 (debut)
2. Andrea Bocelli – “My Christmas” – 185,000 (up 36%)
3. Norah Jones – “The Fall” – 180,000 (debut)
4. Casting Crowns – “Until the Whole World Hears” – 167,000 (debut)
5. 50 Cent – “Before I Self Destruct” – 160,000 (debut)
6. Justin Bieber -“My World” EP – 137,000 (debut)
7. Michael Jackson – “This Is It”- 96,000 (down 18%)
8. “New Moon” soundtrack – 93,000 (up 77%)
9. Carrie Underwood – “Play On” – 86,000 (down 33%)
10. Taylor Swift – “Fearless” – 84,000 (down 8%)
More sales data after the jump…
Further down:
11. Kris Allen – “Kris Allen” – 80,000 (debut)
12. Them Crooked Vultures – 70,000 (debut)
13. Leona Lewis – “Echo” – 67,000 (debut)
16. Paul McCartney – “Good Evening New York City” – 55,000 (debut)
18. Bon Jovi – “The Circle” – 50,000 (down 69%)
21. OneRepublic – “Waking Up” – 39,000 (debut)
22. Janet Jackson – “Number Ones” – 37,000 (debut)
68. Fall Out Boy – “Believer’s Never Die” – 11,000 (debut)
134. Katy Perry – “Katy Perry: MTV Unplugged” – 5,000 (debut)
As a result of Billboard‘s new chart policy revision, 45 catalog albums appear on the chart this week. That means almost a quarter of the top 200 best selling albums in America had previously “fallen below No. 100, were more than 18 months old, and did not have a current charting single at radio” (Billboard’s definition of a “catalog” album). Sounds like the Long Tail theory is in full effect. Then again, twenty-nine of these 45 albums are holiday albums. So we’ll see how it all shakes out in the new year. A few of these:
15. Casting Crowns – “Peace On Earth”
20. Taylor Swift – “The Holiday Collection”
37. Michael Jackson – “Number Ones”
70. Michael Jackson – “The Essential Michael Jackson”