How about that Taylor Swift? I quite liked her appearance on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago — she was spunky and engaging despite the fact that her band consisted entirely of Hollywood casting call “punk” extras. But she’s been at the top of the charts for ten weeks now. Is this the best we can do? Has American given up on pop music?
1. Taylor Swift – Fearless – 62,000 (-32%)
2. Charlie Wilson – Uncle Charlie – 58,000 (debut)
3. The Fray – The Fray – 53,000 (-29%)
4. Nickelback – Dark Horse – 43,000 (-23%)
5. Beyonce – I Am… Sasha Fierce – 41,000 (-25%)
6. Jamie Foxx – Intuition – 33,000 (-19%)
7. India.Arie – Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics – 32,000 (-57%)
8. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak – 32,000 (-11%)
9. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Raising Sand – 32,000 (-58%)
10. Lady GaGa – The Fame – 32,000 (+11%)
11. Morrissey – Years of Refusal – 31,000 (debut)
Bubbling under debuts:
31. M. Ward – Hold Time – 19,000
49. Various – Dark Was the Night – 13,000
56. Thursday – Common Existence – 10,000
87. Beirut – March of the Zapotec – 7,000
170. …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Century of Self – 3,500
Additional sales data via MTV.
I like seeing that M. Ward in the Top 40, that’s great. The good news about our fractured market is that albums like his that are selling fewer than 20,000 copies are in that bracket. Won’t translate to money on sales but probably bumps up his take of the gate. Nice.
I was hoping the Beirut would have moved a few more albums but I guess that number isn’t too bad for a 2xEP.