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"Hip-hop catalog has a track record of not selling, so the success of his hits package is really a testament to what a superstar Eminem is. He’s in a class all by himself."
——Hastings' George Deahl

EMINEM, LIL’ WAYNE AND KORN AT TOP OF CHART, AS WE HEAD FULL-SWING INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Numerous Albums in Top 50 See Significant Sales Spikes

Well, finally, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with holiday spending quite active last weekend. Only three debuts in the Top 10—all in the Top 3 positions—but every single album in the Top 14 (and many below that) saw a dramatic percentage spike, with #14’s Fall Out Boy jumping a full 56%. We even saw summer hit acts like Coldplay and Michael Buble returning to the Top 50.

As anticipated, our now kinder ‘n’ gentler old Motor City pal Eminem (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) secures the #1 spot, selling 435k of his new “greatest hits” anthology, which some are predicting will be the rap superstar’s swan song. Cash Money/Universal’s Lil’ Wayne (but does his girlfriend call him that?) hit big numbers at #2, with 244k. And Korn came in #3, selling 226k of their Virgin debut release, which should have legs long into the new year, with numerous singles and the best reviews of the band’s career. Interesting that over 30% of sales came via a Special Edition at a significantly increased sales price.

“Just great first week sales on the Eminem hits package,” says HastingsGeorge Deahl. “Hip-hop catalog has a track record of not selling, so it’s really a testament to what a superstar Eminem is. He’s in a class all by himself. Korn also was a huge success for us. It should have great strength throughout the holidays. And the new Lil Wayne didn’t disappoint, either.”

And now for the rest: UTV’s Now That’s What I Call Music is #4, with a spike of 29% at 198k. Arista/RMG’s Carrie Underwood is #5, with a spike of 21% at 177k. BNA’s Christmas cowboy Kenny Chesney hits #6, jumping 26% at 168k. Roadrunner/IDJ’s Nickelback moves from #7 to #8 with 150k—a spike of 44%. Reprise’s Enya is #8, selling 146k, a jump of 34%. Mariah Carey (Island/IDJ) is #9, jumping 36%, with 144k. And A&M/Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas jump back into the Top 10, at #10, with 141k, representing a spike of 52%.

The week’s only other two Top 50 debut came courtesy of Casablanca/Universal’s Lindsay Lohan, who gets a little more Personal and “Raw"at #20, selling 83k; and Jive/ZLG’s T-Pain hitting #38, with 53k.

Although our chart will be on hiatus until the New Year, watch for new releases next week from Bo Bice, Anthony Hamilton and Ludacris with DTP.

Have a happy holiday and see ya in ’06.

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