MAGIC JOHNSON!
The Brushfire/Universal Republic surfer-turned-singer/songwriter catches an online wave and rides it all the way to the first blockbuster debut of 2008, as his Sleep Through the Static bows at #1 with 380k through the old pipeline, more than a third of which come from digital sales.
That buys a lot of suntan lotion, dude.
It’s enough to top the #2 bow for A&M’s Sheryl Crow, whose highly personal Detours checks in with 92k in sales.
Virgin’s Lenny Kravitz is the other Top 5 newcomer, as his new Love Revolution debuts at #4, behind J Records’ resurgent diva Alicia Keys, whose As I Am is #3 with 85k, a 35% gain over last week.
Hip-O/Universal’s 2008 Grammy Nominees is next at #6, followed by Geffen’s Mary J. Blige (#7), debuting k.d. lang’s Nonesuch album Watershed (#8), Disney’s Hannah Montana 2 soundtrack (#9) and Big Machine’s Taylor Swift (#10).
Atlantic’s Step Up 2: The Streets soundtrack (#13) and Hear Music/Concord’s Kenny G (#13) are the other chart rookies for the week.
Pre-Grammy build-up pushed a number of titles, including Universal Republic’s Amy Winehouse (#20), Reprise’s Michael Buble (#27) and Decca’s Andrea Bocelli (#49) back into the Top 50, while Interscope’s Across the Universe (#35) reflects the current DVD release of the movie. 19/Jive/ZLG’s Jordin Sparks also returns at #45.
Major gainers, led by Keys, include RCA/RMG’s Daughtry (#21, +20%), Hollywood’s Jonas Brothers (#25, +20%) and Disney’s Hannah Montana soundtrack (#40, +18%), both up thanks to the movie, and Def Jam/IDJ’s Rihanna (#46, +19).
Others experiencing sales upticks include Swift (+12%), ERC’s The Eagles (#24, +9%), Arista/RMG’s Carrie Underwood (#29, +8%) and Disney’s Radio Disney Jams 10 (#47, +10%).
Next week, expect Grammy and Valentine’s Day sales spikes for winners Winehouse, Herbie Hancock, Kanye West, Carrie Underwood and Foo Fighters along with new releases from Atlantic’s A Simple Plan and Sony Legacy’s 25th anniversary reissue of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
