MILE STONE!!!
This time, the superstar rapper has pulled off his feat of retail derring-do with the soundtrack to the semi-autobiopic 8 Mile (Shady/Interscope/UMG Soundtracks), which anticipates an expected boffo box office for the film, opening wide this Friday (11/8). That gives Slim Shady two albums in the Top 10, with The Eminem Show at #8 on a 7% increase in sales.
Hastings’ Mike Fuller reminisced about his own upbringing in a trailer park to tell us: "The 8 Mile soundtrack just reaffirms the mega-star status that Eminem currently enjoys. It’s astounding just how broad-based his appeal has become. Who knows what could happen next week when the movie actually opens?"
This week, Em was joined in the upper regions of the charts by five other newcomers. RCA’s Christina Aguilera shimmied to #2; Nirvana’s greatest-hits collection on DGC bowed at #3; Lyric Street country act Rascal Flatts hitched their horse to a #4 post; Epic’s Tori Amos made her label bow at #7 and Ruthless/Epic’s Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rapped their way to a #10 debut. Also in the Top 10 were Arista’s Santana (#5), WB’s Faith Hill (#6) and Arista’s Avril Lavigne (#9).
Said Fuller, donning a lace bustier: "Christina Aguilera also had a very strong first week and should be around throughout the holidays. The much-awaited Nirvana LP hasn’t disappointed, and we also saw big numbers from Rascal Flatts and Tori Amos."
Other chart debuts include Jive’s Nick Carter (#16), TVT’s Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz (#17), WSM’s Totally Hits 2002 More Platinum (#20), MCA’s Shaggy (#21), Blackground/Universal’s Tank (#24), Universal International’s Stevie Wonder (#36), Jive’s Too Short (#44) and MCA’s Sigur Ros (#49).
BNA’s Kenny Chesney showed a double-digit 16% increase in sales (41-39), while others in the black included Columbia’s John Mayer (+5%), DreamWorks Nashville’s Toby Keith (+6%) and Arista’s Pink (+3%).
Next week, it’s all about Jive’s boy-band alum Justin Timberlake, whose battle with Eminem for the top spot could go down to the wire. "It’ll be interesting to see just how big the numbers are going to be," said Fuller.
