NORAH TAKES THE FIFTH!!
Norah Jones is beginning to make herself at Home on the top of the charts.
The Blue Note chanteuse’s sophomore album goes over the 2 million mark this week with another chart-topping performance, selling an additional 181k, giving her the top spot for the fifth week in a row.
Virgin Entertainment Group’s Jerry Suarez ignored the Ides of March completely and observed: "Et tu, HITS? Yet another great week for Jones, still at the top of the chart. This coming week, she might get a run for her money from Godsmack and Cassidy. But it might very well take Usher the week after to topple her from the #1 slot."
Bad Boy/Universal’s Bad Boy’s 10th Anniversary… the Hits CD/DVD package proved P. Diddy still has his finger on the pulse of the populace, with a #2 bow and sales of more than 153k. The collection features vintage tracks from Notorious B.I.G., Black Rob, Craig Mack, Carl Thomas, 112, Loon and the rest of the Puff Daddy posse.
Added Suarez: "Whatever you call him, Puffy’s Bad Boy collection had a very strong first week. He’s created a very strong brand there."
The rest of the Top 10 was rounded out by Columbia/CRG’s resurgent Jessica Simpson (#3), Wind-up rockers Evanescence (#4), BNA/RLG’s Kenny Chesney (#5), Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Kanye West (#6), Octone/J’s Top 10 newcomers Maroon 5 (up 8% at #7), A&M/Interscope’s Sheryl Crow (#8), Arista’s long-running OutKast (#9) and 143/Reprise’s Josh Groban (#10).
A total of five albums sold more than 100k this week.
Double-digit gainers included Chesney (up 19%) and IDJ’s Hoobastank, riding the crossover success of "The Reason" into a 49-38 jump and a whopping 24% rise over the previous week.
Said Suarez: "Hoobastank was one of our biggest gainers of the week. Keep an eye on them. The new single is really building a fire there. There’s a ‘Reason’ why it’s doing so well, and it’s not just the name."
Chart newcomers included Sanctuary veterans Tesla (#19), Maverick emo-rockers Story of the Year (#48) and Interscope’s N.Y. garage-punks Yeah Yeah Yeahs (#50), revitalized by PoMo airplay on the single, "Maps."
