AVRIL GRABS A SKIN
Arista/RMG sk8ter punk Avril Lavigne puts a stop to Usher’s eight-week reign atop the charts with a #1 debut for her Under My Skin album, effectively thrashing the sophomore jinx.
Lavigne’s success was fueled in part by a live concert for AOL Broadband Rocks streamed by more than one million subscribers, exposure on AOL’s Welcome Screen and a Sessions@AOL performance.
"We’ve been on this project since she started her ‘Live and Surprise’ mall tour back in March and April," said AOL Music’s Jack Isquith. "The word on Avril’s been spreading faster than penile enlargement spam."
RoadRunner/IDJ’s masked marauders Slipknot scare their way to a #2 bow with cleverly named Vol. 3: (the Subliminal Verses), topping LaFace/ZLG crossover icon Usher at #3.
The rest of the Top 10 includes Epic/Sony Nashville’s Gretchen Wilson (#4), Def Jam/IDJ’s Method Man (#5), Island/IDJ’s Hoobastank, DreamWorks’ surging Shrek 2 soundtrack (#15-7, up 58%), Shady/Interscope’s D12 (#8), Drive-Thru/Geffen’s New Found Glory (#9) and Maverick’s Alanis Morissette (#10).
Other chart newcomers include BNA’s Lonestar (#11), 19 Records’ American Idol runner-up Tamyra Gray (#19), Columbia/CRG’s Wilson Phillips (#41) and Mercury Nashville’s Julie Roberts (#48).
Aside from the Shrek 2 soundtrack, Epic’s George Michael (#25-12, +42%) is one of the week’s big retail winners, moving #25-12 with a 42% rise. Taking advantage of CMA Awards TV exposure are BNA’s Kenny Chesney (#24-16, +17%), DreamWorks Nashville’s Toby Keith (#45-34, +47%), Warner Bros. Nashville’s Big & Rich (#48-39, +42%) and Capitol’s Keith Urban (#43, +30%).
