50 CENT’S MASSACRE CONTINUES

Thank God 50 Cent and The Game buried the hatchet. Call us crazy, but we think it’s better that they celebrate this top-of-the-world moment as friends, rather than letting the bullets continue to fly, even if that might hype the sales even further. Enough is enough.

And Fitty and The Game both continue to have plenty, as the former’s The Massacre (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) hangs in for a second monster week at #1, dropping by an unusually slim 30% to 806k, nearly eight times the #2 record, which happens to be Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams (Brushfire/Universal), which sold about 109k for the week. Game, meanwhile, also sees only an 11% decline for The Documentary (Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope), moving #5-#3 on 87k sold.

Indeed, all the hubbub surrounding Fitty may have played a role in his continued chart dominance, but the fact is, you can’t turn on the radio without hearing him. He’s got four tracks on the Crossover chart, including three in the Top 5 (one of which is a Game cut featuring him), and three in the Top 15 at Top 40. Sheesh.

Rounding out the Top 5 are Jennifer Lopez’s Rebirth (Epic) at #4 (83k) and Green Day’s American Idiot (Reprise) at #5 (80k). Yes, it’s a down market.

Meanwhile, The Killers’ Hot Fuss (Island/IDJ) enters the Top 10 for the first time, moving #14-#7 as big multi-format airplay for “Mr. Brightside” reaches critical mass. The band moved nearly 60k this week—the same as last week, which is quite a feat. Did we mention it’s a down market?

the week’s top debut goes to former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, whose Mafia (Artemis) lands at #15. The week’s biggest gain goes to Kenny Chesney’s Be As You Are (BNA), which shoots up 30% thanks to a Target campaign and moves #34-#17.

Next week, look for chart debuts for the 18th edition of the Now That’s What I Call Music series (this one on Epic), Baby Bash (Universal) and Brooke Valentine (Virgin).