ROB THOMAS’ SOMETHING TO BE BE SOMETHING, ALL RIGHT
You see, Rob Thomas’ solo debut, Something to Be (Atlantic), came on strong and won the #1 position on this week’s chart fair and square. With just shy of 245k units shifted in its first week, the album outpaced Carey’s second week for The Emancipation of Mimi (Island/IDJ) by about 25k.
The Matchbox 20 frontman’s big bow was supported in no small part by VH1, which has championed Thomas under the “Sounds Like VH1” initiative orchestrated by EVP Music and Talent Rick Krim. Thomas was also a headliner on VH1’s Save the Music concert, broadcast April 17.
Another Warner Music Group act made a Top Five splash this week was Houston rapper Mike Jones, who sold over 186k copies of Who is Mike Jones? (Swishahouse/Asylum/Warner Bros.), netting him a #3 debut and WMG a second new chart entries to crow about as the company nears its IPO.
Meanwhile, European popera quartet Il Divo also got off to an impressive start, their self-titled Columbia debut coming in at #4 on sales of nearly 143k. The multi-million-selling 50 Cent rounded out the Top Five, selling another 125k for the week.
Other debuts for the week included Three 6 Mafia’s Choices II: The Setup (Columbia), which landed at #8 after moving nearly 62k for the week, and the Diary of a Mad Black Woman soundtrack (Motown/Universal), which bowed at #17 on just under 41k sold.
And then there’s 20-year-old singer/songwriter Anna Nalick, whose first album, Wreck of the Day (Columbia), debuted at #19 on sales of around 37k—an impressive new-artist number. Nalick is another beneficiary of broad VH1 support, with the network putting single “Breathe (2 A.M.)” into Large rotation this week.
Next week will keep the Sony BMG side up, with an expected #1 debut from Columbia’s Bruce Springsteen and bows from Sony Music Group’s Barry Manilow, Sony Urban’s Amerie and Columbia Nashville’s Buddy Jewel.
