Released by music mogul Clive Davis’ J Records, “The Diary of Alicia Keys” grabbed the top slot on album sales charts for the week ended Dec. 7, selling 618,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

J Records is a unit of Bertelsmann AG’s BMG.

“Alicia is cranking. This album stands up to her first album. Publicity is huge and people are just flipping over it,” said Violet Brown, director of urban music for Wherehouse Music stores.

Promotion for the album has been intense, with 22-year-old Keys, a classically trained pianist with a powerful voice, appearing widely on television and in live venues thanks to the marketing muscle of Davis, who also discovered stars like Whitney Houston and Janis Joplin.

“Diary” is a follow-up to Keys’ smash 2001 debut album, “Songs in A Minor,” which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and garnered multiple Grammys.

“Songs in A Minor” also debuted at No. 1 but sold only 236,000 units in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Ranking No. 2 on the charts was county singer Toby Keith’s “Shock N Y’all,” selling 213,000 units, followed by Josh Groban’s “Closer,” which sold 188,000 units.

“Now That’s What I Call Music!,” the 14th in a series of hits compilations culled from various major labels, ranked No. 4, selling 186,000 units.

Rounding out the top 5 was Arista’s multi-Grammy nominees OutKast, whose album, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” sold an estimated 178,000 units.

Alicia Keys’ new album debuted at No. 1 on the music charts this week as retailers on Wednesday predicted the latest work by the Grammy-winning soul diva will remain a big stocking stuffer in coming weeks.

Pop diva Britney Spears fell another few notches in the latest week, with her much-hyped “In the Zone,” selling 150,000 units, landing at No. 7 on the charts, down from No. 3 last week. Spears’ cumulative total is 1 million units.

Spears fell behind Hilary Duff, whose album, “Metamorphosis” ranked No. 6, selling 154,000 units, while No Doubt’s “Singles Collection,” which ranked No. 2 last week, fell to No. 8, selling 144,000 units.

Sheryl Crow’s “The Very Best of Sheryl Crow” moved up to No. 9 from 15, selling 132,000 units, while rapper Jay-Z’s “Black Album,” landed the No. 10 spot, selling 124,000 units.

Credit: Billboard

By Music-Slam.com

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