After several slow weeks at retail when no title cracked the 100,000-copy plateau, Pretty Ricky and the Shins achieve the feat with their new albums this week.
Pretty Ricky’s “Late Night Special” (Atlantic) opens at No. 1 after selling 132,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while the Shins’ “Wincing the Night Away” (Sub Pop) shifts a career-best 118,000.
Pretty Ricky’s start easily beats the 56,000-copy opening frame for 2005’s “Bluestars,” which debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200.
The Shins had never been higher than No. 86 on the Billboard 200 prior to this week, nor had Sub Pop been higher than No. 79 (with the Afghan Whigs’ “Black Love” in 1996).
Last week’s No. 1, Daughtry’s self-titled RCA debut, slips back to No. 3 despite a 23 percent sales increase to 80,000. At No. 4, the “2007 Grammy Nominees” CD (Commercial Music Group) debuts with 77,000, surpassing the No. 14 debut and peak of last year’s edition.
John Mellencamp celebrates his highest-debuting album ever, as “Freedom’s Road” (UMe/Universal) opens at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The set — his first top 10 album in 10 years — moved 56,000 copies in its first week. Sony’s “Dreamgirls” soundtrack slips 2-6 on a 14.6 percent drop to 56,000, while Akon’s “Konvicted” (SRC/Universal) is down 5-7 thanks to a 2.3 percent decrease to 50,000.
Robin Thicke’s “The Evolution of Robin Thicke” (Interscope) achieves a new peak with a climb from No. 16 to No. 8 (+53 percent, 45,000). The album benefited from extra attention on MTV and MTV2’s “Sucker Free” and “Discover & Download” programming. Disney’s “Jump In!” soundtrack falls from No. 3 to No. 9 (-23 percent, 44,000), and Justin Timberlake’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” (Jive) drops from No. 6 to No. 10 (-7 percent, 39,000) to round out the top 10.
Other debuts this week include Saliva’s “Blood Stained Love Story” at No. 19 (Island, 31,000), the Grateful Dead’s “Live at the Cow Palace” at No. 48 (Rhino, 15,000) and the Good, the Band & the Queen’s self-titled debut at No. 49 (Virgin, 15,000). Elsewhere, Regina Spektor’s “Begin to Hope” (Sire) grows 34-20 with the biggest percentage gain on the Billboard 200 (up 48 percent). She was featured on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” on January 21.
Album sales are up 4.9 percent from last week’s total but down 14.5 percent from the same week a year ago at 8.49 million units. Sales so far this year are down 15 percent compared with 2006 at 34.1 million units.
Reuters/Billboard