The 25th “NOW! That’s What I Call Music” album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts Wednesday, becoming the 12th release in the multi-artist hits compilation series to take the crown.
The album, featuring recordings from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Fall Out Boy and Bow Wow, sold 223,000 copies in the week ended July 22, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.
The last four “NOW” releases have claimed the top spot. In March, “NOW 24” started at No. 2 with 230,000 copies, but moved to No. 1 the following week.
Teen actress Miley Cyrus’ former chart-topper, the Disney double-disc set “Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus,” rebounded one place to No. 2 with 113,000 units. After topping the Billboard 200 for two weeks, rapper T.I.’ s “T.I. vs. T.I.P.” fell to No. 3 with 94,000 units.
After its parent movie opened at No. 3 at the weekend box office, the soundtrack to “Hairspray” soared 16 places to No. 4 with 72,000 units. “Hairspray” is the fifth soundtrack to log time in the top 10 this year, following “Hannah Montana,” “Hannah Montana 2,” “Dreamgirls” and “Jump In!”
With help from a high-visibility campaign on iTunes and MySpace, R&B vocalist Colbie Caillat’s debut album, “Coco,” entered at No. 5 with 51,000. Her single “Bubbly” was available through iTunes’ free single of the week program, while the digital store is selling the album for only $7.99.
Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie’s solo debut “Duchess” rose two to No. 6 in its 44th week on the chart with 50,000 units. Rock band Linkin Park’s “Minutes to Midnight” kept the No. 7 spot warm for a second week with 47,000 units, while English singer Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” rose one to No. 8 with 45,000.
In its 94th week on the chart, Canadian rock band Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons” returned to the top tier with a three-place jump to No. 9. It sold 43,000 copies, aided by a reissue version of the album released July 10. Bon Jovi’s recent chart-topper, “Lost Highway,” fell four to No. 10 with 42,000.
Yellowcard’s third album, “Paper Walls,” debuted at No. 13 with 40,000 copies; the Florida rock band’s last effort, “Lights and Sounds,” bowed at No. 5 with 90,000 last year. Other debuts included Los Angeles rock band Rooney’s long-awaited sophomore set “Calling the World” (No. 42, 15,000), the one-man combo Rocket Summer’s “Do You Feel” (No. 44, 15,000), and Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne Callabos’ “Misery Loves Kompany” (No. 49, 13,000).
Overall sales were down 2.2% compared to last week’s sum at 8.11 million units, and down 8.9% compared to the same week last year. Album sales for the year to date stand at 255 million, down 14.4% from last year.
Reuters/Billboard