The rap sextet D12, which counts superstar Eminem among its members, rocketed to the top of the U.S. pop charts with its new album Wednesday, breaking R&B singer Usher’s five-week grip on the No. 1 spot.

“D12 World” sold 545,000 copies in its first week of release, knocking Usher’s “Confessions” to No. 2, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks retail record sales.

For the week ended May 2, “Confessions,” sold 262,000 units, bringing Usher’s six-week tally to about 2.9 million copies.

“D12 World,” is the Detroit-based rap group’s second album, following its freshman release, “Devil’s Night,” which debuted with sales of about 370,000 units in 2001 and went on to sell 2 million copies to date.

The group, also known as the Dirty Dozen, comprises rappers Kuniva, Bizarre, Proof, Kon Artis and Swift. But Eminem’s star power has undoubtedly been the big draw for many buyers, with the successful single, “My Band,” featuring the Detroit-based artist in a self-mockery of the media’s preoccupation with him as he pokes fun at how a star’s success overshadows his backing band.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, “My Band,” has sold more than 77,000 downloaded tracks in seven weeks.

Ranking No. 3 on the chart was “Musicology” by Prince, with sales of 172,000 copies in the latest week, followed by jazz pianist-singer Diana Krall’s “Girl in the Other Room,” which sold 144,000 units. Krall’s new husband, singer-songwriter Elvis Costello contributed several songs to the new album.

Rounding out the Top Five was Mario Winans’ “Hurt No More,” which sold 124,000 units.

Overall album sales were up 4 percent over the previous week and up 12 percent from the same week last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. From January through the month of April, CD album sales are up 9 percent over 2003, and up 3 percent from 2002 sales, SoundScan said.

The strong trend is good news for the embattled recording industry, which had suffered sales declines for three years due to rampant online piracy, competition from other entertainment like video games and what some view as the industry’s failure to nurture commercially sustainable artists.

Through the first four months of the year, classical, Latin, metal, alternative, country and R&B albums have experienced an increase in sales compared to 2003.

Nielsen SoundScan also said the industry set a new one-week record for digital downloads with “track” sales of 2.17 million. There have been 35.3 million tracks sold year-to-date, Nielsen SoundScan said.

Credit: Reuters