The Eminem retrospective “Curtain Call” began a second week at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts Wednesday, while “American Idol” runner-up Bo Bice and country icon Johnny Cash were the only new entries in the top 10.
It’s shaping up as another tough Christmas for music retailers. CD sales in the week ended December 18 were down 11% at 19.2 million units compared to the same week a year ago. They were up by 28.8% from last week at 19.2 million units.
“Curtain Call” sold 323,700 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, taking its two-week haul to more than 765,000 copies.
Bice joined this year’s Idol winner Carrie Underwood and inaugural champion Kelly Clarkson in the top 10, notching an impressive No. 4 debut with “The Real Thing,” which sold 227,000 copies. Underwood’s “Some Hearts” jumped three places to No. 2 with 271,000 copies in its fifth week. Blender covergirl Clarkson’s “Breakaway” was at No. 8, also up three, with 180,000 copies in its 55th week.
As the Cash biopic “Walk the Line” nears $85 million at the North American box office, the hits package “The Legend of Johnny Cash” rose two places to No. 10 with 154,000 copies in its eighth week.
In its seventh week on the chart, the “Now 20” hits compilation rose one place to No. 3 with 259,000 units. Country singer Kenny Chesney’s “The Road and the Radio” was up one to No. 5 with 217,500 copies, and Canadian rock band Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons” also rose one, to No. 6, with 192,000 copies.
Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” rose one to No. 7 with 191,000 copies, and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Monkey Business” held at No. 9 with 157,600.
Ludacris and DTP’s “Disturbing Tha Peace” debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums on sales of 151,000 copies. The crew’s 2002 effort, “Golden Grain,” opened at No. 6 on the big chart, with 95,000 copies.
Neo-soul man Anthony Hamilton landed at No. 19 on The Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums with “Ain’t Nobody Worryin,”‘ which moved 112,000 in his best sales week ever. This marks the proper follow-up to his debut release “Comin’ From Where I’m From” which has sold 1.2 million units to date.
Meanwhile, reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee achieved his best sales week as “Barrio Fino en Directo” landed at No. 24 on The Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top Latin Albums with 100,300 units. The CD/DVD is the artist’s fourth album to reach both charts this year, following “Barrio Fino,” “Ahora Le Toca Al Cangri! Live” and “Los Homerun-Es.”
The other notable debuts this week came from Disney’s soundtrack to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” at No. 43 and YoungBloodz’s “Ev’rybody Know Me” (LaFace/Jive) at No. 44
Credit: Billboard