OutKast’s two-CD set “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” holds at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 for the second week in a row. U.S. sales of the album are down 11% from last week to 86,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Since its release 18 weeks ago, the album has spent seven total weeks at No. 1. To date, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” has sold just under 3.5 million copies.
“The Very Best of Sheryl Crow” (A&M) continues to perform well, holding steady this week at No. 2. Sales are up about 11% to 81,000 copies. Crow is still out promoting the album in its 12th week of release, and sales have benefited from a slew of recent TV appearances.
Evanescence’s “Fallen” (Wind-Up) bolts 9-3, earning an 11% sales boost to 69,000 copies. In 47 weeks, the set has sold 3.67 million copies. This week’s sales burst is fueled by the strong performance of current single “My Immortal,” which is up 16-12 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 tally.
With hits from Beyoncé, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Fountains of Wayne, 50 Cent and OutKast, the compilation album “Grammy Nominees 2004” bows at No. 4 with 67,600 copies. This year’s set, released by BMG Strategic Marketing, has a slightly better first week than last year’s Warner Strategic Marketing edition. The latter entered at No. 16 with 65,000 copies.
Ruben Studdard’s J Records debut “Soulful” gains 8-5, benefiting from a 6% sales gain to 67,000 copies. Toby Keith’s “Shock’n Y’all” (DreamWorks/Interscope) falls 4-6, suffering a small 1.4% sales dip to 65,000 copies. Keith’s set fronts Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart for the 12th week.
The 14th volume in the “NOW That’s What I Call Music!” series (Universal/EMI/Zomba/Sony) falls one slot to No. 7 on The Billboard 200, enduring a 2% sales dip to 63,510 copies. Right behind with 63,500 at No. 8 is Josh Groban’s “Closer” (Reprise), dipping three slots on a 3.4% sales decline. “The Diary of Alicia Keys” (J) is down 3-9, withstanding an 8% sales drop to 63,400 copies.
Britney Spears’ “In the Zone” (Jive) is picking up some momentum after falling out of the top-10. The set is up 11-10 this week on a 16% sales hike to 61,000 copies, giving the superstar’s latest album a total of 1.8 million copies sold. Second single “Toxic” is giving the set a boost, jumping 21-14 this week on the Mainstream Top 40 tally.
Further down, Ani DiFranco’s latest Righteous Babe set “Educated Guess” enters the tally at No. 37 with 25,000 copies. DiFranco’s 2003 album “Evolve” arrived at No. 30.
Elsewhere, Alan Jackson’s “Greatest Hits Vol. 2” rockets 63-27 on a 79% sales gain to 32,000 copies. The spurt comes as his track “Remember When” gains 2-1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks roundup, ending the seven-week run of Kenny Chesney’s “There Goes My Life.”
Credit: Billboard