Wednesday, July 16, 2008

LIL WAYNE RULES THE CHARTS AGAIN....G-UNIT CRASHES

For a third non-consecutive week, Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money/Universal) tops The Billboard 200. The set moved 125,000 copies during the tracking week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 20% drop in sales from the week previous.

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Capitol) sits tight at No. 2 for a second week with 113,000 (-25%) while the Jonas Brothers-led soundtrack to Disney's "Camp Rock" keeps the No. 3 spot warm with 88,000 (-23%).

Arriving at No. 4, Beck's "Modern Guilt" (Interscope) debuts with 84,000. His previous set, 2006's "The Information," bowed at No. 7 but sold 99,000.

Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" (Atlantic) continues to resurge with the help of the Hot AC/Adult Top 40 single "All Summer Long," climbing 7-5 with 61,000 (+34%). The multi-label "Now 28" compilation stays at No. 6 with a 17% decrease to 48,000.

The Decca soundtrack to "Mamma Mia!," the film adaptation of the hit theatrical musical based on ABBA's songbook, debuts at No. 7 on The Billboard 200 with 48,000. The film hits theaters in the U.S. on Friday, so there's a good chance the album could see a sizable gain on next week's chart.


In its 58th week on the chart, Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" (SRP/Def Jam) ascends 9-8 with 47,000, a 17% increase. G-Unit's sophomore set, "T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)" (G-Unit/Interscope) sold 36,000 (-64%), slipping 4-9. John Mayer's "Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles" falls 5-10 in its second week to 34,000 (-64%).

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis' "Two Men with the Blues" (Blue Note) opens at No. 20 (22,000) and also becomes Nelson's first No. 1 on the Top Jazz Albums chart. Other debuts include Los Temerarios' "Si Tu Te Vas" at No. 26 (Fonovisa, 17,000) and pop-punk act the Maine's "Can't Stop Won't Stop" at No. 40 (Fearless, 12,000).

At 7.33 million units, sales this week are down 3% from last week's sum and off 11.7% from the same week last year.