This week, the urban market picked up, making a turn from last week’s releases. With five new albums fighting for that top spot, it will be interesting to see where they all land on the charts. December is the month for highly anticipated heavy-hitters, but let’s see where Gucci Mane, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, The Clipse and Chris Brown land on the charts.
If you think British sensation Susan Boyle is moving from her #1 position for an urban act, think again! Boyle still remains tough at #1, selling an additional 582,500 copies of “I Dreamed A Dream.” Will she give up her position? Doesn’t seem like her fans will let that happen anytime soon…
Now this next act didn’t quite make it in the top 5, but he sure was close to it. Coming in at #6 is no other than Chris Brown with his comeback album “Graffiti,” selling 102,500 copies. No one exactly knew what to expect of Brown’s comeback sales, so it’s still up in the air whether these number are disappointing or not compared to his ex-girlfriend Rihanna; she managed to only sell 78,500 more copies than Brown. After all, Brown did make accusations that music retailers were “blackballing” his album… maybe they’re to blame for these numbers? Either way, Brown is still this week’s best selling urban act despite his ups and downs. Lead singles “I Can Transform Ya” featuring Swizz Beatz and Lil Wayne and the slow ballad “Crawl” still seem to be getting radio play, so let’s see where Breezy lands next week.
Right behind Brown is Lady Gaga, still holding on to her #7 spot with her original project “Fame.” Moving 102,000 more copies, Gaga’s “Fame” seems to still be doing better than her recent EP release “Fame Monster,” which falls one spot to #16 with 71,500 units sold.
But guess who managed to come in at #11 this week? It’s the ATL rapping sensation Gucci Mane with 89,000 copies sold for “State VS. Radric Davis.” Though Gucci may be locked up on probation violation charges, his radio spins still keep him significant while behind bars. His lead single “Spotlight,” featuring Usher, marked his official transition into mainstream hip-hop, being that he has been relevant in the underground mixtape game for a while.
Coming in at #22 is West Coast veteran Snoop Dogg, selling 61,100 copies of his tenth studio album “Malice N Wonderland.” The album includes first single “Gangsta Luv” featuring The-Dream and current single “I Wanna Rock,” which has been gaining tremendous positive feedback. The album also shares its title with a short thriller, which is supposed to be released in early 2010. Maybe the anticipation for the mini movie will boost Snoop’s sales…
Landing at #36 is Timbaland with his “shocking” sales for “Shock Value II.” Moving only 37,800 units, the prequel doesn’t seem to compare to its 2007 platinum-selling release “Shock Value.” The first single “Morning After Dark” features SoShy and Nelly Furtado. Timbaland’s current single “Say Something” featuring Canadian rapper Drake has been gaining optimistic responses from various hip-hop outlets. Hopefully when the video drops for “Say Something” the numbers will rise. Hopefully…
The last newly added urban act to make the charts is The Clipse, coming in at #48 with 29,875 units sold for “Til The Casket Drops.” Even though the duo has been doing extremely well with singles “I’m Good” featuring boss man Pharrell and “Popular Demand (Popeyes)” featuring Pharrell and former Dipset member Cam’ron, the sales just don’t seem to match up to the singles’ success. The Clipse’s previous project “Hell Hath No Fury” made its first week debut with 78,000 copies sold… a difference of 48,125…
So we know Juvenile was no where to be found last week, but R. Kelly is still holding on to a spot on the charts. Making a major fall from his debut #4 position to #43, Kels pushes another 34,112 for “Untitled.” Shakira also made a drop herself, just not as immense as Kelly. Selling 30,500 more copies for “She Wolf,” Shakira drops from her #30 slot to #46. Shakira and Kelly barely held on to a position on the charts this week, but at least they can say they did…
This week takes a twist for two heavy-hitter artists: 50 Cent and Jay-Z. Both artists have no place on this week’s top 50. The news isn’t as bad for Hova, since he’s been pushing numbers for “Blueprint III” since September. But as far as 50 goes, there’s no explanation why he isn’t still on the charts, being that “Before I Self Destruct” just debuted on November 9th.
Check back next week to see where Alicia Keys and Robin Thicke debut. Maybe with the help of being on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” Keys can venture off and make some sales (330,000 to 350,000) that will land her in the top 3.
Written By Shabazz
Chris Brown Crawl
