HITS DAILY DOUBLE: A PRINCELY TOTAL AT #1

http://www.hitsdailydoubl...?news07527

A PRINCELY TOTAL

Keith Urban, Diana Krall, UGK and Flo Rida All Bow in Top 10, as David Cook Re-Enters

April 7, 2009

Thanks to Target, the Artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known As hits #1 on this week’s HITS Top 50 Album sales chart.
A Prince by any other name, the Purple One parlays his retail exclusive, the introduction of a dedicated website, a trio of performances on The Tonight Show and another three live sets at L.A. Live into a chart-topping debut for his three-album, $11.98 set, dubbed Lotus Flow3r for short. The album moves an impressive 186k in its first week.

It’s his first album to bow at #1 since 2006’s 3121 for Universal Republic, which had been his lone previous chart-topper since the 1989 Batman soundtrack.

Capitol Nashville’s New Zealand cowboy Keith Urban lives up to his album’s Defying Gravity title by rising to #2, with an impressive 177k in sales. Bet wifey Nicole Kidman is proud.

Verve’s Diana Krall returns with Quiet Nights, her sensuous album of bossa nova standards, which debuts at #3 with one of her best first weeks ever, notching 101k, giving her bragging rights over husband Elvis Costello for the time being.

UMe’s Now 30 (#4) and Walt Disney’s Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack (#5) round out the Top Five, as the latter awaits this Friday’s release of the film.

Jive/JLG Texas rap icons UGK’s UGK 4 Life, a posthumous effort after the death of founding member Pimp C in 2007, is the week’s other Top 10 newcomer at #6, along with Atlantic’s Flo Rida, riding his smash “Right Round” into the Top 10 at #8.

Holdovers include Atlantic’s Twilight soundtrack, still percolating at #7, Interscope’s Lady GaGa, up 8% at #9 and Big Machine’s Taylor Swift, with her ACM album of the year, Fearless, at #10.

Other newcomers include Curb’s Rodney Atkins (#12), Columbia’s Chris Botti (#13), J/RMG’s Gavin DeGraw (#17), Columbia’s Bow Wow (#18), Verity/JLG’s Donnie McClurkin (#24), Victory’s Silverstein (#26), Rhino’s Queensryche (#27) and Atlantic’s Death Cab for Cutie EP (#39).

19/RCA/RMG American Idol champ David Cook returns to the chart at #20, tripling his sales after an appearance on the Fox show last week, while Interscope’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back at #30 with the physical release of It’s Blitz! after an iTunes exclusive.

Double-digit gains are notched by Atlantic’s Zac Brown Band (#33-29, +12%), Roadrunner’s Theory of a Deadman (#44, +10%) and N.E.E.T./Interscope’s Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack (#45, +20%, capitalizing on the DVD release).

Lyric Street country superstars Rascal Flatts are this week’s top release, followed by Broken Bow/RED’s Jason Aldean (with a one-day pre-release $3.99 special at Amazon), IDJ’s Jadakiss, Reprise’s Neil Young, Capitol’s MIMS and Lyric Street’s Billy Ray Cyrus.

I believe it when I read it on billboard.com

So he actually sold 558K Cd's...

btw Does anyone know if the downloads are counted as sold cd's?

Whistler said:

I highly doubt it.

Oh mercy!

this is getting ridiculous

garganta said:

Right? And the fact that folks have to start a new thread each time doesn't make following this mess any easier.

daPrettyman said:

Its a 3 cd set ... doh

Dude. Stop.

PLEASE stop using HITS numbers (which are NOT accurate).
Prince isn't #1 according to Soundscan/Billboard.

PERIOD.

And it's Nielsen. Not Neilsen.

garganta said:

FOR. FUCKING. REAL.

Prince "don't care" about the charts. And awards. And money.

Why should you?

Whistler said:

I meant about the downloads counting for sales.

GNS said:

Co-sign.

Wha...?
I'm getting confused with all the differing threads...