YOUR WEAKEND TOP 10 CHART PREVIEW: Our numbers-crunching gnomes are even more uncertain than usual about their projections because of that dang ol’ Easter weekend. But if all the projections do hold, it will take as much as mighty 50k to make it into next week’s Top 10—and when was the last time that happened? Further, if Jason Aldean and Prince hit the upper range of their projections, it would be the first time this year that the entire Top 5 lands north of 100k. Here's how it looks right now:

** Rascal Flatts (Lyric Street) 315-340k (the second largest debut of the year, behind U2)
** Jadakiss (Def Jam/IDJ) 130-140k
Hannah Montana: The Movie (Walt Disney) 120-130k (the movie opens today)
** Jason Aldean (Broken Bow) 90-100k
Prince (NPG) 90-100k
Keith Urban (Capitol Nashville) 80-90k
Now 30 (UMe) 80-90k
Taylor Swift (Big Machine) 70-80k
Twilight (Chop Shop/Atlantic) 60-70k
Lady GaGa (Interscope) 50-60k

asg said:

I would very impressed if he sold 100K in week two. There's a big IF in there, however.

He is holding up real well I rather surprised. Most albums have 70% in the second week which would translate to 50k and this is doing double that not bad at all

My guess is 75k for 2nd week

90-100k would be a fantastic second week result for Prince. Does anyone know how well 3121 sold on its second week of release?

I'd love to see some figure regarding the number of subscriptions to-date on Lotusflow3r.com

I know it's been said before, but without radio play there is going to have to be some more promo eventually. Still, in some respects his second week sales interest me even more than week one.

tc012009 said:

Someone correct me here, but does 70K-80K sound about right for 3121 in week two?

audience1 said:

i think his latest albums sold like 7 copies in week 2

this projection looks amazing. good job prince

now if he did a few more promo appearances it could stay in the top 10
for perhaps 3 to 5 weeks.

IstenSzek said:

or perhaps top 20

audience1 said:

Me too. In a way it's more important because it shows how much staying power the CD has on the charts and if it really stays in the top 5 this week, that'll be even more amazing than this weeks chart. I hope it happens.

so, in stores across the country, the display they have for the top 10
or top 20 best selling albums of the country, is gonna be having a big
vacant spot at #2 this week.

imagine if it had gone to number one the #1 album in the country,
not for sale in a single record store in the US.

weird.

IstenSzek said:

Oh yeah, i never thought of it like that.

purplecam said:

Absolutely! Longevity is at least as important as peak position.

IstenSzek said:

I've found that those displays bear very little resemblance to the charts. They are usually, at best, sales rankings for the albums at that particular store or chain.

If even that. I see some weird shit on those displays that I know damn well are not anywhere near the top 50

Is Target still airing their TV spots for him this week?

3121, is trending just shy of 200k and has a shot at hitting that sales plateau, depending on how much Starbucks weighs in. What’s stunning about this activity is that the Purple One is pulling it off without a tour, extensive radio play or iTunes (he hasn’t yet made the LP available to online services). That means the Hall of Famer will most probably notch up his first #1 since that Batman soundtrack, and it’ll be his first studio album to top the chart since Around the World in a Day in 1985.

now final week #2 3121 #8 75k

LW TW artist / album label power index % change
-- 1 T.I. GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC 531,797 --
KING
-- 2 TIM MCGRAW CURB 232,253 --
GREATEST HITS VOL.2
2 3 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WALT DISNEY RECORDS 163,876 +7%
SOUNDTRACK
-- 4 GHOSTFACE KILLAH DEF JAM/IDJMG 115,742 --
FISHSCALE
-- 5 ROB ZOMBIE GEFFEN 110,308 --
EDUCATED HORSES
-- 6 SHAKIRA EPIC 80,093 --
ORAL FIXATION VOLUME 2
3 7 JAMES BLUNT CUSTARD/ATLANTIC/ATL G 78,590 -30%
BACK TO BEDLAM
1 8 PRINCE UNIVERSAL 74,771 -59%
3121 --
9 ATREYU VICTORY 71,393 --
A DEATH-GRIP ON YESTERDAY
10 10 ALAN JACKSON ACR/ARISTA NASHVILLE 56,366 +10%
PRECIOUS MEMORIES
[Edited 4/11/09 5:41am]