Album Charts: Sade Returns With Soldier of Love, Goes Gold During Debut Week
Published 02/18/2010
By BallerStatus News Staff
Nearly 10 years after her last studio effort, Sade returned triumphantly with a new album last week, and it shot to the top of the Billboard 200. However, singer Jaheim returned as well, charting the second best debut this week.

Sade's Soldier of Love ringed in with major numbers this week, earning her the top spot with a whopping 502,000 copies sold. It's her best sales week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, according to Billboard.com.

The numbers are also the best sales week on the Billboard 200 by a group (Sade is considered a group, with Sade Adu as the front woman) since AC/DC's Black Ice hit the charts at no. 1 back in November 2008 with 784,000 copies sold.

Soldier is Sade's second no. 1 album. She spent two weeks at no. 1 back in 1986 with Promise. SoundScan didn't exist back then though.

The second-highest debut this week comes from Jaheim whose new album, Another Round, hit no. 3 with 112,000. His last album, The Makings of a Man, dropped in December 2007, opening at no. 11 with 176,000. Another Round's performance gives Jaheim his fourth top 10 album and second-highest charting set, following his no. 1-peaking Ghetto Classics in 2006.

In behind Jaheim is Lil Wayne's latest, Rebirth, which fell to no. 4 this week with 89,000 copies sold; then Lady Gaga's The Fame fell to no. 7 with 76,000; while the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. slide down two spots to no. 8 with 67,000.

Outside the top 10, Alicia Keys' Element of Freedom came in at no. 12 with 40,000, putting her over the 1 million sold mark.

That wraps things up this week. To cop any of these new releases, head over to Amazon.com.

According to Billboard.com, overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Feb. 14) totaled 7.83 million units, up 17% compared to the sum last week (6.72 million) and down 8% compared to the comparable sales week of 2009 (8.56 million).
[Edited 2/18/10 10:51am]

The album was a bit of disappointment for me.

Gold, with a chocolate center..lol

The Jaheim is going to drop like a stone, thats gonna be its one week of sales, artists like that need week one, for Ssade she will be pretty steady, not 500,000 a week that will most likely see a drop of about 50-75% which is normal, but she will hang around a bit. And valentines day was a good week for her to have something new out, alot of guys that got their for their girls and moms.