Record Numbers
People still buy records. HEAVE breaks down the numbers.
Backed by a ridiculously catchy single and a non-stop blitz of MTV promo-spots, Alicia Keys took a commanding spot atop the charts this week, selling 742,000 copies of As I Am. Those numbers are the best for a solo female artist in almost four years, and the second best sales of 2007, behind only Kanye West. With the holiday gift season shifting into high-gear, and Keys' album featuring at least two other ready-made singles, As I Am should continue to have strong sales for the next several weeks.
Speaking of strong sales, Oprah proved once again that she dictates the purchasing habits of millions of women world-wide. After featuring Josh Groban's Noel on her show last week, the album's sales jumped up 93% with 223,000 copies. The increase helped the album leap frog from number six to number two.
Everyone's favorite clinically-insane French Canadian pop artist Celine Dion grabbed the third spot on the charts after moving 214,000 copies of Taking Chances, her first new album in four years. NOW 26 - yes, we're up to 26 - landed in fourth place, selling a low-for-the-series 208,000 discs.
The chart's other two big stories were Jay-Z and Dane Cook. After grabbing the number one spot last week with American Gangster, Jah's sales plummeted by almost 70%, netting him a number eight spot with 131,000 in sales. Cook, on the other hand, had the best sales week of his career. The comedian moved 90,000 copies of his new live album, and though strong holiday sales of other albums relegated him to the eleventh spot of the chart, those numbers are still up from the first-week sales of his last comedy album.
One sad note: The Eagles Long Road Out of Eden held strong at number six with 197,000 copies sold. Everyone is baffled-we all know we hate the Eagles, man, so how the hell do they stay in the top ten this long?
Posted by Ryan Peters on Nov 22, 2007 @ 12:00 am
