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"New Moon" rises to No. 1 on Billboard 200
2009-10-28
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Billboard) - The soundtrack to the upcoming "Twilight" movie sequel grabbed the No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop chart Wednesday, while Tim McGraw followed at No. 2 with his lowest debut sales week for a studio set. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sold 153,000 copies during the week ended October 25, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The disc debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 last Wednesday after going on sale early the prior Friday and selling 115,000 copies in just three days. The Atlantic Records release features music by Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke, and the Killers. The soundtrack to the first "Twilight" movie debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last November with 165,000 copies. The sequel opens in theaters on November 20. "New Moon" is the second movie soundtrack to top the Billboard 200 this year, following the "Hannah Montana" album in May. McGraw's tenth studio album, "Southern Voice," sold 137,000 copies. That's quite a chunk from the 325,000 copies that greeted the country king's last studio set, 2007's "Let It Go." In fact, "Southern Voice's" arrival marks the lowest debut sales week for a McGraw studio album since his 1995 set "All I Want" began with 110,000 at No. 4. Joss Stone's "Color Me Free" was the Billboard 200's second-highest debut, arriving at No. 10 with 27,000 copies. The Virgin set, available through Target and iTunes, also marks a big drop for the British singer. In 2007, "Introducing Joss Stone" debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 118,000 copies. German rock band Rammstein notched its highest charting album ever, as "Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da" bowed at No. 13 with 22,000 copies. Previously, the group's best rank came with its 1998 chart debut "Sehnsucht," which peaked at No. 45 on the strength of its only U.S. radio chart hit, "Du Hast." After reigning for two weeks at No. 1, Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" fell to No. 3 with 102,000 copies, while Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" slipped one to No. 4 with 43,000. Miley Cyrus' "The Time Of Our Lives" held at No. 5 with 39,000. Also unchanged were the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." at No. 6 with 35,000 and Taylor Swift's "Fearless" at No. 7 with 34,000. Electronica musician Owl City's "Ocean Eyes" jumped 12 places to No. 8 with 28,000. The set is powered by the hit single "Fireflies," the No. 1 track on the Hot Digital Songs chart. Barbra Streisand's "Love Is the Answer" fell five to No. 9 with just under 28,000. Overall album sales totaled 5.73 million units, down 2 percent compared to the previous week, but down 19 percent compared to the same sales week of 2008. Year to date album sales stand at 281.2 million units, down 14 percent compared to the same total at this point last year. Next week's No. 1 on the Billboard 200 will likely be Michael Jackson's "This Is It," the companion set to the concert film of the same name. Industry prognosticators suggest the album could shift between 300,000 and 350,000 copies this week.
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