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130X A WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF NOTABLE CHART ACHIEVEMENTS

Adele In Elite Company, And `Mormon' Rules

After the Band Perry and As expected, Adele's "21" album con- week, that marks the set's fifth straight cations. The one unconventional pro- Thompson Square had their tinues to cling to the No. 1 spot on the week where it has sold at least 100,000 motion that Gaga's record company Country Digital Songs current its debut, it has yet to sell wasn't affiliated with was Amazon MP3's hits (Nos. 4 and 5, Billboard 200 for a ninth nonconsecu- copies. Since respectively; see page 43) tive week -just the fourth album since fewer than 88,000 copies in a week. amazingly low 99 cent one -day discount by performed last week 2000 to spend that long at No. 1. It sold What's more remarkable is that an on the set on Monday, May 23. Sources "American Idol" contestants, have in they post gains that exceed 137,000 last week, accord- album that, at least on the indicate the stunt may brought 50 %. Meanwhile, Teen Italian ing to Nielsen SoundScan surface, seemed to be des- more than 300,000 downloads of the vocal trio II Volo also benefits Over The (down 12 %). tined for huge success album alone (see story, page 5). from an "Idol" performance, entering the Billboard 200 at In the history of the Counter with NPR fans and triple If "Born This Way" hits the magic 1 No. 10. Billboard 200 -dating KEITH A radio listeners, has gen- million mark, it will be the 17th album CAULFIELD back to 1956 -"21" is only erated a bona fide top 40 to sell a million copies in one week, in and the first to do so since Taylor .gpt. ruuC ANO cvMCf rH TREY PASSIM WW1" LOPEZ tun MON The rapture predicted for smash with "Rolling T C S T N c c o e p I N 6 a S I O W A A the 12th album by o M i G I N A l S O A May 21 didn't live up to its woman to spend nine the Deep." (It's No. 3 on Swift's "Speak Now" debuted at No. 1 hype. But people were singi or more atop the Mainstream Top 40 air- on the Nov. 13, 2010, chart with 1.1 No. 1 on the Top Cast Albums chart - along to R.E.M.'s "It's the Er weeks of the World As We Know It list. The longest reign for play this week.) million sold. the 24th topper since the list began in (And I Feel Fine)" (10,000 a is I can't tell you how jar- Considering it was only two weeks 2006. Plus, "Mormon" notches the best downloads, up 634 %) and female album Whit- a Blondie's "Rapture" (3,000, up ney Houston's "The Bodyguard" sound- ring-yet triumphant and pleasing -it ago when industry sources were pro- sales week for digital -only cast 218 %). track, with 20 weeks at No. 1. was to hear "Rolling" on KIIS Los An- jecting that "Born" was "only" going to album, as its physical edition won't The others? Carole King's "Tapes- geles one morning on the drive into do around 500,000, having it approach street until June 7. music and lyrics by try" (1971, 15 weeks), Houston's self- work. It was sandwiched between Brit - 1 million (even with Amazon MP3's The show -with titled album (1986, 14), Judy Garland's ney Spears' "Till the World Ends" and 99 cent stunt goosing the first week) "South Park" creators Trey Parker and "Judy at Carnegie Hall" (1961, 13), Lady Gaga's "Judas" on the station's is mighty impressive. Matt Stone and "Avenue Q" co- writer Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" top five countdown at 9 a.m. Robert Lopez -recently earned 14 (1995, 12), Mariah Carey's self-titled HOT 'MORMON' ACTION: The orig- Tony Award nominations, the most of album (1991, 11), Houston's "Whitney" GAGA, RAH RAH: Surely Adele's "21" inal Broadway cast recording of "The any show this year. (1987, 11), Taylor Swift's "Fearless" won't be No. 1 next week, as Lady Book of Mormon" (13,000) flies onto Ads touting the cast album have (2008, 11), Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Gaga's "Born This Way" is expected to the Billboard 200 at No. 31, the high- been running during airings of "South while Girl" (1989,10), the Singing Nun's self- bow atop the list with as many as 1 mil- est- charting cast album since "Dis- Park" on Comedy Central, NewSong finally grabs its titled album (1963, 10) and Janis lion copies sold. ney's The Little Mermaid" arrived at Parker and Stone have chatted up the first No. 1 on the Christian 15, 2008, show on everything from NBC's Albums list with its 12th Joplin's "Pearl" (1971; nine). The folks at Interscope and Univer- No. 26 on the March chart charting effort as "One True "21" has been a remarkably consis- sal Music Group Distribution left no (20,000). The start for "Mormon" is "Today" to "The Daily Show With Jon list wit God" debuts atop the tent- selling album -but if you're read- stone unturned when it came to finding also the best debut sales week for a Stewart." The set also received promi- 14,000. The act formed in 1 Store and notched its first chart It ing this, you're likely not surprised by opportunities to promote the set -and cast set since "Mermaid." nent placement in the iTunes in 1989. this nugget. With 137,000 sold this past to sell it in unconventional ways and lo- Naturally, "Mormon" also starts at last week.

I `1 A Weekly National Music Sales Report VIa rice ` a `cli For week ending May 22, 2011. Figures are rounded niclscn Compiled from a national sample of retail store and rack I-I sales reports collected and provided by C A RI Weekly Unit Sales Year -To -Date Sound Scan DIGITAL DIGITAL ALBUMS' TRACKS 2010 2011 CHANGE Year -To -Date Album Í3I =A1' ALBUMS This Week 5,407,000 1,779,000 24,284,000 OVERALL UNIT SALES » "Pure Imagination" graces the Sales By Store Type Albums 120,431,000 119,192,000 -1.0% Billboard Hot 100 for the first Last Week 5,679,000 1,826,000 24,787,000 60million units time, as the "Glee" cast's cover of Tracks 9.7% Digital 466,262,000 511,444,000 co the song from the 1971 film "Willy Change -4.8% -2.6% -2.0% Store Singles 793,000 1,078,000 35.9% tÇ Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" THsWefklastMaar 5,324,000 1,535,000 21,991,000 gel + enters at No. 59. Michael Total 587,486,000 631,714,000 7.5% 50 Feinstein's interpretation has Change 1.6% 15.9% 10.4% Albums w/TEA' 167,057,200 170, 336,400 2.0% charted on Jazz Digital Songs and 'Digital album sales are also counted within album sales. 'Includes track equivalent album sales (TEA) with 10 track downloads equivalent Kid Digital Songs, while Mariah to one album sale. Carey released a remix of her Weekly Album Sales (Million Units) 40 1999 No. 4 Hot 100 hit, "I Still Believe," that incorporated the 30 cinema classic's melody. ALBUM SALES e 25 30 »Speaking of Carey, her '10 husband, multimedia entertainer Nick Cannon, debuts at No. 3 on '11 119.2 million 20 - 2011 Comedy Albums with "Mr. 20 Showbiz," released digitally May 16. (A physical version is due May 15 31.) The set is his first entry on Top R &B /Hip -Hop Albums (No.66) SALES BY ALBUM FORMAT 10 10 since 2003 when his self-titled CD 86,747,000 79,576,000 -8.3% debut reached No.15. 5.4M Digital 38,139,000 16.9% 5 32,612,000 Read Chart Beat Vinyl 1,058,000 1,453,000 37.3% O - every week at Non- Mass Chain bIllboard.com/chartbeat. Indies o Other 15,000 24,000 60.0% traditional Merchant J FM A M J J A S O N D J Go to www.billboard.biz for complete chart data 37