OutKast Staves Off Four Top-10 Debuts
Billboard Magazine
Jonathen Cohen
Thanks for the alert, Jeff!
OutKast staves off four top-10 debuts on The Billboard 200 to remain at No. 1 for a second week with “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” (Arista). Despite a 54% drop from its first-week total, the album sold just shy of 234,900 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, bringing its overall sales to 744,500.
The next three entries are brand new, beginning with Bad Boy’s Da Band’s “Too Hot for T.V.” (Bad Boy) at No. 2. The group was assembled under the tutelage of rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, a process chronicled on the MTV show “Making the Band.” The act’s debut sold 203,800 copies in its first week.
Sting’s “Sacred Love” (A&M) lands at No. 3 on sales of 194,680 copies. It’s the former Police frontman’s highest-charting album since 1993’s “Ten Summoner’s Tales” (No. 2) and a major improvement over 1999’s “Brand New Day,” which opened at No. 15. The new album’s first single, “Send Your Love,” is No. 34 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart.
Right behind at No. 4 is Dido’s “Life for Rent” (Arista), which sold 191,580 copies. The British vocalist’s debut, “No Angel,” peaked at No. 4 in March 2001 and went on to sell 3.9 million copies in the U.S. “Life for Rent” is already a major hit abroad, having debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart over the weekend.
Country vocalist Martina McBride debuts at a career-best No. 7 with “Martina” (RCA), which sold 122,600 copies. The album’s first single, “This One’s for the Girls” featuring Faith Hill, is No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks.
Outside the top-10, Bette Midler enjoys her highest debut in 13 years with “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook” (Columbia), which lands at No. 14. Midler hasn’t been this high on The Billboard 200 since “Some People’s Lives” debuted at No. 6 in October 1990.
Other notable debuts include Gary Allan’s “See If I Care” (MCA Nashville) at No. 17, Ill Nino’s “Confession” (Roadrunner) at No. 37, Luis Miguel’s “33” (WEA Latina) at No. 43, Bonnie Raitt’s “The Best of Bonnie Raitt” (Capitol) at No. 47 and Lyle Lovett’s “My Baby Don’t Tell” (Curb) at No. 63.
