On the charts: 'Twilight' can't match the power of Buble; Dylan, Archuleta in a Christmas album bout
Vocalist Michael Bublé maintains his grip on the top of the pop charts, withstanding a challenge from the international phenom that is teen soap opera "The Twilight Saga." Bublé's Oprah Winfrey-endorsed "Crazy Love" sold 203,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to once again lead the pop chart. In about 10 days of release -- "Crazy Love" was released off-cycle on a Friday rather than the typical Tuesday -- the album has racked up 350,000 sales.
How impressive is that? The hype for Mariah Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" began way back in June, and the superstar release has sold 250,000 copies in three full weeks of release.
Buble also fends off the much-hyped soundtrack to "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which lands at No. 2 on the strength of 115,000 copies sold. Yet "New Moon" is likely in it for the long haul. The soundtrack to the first film sits at No. 63, having sold just under 2.3 million copies to date.
Additionally, "New Moon" won't be released in theaters until Nov. 20, and expect the soundtrack to still be in the upper echleon of the chart when the film hits theaters. Earlier this year, the soundtrack to "Hannah Montana: The Movie" opened with 146,000 copies sold and fell short of the top spot on the pop 200.
Yet the album was released two weeks in advance of the film and eventually moved into the top spot. Heading into this week, it was the third-bestselling soundtrack of 2009, tallying 1.6 million in sales thus far. Only Michael Jackson's "Number Ones" and Taylor Swift's "Fearless" have sold more in 2009.
Otherwise, the second-best entry in the top 10 comes from the Flaming Lips, whose double-LP, 18-track "Embryonic" bows at No. 8. It sold just under 32,000 copies, and though Billboard's Chart Alert reports that the position is the band's highest-ever chart entry, it enters with significantly fewer first-week sales than 2006's "At War With the Mystics," which landed with 48,000 copies sold.
Just below the Lips is the fourth release from R&B singer Mario, "D.N.A." Sales are just a few hundred copies off the Lips total, but Billboard notes that the artist's 2007 effort "Go" landed with a much higher sales total at 77,000 copies, emphasizing that the latter was released during the holiday season.
Elsewhere, in a Christmas-album bout between Bob Dylan and David Archuleta, Dylan comes out on top. Dylan's charity album "Christmas in the Heart" enters at No. 23 with 20,000 copies sold, and Archuleta's similarly titled "Christmas From the Heart" lands at No. 30 with 17,000 copies sold. Further down, Sugarland's take on holiday cheer, "Gold and Green," makes for a No. 56 entry with about 9,500 copies sold.
-- Todd Martens
Photo: Michael Bublé. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / Los Angeles Times
Bob Dylan and David Archuleta both sold nicely for Christmas albums released in mid-October. It's a bit early for Christmas but I already have David's album and I love it! The sound clips barely hint at the songs. For anyone who would like to hear some of David's album, you can find the album on lastfm and preview full tracks.
Posted by: violet4ever | October 21, 2009 at 02:05 PM
The New Moon soundtrack should be number one. If it's not now, it will be - there are just so many more fans than Buble's fans. Aren't we tired of Oprah telling us what to read, see and listen to? Really she has no music or film education.
Rusted Root is such a great band. If you like Flaming Lips and Archuletta, you will like RR. The lead singer Michael has a voice that is as good or better than Archie or Buble. See news and their music at Peoplemagazinedaily.com in the URL with my name.
Posted by: Jen | October 21, 2009 at 03:12 PM
David Archuleta 's christmas album is stunning, i will enjoy it for many years to come.
Posted by: lisa | October 21, 2009 at 04:48 PM
I love Mariah Carey's new album. I'm so happy for her that she's still doing so well after so many years of hit singles. Also, if anyone is interested I found a live stripped performance Mariah did a few weeks ago in NYC, and it features some of her new songs. Enjoy!
http://www.iheartradio.com/cc-common/ondemand/stripped.html?apid=6057&cmp=AJMCStripped
Posted by: h3artbr3ak3r99 | October 22, 2009 at 07:12 AM
I absolutely love David Archuleta's Christmas CD. His debut album is great too. Let go of any preconceived ideas you may have about him and just listen to an amazing artist. Please check out his CDs and if you get a chance, listen to him live. He is even more incredible in person. Tickets for his Christmas concerts are currently on sale for some venues and will be going on sale for others.
I love Buble's new song!
Posted by: StarryLaurie | October 23, 2009 at 08:39 AM
I love it that the Mariah Carey fan failed to notice that Mariah's album is bombing on the charts. She hasn't sold in 3 weeks what her previous release sold in one week. The article is comparing her poor performance to Michael Buble's great sales!
Posted by: Clint | October 23, 2009 at 09:56 AM