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The music you bought this week: Amy Winehouse, LMFAO, more

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Music sales may no longer be the surefire barometer of success they once were, yet the Nielsen SoundScan charts Wednesday represent perhaps an even broader snapshot of artists resonating with fans. Though the charts are no longer the providence of the mainstream, below is a snapshot of some of the music that has inspired the populace to part with cash.


Remembering Winehouse: Fans expectedly swarmed to the music of Amy Winehouse in the days following the sudden passing of the troubled young pop star. With Winehouse’s death reported early Saturday and the SoundScan tracking period ending Sunday night, the bevy of Winehouse sales were from the digital sector. Her ‘Back to Black’ sold a total of 37,000 copies in the weekend span, but only 3,000 of those were of the non-download kind. Likewise, her debut effort ‘Frank’ sold 7,600 copies, 7,000 of which were digital.

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Though it’s no surprise for album sales to surge after a star’s death, things seem especially bittersweet with Winehouse because this was one of the bestselling weeks of her career. ‘Back to Black’’ sold 38,000 copies in the first full sales week following the 2008 Grammy Awards, when the artist performed live from London and won five trophies. Her ‘Back to Black’ total pushed the album back onto the chart at No. 9, and to date has sold more than 2.3 million copies.

Winehouse paved the way . . . The top-selling artist of 2011 thus far, Adele, is one that no doubt owes a bit of a debt to Winehouse. Though Adele is more restrained as a singer, it was the success of Winehouse that opened the doors for other retro-minded artists. Adele’s ‘21’ has once again returned to the top of the U.S. pop charts after having sold another 77,000 copies. Thus far, ‘21’ has managed to sell more than 2.7 million copies. This is Adele’s 11th, non-consecutive week at the top.

Still around. The fifth album from rock act 3 Doors Down, ‘Time of My Life,’ is new to the Top 10 this week, entering at No. 3 after selling just under 60,000 copies. The act, however, is a long way removed from the first week’s sales figures of its last effort, a self-titled 2008 album, according to the Billboard archives.The latter entered at No. 1 after having sold 154,000 copies. A little further down, ‘90s survivor 311 enters the chart at No. 7 with 46,000 copies sold of its latest, ‘Universal Pulse.’

Progress reports: Looking briefly at some major recent releases, country artist Blake Shelton falls from his No. 1 spot last week to No. 6 this week. In its second week of release his ‘Red River Blue’ sold 47,000 copies and 163,000 copies to date. Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ has been in and out of the Top 10 since its release in late May, and this week sits at No. 12 after having sold 27,000 copies. To date, Gaga’s latest, which debuted with 1.1 million sold, has moved 1.6 million copies.

Locals: Hip-hop frivolities LMFAO coast to a fourth week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart and also continue to lead in digital sales. The act’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ sold 209,000 downloads this week, giving the song a total 2.4 million download sales. Fans remain skeptical of the album, however, as sales this week of ‘Sorry for Party Rocking’ are down about 9% from last week. The album is at No. 58 after selling just over 7,000 copies. So far, the full-length has sold 65,000 copies.

The news is better for the long player from electronic-pop act Foster the People, whose sales of ‘Torches’ are up 11% this week. With more than 12,000 sold, the album, at No. 34, has logged 124,000 copies to date.

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Sublime with Rome, the latter of whom wasted no time to snare headlines in the wake of Winehouse’s passing, fall out of the Top 10 this week with ‘Yours Truly.’ The album, the act’s first with singer Rome Ramirez filling in for the late Bradley Nowell, slips from No. 9 to No. 30 this week, having sold 13,000 copies this week and 48,000 total.

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Amy Winehouse: An Appreciation

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Rome Ramirez pays tribute to Amy Winehouse with his cover of ‘Rehab’

-- Todd Martens

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