Game hits top Billboard spot with ‘R.E.D. Album’ despite delays
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Game’s fourth album, “The R.E.D. Album,” took about two years and a slew of scrapped release dates to make it into stores. But it all paid off for the rapper, as the disc bowed at No. 1 with 98,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
This is the third No. 1 debut for the Compton rapper, after 2005’s ‘The Documentary’ and 2007’s ‘Doctor’s Advocate.’ His last album, 2008’s ‘LAX,’ debuted at No. 2 after the disc moved 239,000 units.
Game also released a companion book, “The Making of Game’s The R.E.D. Album,” that documents the constant delays and working with Dr. Dre, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross and Pharrell for the project.
Though his tally was enough to knock Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Watch the Throne’ out of the top slot -- the duo sits at No. 2 after moving 94,000 additional copies -- the rapper shouldn’t get too comfortable in his position, as another MC is set to take the throne. Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated ‘Tha Carter IV,’ which was released Monday, is being projected to sell upward of 850,000 copies, according to Billboard.
Other notes from this week’s chart:
-- Adele’s record-breaking opus ‘21’ logged an additional 82,000 copies. But with Sunday being the final day for Soundscan tracking, it’s still too early to see what kind of boost the British diva will get from her debut on the MTV Video Music Awards stage, where she belted out the disc’s new single, ‘Someone Like You.’
-- Barbra Streisand can add another Top 10 debut into her catalog as her 33rd album, “What Matters Most: Barbra Streisand Sings the Lyrics of Alan and Marilyn Bergman,’ opened at No. 4 , having sold 68,000 copies.
-- Miranda Lambert’s side project, Pistol Annies, rounded out the top five. Their debut, ‘Hell on Heels,’ logged 44,000 copies. The girl group, which also includes Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, formed in April. The disc will debut at No. 1 on the country albums chart. Lambert will release her next disc, ‘Four the Record,’ in November.
RELATED: Album Review: Game’s ‘The R.E.D. Album’
Album review: Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter IV’
-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
Twitter.com / gerrickkennedy
