September 5, 2007 at 12:49:00 PM
Soundtrack to Disney TV movie is top-selling album in the US for a third straight week.
For a third week in a row, Disney's High School Musical 2 soundtrack is No. 1 on The Billboard 200, the first album to do so since Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang in early 2006. HSM 2 sold 210,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 43 percent decline over last week. The album has already shifted more than 1.19 million units since its release.
There are four debuts in the top 10 this week, led by Christian act Casting Crowns' The Altar and the Door (Reunion) at a career-best No. 2. The album sold 129,000 copies, also a new record for the group. Altar is the group's third studio album and easily surpasses its previous chart high--No. 8 with Lifesong (71,000) in 2005.
Yung Joc's Hustlenomics lands at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums after selling 69,000 copies. The Bad Boy set matches the Billboard 200 debut position of his first album, 2006's New Joc City.
Miley Cyrus' Disney double-disc set Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus falls 3-4 in its 10th chart week, despite a miniscule sales increase to 58,000. Fergie's The Dutchess (Interscope) rebounds 6-5 with a 400-copy increase to 51,000, while New Line's Hairspray soundtrack descends 4-6 on a 16 percent sales slide to 45,000. The NOW 25 compilation is down 5-7 after a 16 percent sales drop-off to 44,000.
New at No. 8 is Atreyu's first Hollywood album, Lead Sails Paper Anchor, which opens at a career-high No. 8 with 43,000. The band's last studio set, 2006's A Death-Grip on Yesterday, bowed at No. 9 with 67,000. Right behind, Ben Harper scores his second top 10 album as Lifeline (Virgin) starts at No. 9 with 41,000. 2006's "Both Sides of the Gun" debuted at No. 7 with 59,000.
Also new this week are Lyle Lovett's It's Not Big It's Large at No. 18 (Lost Highway, 25,000), Kottonmouth Kings' Cloud Nine at No. 44 (Suburban Noize, 14,000), and rapper Aesop Rock's None Shall Pass at No. 50 (Definitive Jux, 13,000).
Meanwhile, Akon's Konvicted (SRC/Universal) soars 64-23 this week thanks to the release of an expanded edition of the album with several new songs. Sales jumped 112 percent to more than 22,000 copies in the album's 42nd chart week. Christian act MercyMe can thank a new low pricing initiative for the re-entry of its INO/Columbia album Coming Up To Breathe at No. 43; sales were up an astounding 544 percent to 15,000 copies, six months after the set last appeared on the chart.
Album sales this week are down 4.9 percent compared to last week's sum at 7.65 million units and down 18.6 percent from same week last year.
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