Album Sales: Lionel Richie Climbs to No. 1; Gotye Races Up the Chart Following 'SNL'

http://music-mix.ew.com/2012/04/18/album-sales-lionel-richie-number-one-monica-gotye-bonnie-raitt/

Two weeks ago, Madonna’s MDNA beat Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee pretty handily on the Billboard 200, but just 14 days later, Lionel Richie has climbed into first place and Madonna is no longer in the Top 10 at all. In the battle of chart longevity, Richie’s latest has legs.

Indeed, Tuskegee is proving to be a blockbuster album for Richie, and it leads the chart in its third week with sales of 129,000. Also debuting on the chart are new discs from Monica, Bonnie Raitt, and Hoodie Allen. Check out the full Top 10 below:

1. Lionel Richie, Tuskegee – 129,000
The veteran singer’s foray into country music got a big boost from a CBS special called ACM Presents: Lionel Richie & Friends in Concert that aired on Friday, April 13 and nabbed almost 8 million viewers. Shot the day after the ACM Awards in Las Vegas, the special featured performances with Rascal Flatts, Jennifer Nettles, and Jason Aldean, among other country superstars. Consequently, Richie’s album rose from number 4 to number 1 and has now sold 423,000 copies.

2. Adele, 21 – 92,000
In it’s 60th week on the chart, the 8x platinum album held strong in second place despite a 40 percent drop.

3. Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – 81,000
Although Minaj’s hit single “Starships” is holding well at No. 6 on the Hot 100, her sophomore album isn’t blasting off of shelves like her first disc, Pink Friday, did in 2010. In its second week, Roman Reloaded, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 last week, dropped 68 percent into third place and has now sold 334,000 copies. Sure, that’s an impressive total for any artist, but the original Pink Friday sold 375,000 copies in its first week alone.

4. Monica, New Life – 69,000
Except for her 1995 debut, Miss Thang, all of Monica’s studio albums have debuted in the Top 10 — this one is her fifth straight title to reach that tier. Sales are driven by her newest single, “It All Belongs to Me” which reunites her with “The Boy is Mine” collaborator Brandy.

5. One Direction, Up All Night – 66,000
The former #1 album spends a second week at No. 5, dropping just 28 percent. It has not left the Top 10 since its debut five weeks ago and has now sold 434,000 copies total.

6. Bonnie Raitt, Slipstream – 64,000
The 62-year-old blues/folk queen scored her best sales week since her smash 1994 album Longing in Their Hearts, which reached number one. The critically lauded Slipstream is Raitt’s fourth top 10 album — and her first since Hearts 18 years ago.

7. Gotye, Making Mirrors – 54,000
Following Gotye’s performance on Saturday Night Live, his album jumped 15-7 in its fourteenth week. His smash single “Somebody That I Used To Know” (featuring Kimbra) also tops the Hot 100 today after being downloaded 542,000 times — the fourth biggest download tally in history — in the last sales period.

8. Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls – 43,000
In its second week, the album, which got a physical release this week following a digital only debut frame increased by a very healthy 72 percent.

9. Rascal Flatts, Changed – 41,000
With a whopping 60 percent drop, the country trio dipped 3-9 in their second week.

10. Hoodie Allen, All American – 27,000.
Not many people had heard of the Jewish rapper (nee Steve Markowitz) before he topped the iTunes sales chart last Tuesday with this EP, but he still managed to land a buzzy No. 10 bow.

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So do you like any of the artists who have an album in the top 10 this week?

I cannot believe Adele is still selling this many every week. People have to be purchasing multiple copies at this point. But good for her.

I'm happy to see Gotye in the top 10. I'm really considering getting this album.

I'm surprised to see Bonnie Raitt in the top. I didn't really care for this one.

[b]Ikr how the fuck is that album still selling so well? Who doesn't have it already that likes her?

I am really happy for her. <3

And I agree with you Scott that I'm really glad Gotye's album is doing pretty well. I also might pick up his album. [/b]

thats good she is still doing well, yay for gotye. I might listen to some of these that I havent heard.

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