Pop Music

Holy moley! Twelve, count 'em twelve, debut records in this week's Top 20 album chart, starting with the number-one NOW 30 various-artists compilation and the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack at number two.

The Twilight soundtrack is at number three, then you've got Papa Roach's Metamorphosis at eight, Jim Jones's Pray IV Reign at nine and Martina McBride's Shine at 10.

The newness keeps on coming with Mastodon's Crack the Skye at 11, Blue October's Approaching Normal at 13, Slim Thug's Boss of All Bosses at 15, John Rich's Son of a Preacher Man at 16 and Eric Church's Carolina at 17.

And if that's not enough, Yanni finishes off the top 20 with Voices.

The total sales numbers are actually mixed this week - a respite from the usual unrelenting awfulness. Basically the news for CD sales is looking a little better than last year, but still crappy in the long haul. Digital sales, presumably, are taking over:

• Album units, current chart week: 6.7 million units

• UP 10% from last week's charts: 6.1 million units

• DOWN 12% from same week, 2008: 7.7 million units

• This week: The top three albums each sell more than 100,000 copies.

• This week last year on the Billboard 200: Day26's self-titled album entered atop the list with 190,000, and Panic! at the Disco's Pretty, Odd started at No. 2 with 139,000. Counting Crows' Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings debuted at No. 3 with 106,000. The previous week's No. 1, Danity Kane's Welcome to the Dollhouse, slipped to No. 4 with 89,000 (down 62%).

• The No. 10 album this week, Martina McBride's Shine (RCA), sold 41,000.

• The No. 10 album for the same week of 2008, Sara Bareilles' Little Voice (Epic/Sony Music), sold 31,000.

• Average total of the No. 10 album for the same week of the year during the past 10 years (2000-2009): 63,150.

Ugh. Danity Kane.

Anyway, I've just given you most of the chart, but for completeness's sake, it's all here.

 Tags  Billboard Hannah Montana Jim Jones NOW 30 Papa Roach

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