Groban Ties Elvis With Third Week At No. 1

December 12, 2007, 10:50 AM ET
Katie Hasty, N.Y.

With the holiday season marching on, Josh Groban's "Noel" retains its lead on The Billboard 200 for a third week straight. With an 8% sales increase, the 143/Reprise set moved 581,000 units in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Groban thus ties Elvis Presley as the record-holder for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 with a Christmas album.

Alicia Keys' "As I Am" (J) climbs a notch 3-2 with 234,000 (-9%), while the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" (Eagles Recording Co.) flip-flops with it, falling 2-3 with 204,000 (-35%). The multi-label "Now 26" hits compilation holds tight at No. 4 for a second week with 158,000, with a 25% sales boost.

Miley Cyrus' Disney double-disc set "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus" ascends 7-5 with a 37% increase to 132,000. Another Disney sequel set, "High School Musical 2," keeps the No. 6 spot warm for a third week straight with 128,000 (+31%). Selling 107,000, Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride" (Arista Nashville) slides up 9-7 with a 20% sales bump. Meanwhile, Garth Brooks' Pearl set "The Ultimate Hits" slips 5-8 with a 7% sales hit to 105,000.

Big Machine artist Taylor Swift's self-titled debut re-enters the top tier 12-9 at 99,000 with a 39% sales boost. The young singer earned a best new artist Grammy nod last week and has also scored her first No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs tally with "Our Song."

This year's "American Idol" runner-up, Blake Lewis, starts at No. 10 with his debut album, "Audio Day Dream" (19 Recordings/Arista), moving 98,000. Lewis' opening sales week and chart debut is lower than that of three other "AI" runner-ups' debuts (Clay Aiken, Bo Bice and Katharine McPhee), but larger than two others (Justin Guarini and Diana DeGarmo).

Other big debuts this week include Houston rapper Scarface's "Made" (Rap A Lot, No. 17, 63,000), Trace Adkins' "American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II" (Capitol, No. 22, 53,000), Drama's "Gangsta Grillz: The Album" (AMG/Grand Hustle/Atlantic, No. 26, 49,000), Wyclef Jean's "Carnival Vol. II: Memories of an Immigrant" (Columbia, No. 28, 46,000), Godsmack's hits compilation "Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack" (Universal, No. 35, 40,000) and rapper Ghostface Killah's "The Big Doe Rehab" (Def Jam, No. 41, 36,000).

Sales this week (14.45 million units) are down 23.3% from the same week last year (18.86 million). This week's sum is up 17.9% from last week's.

No Stopping Keys Atop Pop, R&B Charts

December 06, 2007, 10:40 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Alicia Keys continues to dominate the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "No One," which is No. 1 on the latter chart for a third week and the former for an eighth. Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain is up 3-2, trading places with Timbaland's "Apologize" featuring OneRepublic.

Flo Rida's "Low" featuring T-Pain holds at No. 4 but ascends to No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs tally. Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" is up 6-5, while Fergie's "Clumsy" increase 7-6. Also up a notch is Kanye West's "Good Life" featuring T-Pain at No. 7, while Soulja Boy's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" drops 5-8.

Rihanna's "Hate That I Love You" featuring Ne-Yo remains at No. 9, and Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer" hits the top 10 with an 11-10 move. Another Keys song, "Like You'll Never See Me Again," is the fastest growing track at radio and soars 46-29.

The fastest growing digital song is Britney Spears' "Piece of Me," which jumps 63-47. Chris Brown's "With You" is the top debut at No. 72. With the No. 76 debut of Snoop Dogg's "Sensual Seduction," the rapper extends his streak of having at least one song chart per year to 10.

On Hot Country Songs, Carrie Underwood's "So Small" is No. 1 for a third week. Sugarland claims its seventh top 10 on the tally with "Stay," which moves up 12-10. Toby Keith's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is the top debut at No. 51.

As expected, the Foo Fighters tie the record for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Modern Rock chart with "The Pretender" at 16. The group stands a strong change of setting a new mark last week, which would eclipse Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Scar Tissue."

Seether's "Fake It" is No. 1 on Mainstream Rock for a fifth week.

Groban Remains No. 1 In Slow Release Week

December 05, 2007, 10:45 AM ET

Katie Hasty, N.Y.

Not a single new release arrives in the top tiers of The Billboard 200 this week, as Josh Groban's "Noel" retains its lead on the chart for a second week. The 143/Reprise effort moved 539,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 33% increase in sales.

The Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" (Eagles Recording Co.) soars 5-2 with a 70% boost to 313,000, fueled in part by the band's interview on "60 Minutes."

Alicia Keys' "As I Am" (J) slips 2-3 with 257,000 (-26%), while hits compilation "Now 26" falls 3-4 with 127,000 (-46%). Garth Brooks' Pearl set "The Ultimate Hits" descends a notch 4-5 with a 41% sales hit to 112,000. The soundtrack to Disney's "High School Musical 2" holds tight at No. 6 with 98,000, a 47% drop.

Miley Cyrus' Disney double-disc set "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus" re-enters the top 10 with a 12-7 move. The album sold 96,000, a 3% drop. Sitting at No. 8 for a second week is Celine Dion's Columbia album "Taking Chances" with 93,000 (-28%).

Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride" (Arista Nashville) falls 7-9 after selling 89,000 (-37%). Holiday staple Mannheim Steamroller's latest American Gramaphone effort "Christmas Song" vaults 21-10 with 77,000, a 24% uptick.

The week's biggest debut is rapper Pitbull's "The Boatlift" (TVT) at No. 50 with 22,000. Coming in with only a few dozen sales fewer is Mudvayne's fan-generated Epic collection "By the People for the People" at No. 51.

There are 26 holiday titles on The Billboard 200 this week, as compared to the 20 that graced the chart the same week last year. Sales this week (12.26 million units) are down 16.9% from the same week last year (14.75 million). This week's sum is down 12.1% from last week's.

No One Took the No. 1 Spot

"A day after debuting at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with "As I Am" (J), Alicia Keys assumes control of the Billboard Hot 100 with "No One," which inches up from No. 2. The track sold 210,000 downloads, an 88% increase from last week, and remains No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a sixth week." - Billboard

1. Alicia Keys - No One
2. Chris Brown Featuring T-Pain - Kiss Kiss
3. Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic - Apologize
4. Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain - Low
5. Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
6. Soulja Boy Tell'em - Crank That (Soulja Boy)
7. Kanye West Featuring T-Pain - Good Life
8. Fergie - Clumsy
9. Baby Bash Featuring T-Pain - Cyclone
10. Kanye West - Stronger

Keys Storms Chart With Mega-Selling 'As I Am'

Alicia Keys storms The Billboard 200 this week with "As I Am" (J), which debuts at No. 1 after selling 742,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's the best sales week for a solo female artist since Norah Jones' "Feels Like Home" shifted 1 million copies in 2004.

In a week where every top 10 album shifted more than 100,000 units, Josh Groban's "Noel" (143/Reprise) zooms 6-2 with a 93% increase to 223,000. Celine Dion's "Taking Chances" (Columbia), her first new pop album in four years, opens at No. 3 with 214,000. The multi-label, multi-artist "Now 26" collection is new at No. 4 with 208,000, the third lowest opening tally for the "Now" line.

Garth Brooks' "The Ultimate Hits" (Pearl) slips 3-5 (-42%, 204,000), while the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" (Eagles Recording Co.) drops 2-6 (-45%, 197,000). Led Zeppelin's two-disc retrospective "Mothership" (Swan Song/Atlantic) debuts at No. 7 after selling 136,000, 25% of which came digitally.

Last week's chart-topper, Jay-Z's "American Gangster" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) plummets 1-8 with a 70% decrease to 131,000, while Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride" (Arista Nashville) drops 5-9 despite a small 6% decrease to 113,000. Chris Brown's "Exclusive" (Jive) falls 4-10 in its second week, thanks to a 63% decline to 110,000.

Comedian Dane Cook's "Rough Around the Edges: Live From Madison Square Garden" (Comedy Central) debuts at No. 11 with 90,000. His last set, 2005's "Retaliation," made history as the highest debuting comedy album in the history of The Billboard 200 when it bowed at No. 4. That effort started with 86,000.

At No. 12, the Killers enter the chart with the rarities collection "Sawdust" (Island), which sold 82,000. George Strait's "22 More Hits" (MCA Nashville) is new at No. 13 with 80,000, while James Taylor's debut for Starbucks' Hear Music imprint, "One Man Band," arrives at No. 16 with 63,000.

Five other albums open inside the top 40 this week, led by Boyz II Men's "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA" (Decca) at No. 27 with 42,000. Right behind are Trisha Yearwood's "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love" (Big Machine, No. 30, 33,000), Goo Goo Dolls' "Greatest Hits, Volume 1, The Singles" (Warner Bros., No. 33, 33,000), Seal's "System" (Warner Bros., No. 35, 30,000) and Duran Duran's "Red Carpet Massacre" (Epic, No. 36, 29,000).

Album sales are up 17.9% from last week's to 11.72 million, but down 6.2% from the same week last year.

No One

Single: No One
Artist: Alicia Keys
Album: As I Am

If you love Alicia Keys then you’ll love her new single No One. But, if your an avid fan of R&B music. Then, you’ll have to review and criticize the song. I’m a R&B lover and for me the song is ‘ayt. Alicia’s vocals in this song really sounds haggard and and not relax. She’s trying to belt the high notes in a husky and not so relax approach which make me remove my ear phones an inch away from my eardrums. What I really love about the song is the emotion that Alicia Keys is conveying. BTW, I love the beat, bass and melody of her new single.