Beyonce on Top for 4th Week

Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is still on top on its 4th week with a massive 382,000 downloads from last week, a 152% increase from its previous week, while Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" is on no. 2 position with 419,000 downloads, a second best from Flo Rida's "Low" with 467,000 downloads, while T.I.'s "Live your Life" is on the no. 3 spot, Kanye West's "Heartless" is up on the no 4 spot and Taylor Swift's "Love Story" is on the 5th spot.

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Lil Wayne Notches Top-Selling Album Of '08

December 31, 2008 11:15 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Rapper Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money/Universal) is far and away the top seller of 2008, netting 2.88 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. However, it's the first time the best selling album of the year has sold less than 3 million since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

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'Twilight' Bumps AC/DC From Atop Billboard 200

November 12, 2008 , 11:10 AM ET
Katie Hasty, N.Y.

The soundtrack to "Twilight" starts atop The Billboard 200 this week, becoming the third No. 1 soundtrack this year after "Juno" and "Mamma Mia!"

The Chop Shop/Atlantic set moved 165,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, 29% of which (48,000) were digital downloads, the second biggest digital week for a soundtrack since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album download sales in 2004. "High School Musical 2 bowed with 62,000 downloads in August 2007.

"Twilight," released in advance of the movie's U.S. theatrical premiere on Nov. 21, boasts tracks from Linkin Park, Muse and Paramore. It's based on the popular vampire-themed book series from author Stephenie Meyer.

Last week's No. 1, AC/DC's "Black Ice" (Columbia), drops to No. 2 with 160,000 on a sales decrease of 41%. The soundtrack to Disney's "High School Musical 3" stays tight at No. 3 for a second week with a 32% slip to 110,000.

Moving 81,000, Hinder's sophomore Universal album "Take It to the Limit" bows at No. 4, besting the No. 6 peak of the band's 2005 debut, "Extreme Behavior." However, that effort ended up spending a whopping 96 weeks on the chart on its way to 2.7 million in sales.

Pink's LaFace/Zomba set "Funhouse" falls 2-5 with 73,000 (-60%), while John Legend's Columbia set "Evolver" is down 4-6 with 72,000 (-46%). Despite a 10% sales slip, T.I.'s Grand Hustle/Atlantic album "Paper Trail" keeps the No. 7 spot warm for a second week with 69,000.

Italian vocalist Andrea Bocelli arrives at No. 8 with "Incanto" (Decca), shifting 62,000. His last studio effort, "Amore," began at No. 3 with 113,000 in 2006.

Brad Paisley's mostly instrumental Arista Nashville album "Play" starts at No. 9 with 54,000. On Top Country Albums, it arrives at No. 1, Paisley's fourth chart-topper there. Rascal Flatts' "Greatest Hits Volume 1" (Lyric Street) rounds out the top tier on the 200, slipping 6-10 with 39,000 (-56%).

Other debuts this week include Sarah Brightman's "A Winter Symphony" (Manhattan/EMI) at No. 38 with 14,000 and the Starbucks holiday compilation "Winter Wonderland" at No. 42 with 12,000.

Album sales this week came in at 7.02 million units, up 1% from last issue's charts and down 29% from same week last year.

Lupe Fiasco Bowing Out With Triple-Disc Set?

November 10, 2008 , 3:35 PM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Atlantic Records is declining comment on reports that rapper Lupe Fiasco will retire from music after releasing a triple disc album titled "LupEND."

Fiasco made the announcement during a Halloween show in Chicago, explaining that "END" stands for "everywhere," "nowhere" and "down here." No release date has been confirmed.

If true, the news shouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering Fiasco told Billboard as much last December. "'LupEND' -- that's going to be my last album's title," he said. "When you play a videogame, you can only put in three letters for your name and when the game's over, those three letters and 'END' pop up. My next record might be my last one."

The rapper's two albums, 2006's "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" and last year's high-concept "The Cool," have proven him to be one of the most exciting artists in hip-hop. Sales of "The Cool" have raced by those of the debut 549,000 to 375,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Fiasco has a handful of dates on tap before the end of the year, including Wednesday (Nov. 12) in Los Angeles.

T.I. Replaces Himself Again Atop Hot 100

November 06, 2008 , 11:00 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

T.I. again succeeds himself at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, trades places 2-1 with "Whatever You Like." On Oct. 9, "Life" replaced "Like," making T.I. the ninth artist in the rock era to do this.

"Life" also returns to No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs with 184,000 downloads, while "Like" maintains the top spot for an eighth week on Hot 100 Airplay, with 162 million impressions.

There's not much other action within the top 10 of the Hot 100. Pink's "So What" rises 4-3 and Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" moves 6-4, while Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" slides 3-5. Britney Spears' "Womanizer" is down 5-6, with Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock" featuring Lil Wayne and Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent" holding at Nos. 7 and 8, respectively.

Akon's "Right Now (Na Na Na)" powers 14-9 and is the top digital gainer after selling 117,000 downloads. Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" holds at No. 10 to round out the top portion of the Hot 100.

Right below, Taylor Swift's "You're Not Sorry" is the top debut at No. 11, narrowly missing her third top 10 debut of the year. Her sophomore album, "Fearless," arrives Tuesday (Nov. 11) from Big Machine Records.

"Miss Independent" is No. 1 for a second week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where Jamie Foxx's "Just Like Me" featuring T.I. is the top debut at No. 48. Foxx's next album, "Intuition," is due Dec. 16 via J.

Carrie Underwood's "Just a Dream" starts a second week atop Hot Country Songs. Metallica's "The Day That Never Comes" is No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for a sixth week, while the Offspring's "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" leads Modern Rock for a seventh.

Coldplay Cruises To No. 1 On The Billboard 200

June 25, 2008 , 10:45 AM ET
Katie Hasty, N.Y.

As expected, Coldplay tops The Billboard 200 with "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," which shifted a whopping 721,000 first-week U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The Capitol effort sold nearly as many copies as the band's other chart-topper, 2005's "X&Y," which moved 737,000. Only one other rock band has had a 700,000-plus week since the release of that effort. Last November, the Eagles' "Long Road Out of Eden" began at No. 1 with 711,000.

With the million-plus debut of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" last week, this marks only the second time the chart has seen back-to-back debuts of more than 700,000 since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The first time it happened was way back in the summer of 2000, when Britney Spears' "Oops! I Did It Again" (1,319,000) was followed by Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" (1,760,000).

Forty percent of "Viva La Vida" sales, 288,000 copies, were digital downloads, making it the biggest sales frame ever registered for a digital album. It surpasses the previous record, set earlier this year when Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static" (139,000).

With a 69% sales decrease, "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money/Universal) slips 1-2 with 309,000 units.

The soundtrack to the Disney Channel film "Camp Rock," featuring the Jonas Brothers, debuts at No. 3 with 188,000. The movie premiered on June 20 and averaged 8.9 million total viewers according to Nielsen, making it the network's second-most-watched original movie after 2007's "High School Musical 2."

The multi-label "Now 28" compilation continues its decline 3-4 with 81,000 (39%), while Plies' "Definition of Real" (Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide) falls 2-5 with 68,000 (-68%). Selling 65,000, Usher's LaFace/Zomba set "Here I Stand" descends 5-6 with a 36% sales decrease.

Flying up the chart 124-7, Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" (SRP/Def Jam) experiences a 930% sales jump to 63,000; a re-issue of the 2007 album hit shelves with three additional tracks. Disturbed's former chart-topping Warner Bros. set "Indestructible" declines 4-8 with 59,000 (-42%).

Capitol pop newcomer Katy Perry has a No. 9 start with her debut album, "One of the Boys," which sold 47,000. The single "I Kissed a Girl" has been climbing its way up the Hot 100 and sits currently at the No. 2 spot, behind Coldplay's "Viva La Vida."

The Offspring's first album in five years, "Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace" (Columbia), debuts at No. 10 with 46,000. The veteran rock act's 2003 album "Splinter" peaked at No. 30.

Metal mainstay Judas Priest's "Nostradamus" (Epic) begins at No. 11 with 42,000, the highest charting album of the band's career. Its previous best came with 2005's "Angel of Retribution" at No. 13.

Blood Raw's first album for Def Jam, "CTE Presents: My Life: The True Testimony," debuts at No. 30 with 17,000, and rapper 2 Pistols' debut "Death Before Dishonor" (J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League) bows at No. 33 with 16,000. Indie rock act Wolf Parade earns its highest chart position with "At Mount Zoomer" (Sub Pop), moving 13,000 to open at No. 46.

Album sales are down 10.6% from last week's sum at 8.30 million units, and are down 6.7% compared to the same week last year. With 196.98 million units sold this year so far, sales are down 10.9% overall compared to last year.

Source: Billboard.com