Coldplay It Again, Sam
It’s still hard out there for a pimp, but apparently it’s not much easier for a saint.
Mötley Crüe’s Saints of Los Angeles and Three 6 Mafia’s Last 2 Walk were the week’s biggest bows, but neither came close to the three albums that pulled a Groundhog Day up top.
Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends held the No. 1 spot for the week ended Sunday, selling another 249,000 copies, per Nielsen SoundScan. Lil Wayne followed at No. 2 with 209,000 copies of Tha Carter III, and the Jonas Brothers-led Camp Rock soundtrack held at No. 3 with 169,000.
In just three weeks, Lil Wayne has sold 1.53 million copies, giving Tha Carter III a commanding lead as the year’s best-selling album. Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is already the fifth best-selling album of 2008, with 971,000 copies sold in just two weeks.
The Crüe, meanwhile, scored the week’s biggest debut, opening at No. 4 with 99,000 copies, while Three 6 Mafiabest known for the Oscar-winning “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp”sold 77,000 copies at No. 5.
Shinedown’s The Sound of Madness landed the third and final top 10 bow at No. 8, moving 50,000 copies.
Other notable debuts included Sigur Rós’ Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust at No. 15, Cute Is What We Aim For’s Rotation at No. 21, Amos Lee’s Last Days at the Lodge at No. 29, Dwele’s Sketches of a Man at No. 35 and Superchick’s Rock What You Got at No. 65.
Over on the digital tracks chart, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” held the top spot on 187,000 copies sold, though the Jonas Brothers’ “Burnin’ Up” sold a massive 183,000 copies in its debut. Expect a huge bump for the sibling singers on tomorrow’s Hot 100 chart.
Overall, album sales were down nearly 8 percent from last week and 13 percent compared to the same week last year, when the Hannah Montana 2 soundtrack led the charts.
Next week, look for the Fiddy-led G-Unit to make a play for No. 1 with T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight).
To recap, the top 10 albums were as follows:
- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
- Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
- Camp Rock soundtrack, various
- Saints of Los Angeles, Mötley Crüe
- Last 2 Walk, Three 6 Mafia
- Now That’s What I Call Music! 28, various
- Here I Stand, Usher
- The Sound of Madness, Shinedown
- Indestructible, Disturbed
- Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna
Flare-up in 50 Cent House Hearing
A New York judge is all fired up over 50 Cent’s suspicious home blaze.
State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead has prohibited the rapper from selling or otherwise disposing of what’s left of his Long Island property pending a resolution in Fiddy’s ongoing legal battle with ex-girlfriend and baby mama Shaniqua Tompkins.
The suspicious May 30 fire destroyed his $2.4 million home. Fiddy, who has been embroiled in litigation with Tompkins for months, had been trying to evict her and their 10-year-old son, Marquise, from the property at the time of the conflagration.
Edmead futher ordered 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, to put all insurance proceeds from the fire into a trust account that should not be accessed until the legal action is resolved.
While Fiddy has owned the home for the better part of a decade, Tompkins filed suit against the rapper in April, claiming he promised the premises to her and their son.
BFF Watch: Val Kilmer and Fiddy
50 Cent knows how to treat his costars.
Not content to drop off a basket of sugar-free muffins with a note saying “You were totally in the moment,” the rapper-thespian gave his Streets of Fire costar Val Kilmer a car, according to In Touch Weekly.
And not some tax write-off clunker, either.
Fiddy bestowed Kilmer with a 1965 Chevy Impala said to be worth $100,000. The two, who play police officers dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, bonded over their appreciation of classic vehicles, which led the rapper to bestow one of his very own autos to Kilmer.
Really? “Yes he did,” Fiddy’s rep told us.
No word on Kilmer’s thank you plans, but you can be sure of this: Muffins just ain’t gonna cut it.
Fiddy’s Disputed Home All Fired Up
UPDATE: 50 Cent has issued a statement about the fire that demolished the Long Island home of his baby mama and their 10-year-old son earlier this morning.
“Informed this morning while filming a new motion picture on location in Louisiana, Curtis Jackson expressed deep concern over this fire at his property,” his rep said. “He is extremely thankful that everyone including his son, Marquise, escaped the burning house safely.
“He is confident that authorities will be conducting a thorough investigation of the incident and is eager to review their findings.”
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The roofalong with the rest of Fiddy’s palatial Long Island housewas on fire.
The rapper’s former girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins and two of her children, including her son with the rapper, were among a half-dozen people hospitalized this morning after a raging blaze gutted the home. All six are in stable condition after being treated for smoke inhalation.
Authorities are already describing the fire, which was reported today at 5 a.m., as “suspicious” due to the intensity of the blaze, and an arson investigation squad has been called to the sooty scene to sniff out any potential materials used to jump-start the flames.
“I would say there is a stronga strong, strongpossibility that it is suspicious,” Dix Hills Fire Department Chief Larry Feld told Newsday. “The volume of the fire…It was engulfed.”
Engulfed in flames as well as litigation.
Fiddy purchased the home in January 2007 for $1.4 million and last month attempted to evict Tompkins unless she ponied up $4,500 per month in rent. Tompkins, in turn, filed a breach of contract suit against the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, claiming he had promised to put the house in her name.
The fire also took place just days after a deposition with the twosome turned heated and spilled out onto the streets of Manhattan.
While the cause of the fire is currently under investigation, the rapper is not a suspect.