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
Game’s LAX Landing Late
Yet another delay of The Game.
The chart-topping hip-hopster has pushed back the release of his third album, LAX, from July 8 to July 22, avoiding a showdown from his former-mates-turned-archenemies in 50 Cent’s G-Unit, whose T.O.S. (Terminal On Sight) hits stores July 1.
LAX features a who’s who of guest rappers, including Lil’ Wayne, Common, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, who handily won his own heavily hyped chart battle last summer with Fiddy. Another track features some rhythm work by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
The first single off Game’s latest effort, “Game’s Pain,” featuring R&B vocalist Keyshia Cole, is already out to radio stations and has reached No. 26 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.
West, Scott Storch and Irv Gotti are among the producers.
LAX was originally supposed to drop June 24, but Game decided to delay it until July 8, one week after G-Unit’s release. By postponing the album yet again, the rapper apparently hopes to avoid having some of his sales siphoned off and reigniting their long-running beef.
Steve-O Pleads Not Guilty in Drug Rap
For his next stunt, Steve-O is hoping to beat a legal rap.
The Jackass star appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony cocaine possession stemming from last month's drug bust.
Going for a more dapper, button-down look compared to his usual shirtless ways, he entered his plea through his lawyer, Barry Sands.
Los Angeles Commissioner Henry J. Hall set a preliminary hearing for May 13, which Steve-O will be required to attend. At that point, the court will decide whether there's enough evidence to warrant a trial.
Following the proceeding, the MTV prankster hung around to sign a few autographs. He also addressed his reckless lifestyle, telling reporters that after a brief stint in UCLA Medical Center's psych ward shortly after being collared on the cocaine charge, he's finally getting his act together and dealing with his alcohol and drug addictions.
"I've been clean for 44 days," he said.
Steve-O, real name Stephen Glover, got into this mess March 3, when he was busted at approximately 5 a.m. on suspicion of vandalism and drug possession at his Hollywood apartment complex. The 33-year-old had videotaped himself smashing holes into the wall of a neighboring apartment in a foolish bid to rankle a fellow tenant.
Apparently he succeeded, because the irate neighbor ended up making a citizen's arrest. When the cops arrived, they purportedly found a small amount of the white stuff in Steve-O's possession, and he was taken into custody.
After posting $20,000 bail, he checked into UCLA for psychiatric treatment, which he described in subsequent blog posts as his period in the "loony bin."
Now that he's clean and sober, Steve-O is putting his creative juices into something a little more healthy, telling Carson Daly on Last Call recently that he's hard at work recording a "comedy gangsta" album with members of G-Unit.
"I'm the only guy dumb enough to try to give hip-hop a sense of humor," he cracked.
50 Cent’s Gravy Train Is Over
50 Cent’s Gravy Train Is Over
Life is hard when you’re a multi-platinum, multi-millionaire, record label-owning, clothing line-designing enterpreneur. Just ask 50 Cent. He’s had to lay down the law when it comes to throwing money at the artists on his label.
It has been reported that 50 has ended the gravy train over at G-Unit Records. While in years past, he’s bailed his rappers out of poor financial decisions, and paid the way for the artists and their huge entourages to ride comfortably on the road, that season has come to an end.
50 told press, “Whether I got to give them $500,000 or $300,000 … Just ‘cause they want $300,000 more to make what they [are] doing at the time comfortable. Like, ‘yo, I want to get this new place over here.’ ”
“Laze was there as representation of M.O.P., Havoc and Prodigy. Banks, Buck. Spider was on the phone. Olivia was there. Sha Money was there. I broke it down. I told them I wouldn’t be assisting them financially anymore. Pretty much I was telling them I wouldn’t be there. [In the past] they’d make a lot of money and spend a lot of money and have me there to fix it.”
And 50 explains that his roster wasn’t earning their keep on the promotional side of his clothing line. “I looked around the room, and I was the only person with G-Unit sneakers on. But they were being paid. It had become the norm for the check to come, but they were no longer wearing the clothes.”
It’s not like 50 Cent has to worry about money. He has two movies coming out later this year (The Dance with Nicolas Cage, and Righteous Kill with Robert DeNiro). It’s just time to do a little housecleaning, and 50 isn’t afraid to break out the broom.
