November 22, 2007

Alicia Keys Lands Fourth Consecutive No. 1 On Billboard Chart With As I Am

By Chris Harris (MTV.com)

She's released four albums over the course of her career, and all four have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard top 200, including her most recent studio offering, As I Am, which first landed in record shops last week. What this all means, at least in sports terms, is that R&B songbird Alicia Keys has a perfect 4-for-4 record.

But a fourth No. 1 opening isn't the only thing Keys is thankful for this week. With 742,400 copies sold, As I Am earns the distinction of being the singer's best-performing debut. Her 2001 LP Songs in A Minor sold 235,800 copies to enter the top 200 at No. 1 while 2003's The Diary of Alicia Keys scanned more than 618,300 copies; her 2005 Unplugged set sold close to 196,000 units. Plus, As I Am, according to the latest SoundScan totals, walked away with the chart's peak position, with her closest competitor, Josh Groban's Christmas-themed Nëel, trailing at No. 2 with sales reported at 223,000.

Keys' newest was one of 24 new releases to enter next week's chart, during what was a healthy week for album sales overall. During the previous week, the records comprising the top 200 sold a total of 4.2 million and change, while next week's top 200 scanned close to 5.4 million, which can means the holiday shopping season is once again upon us.

Four albums, including As I Am, bowed in the top 10, including Celine Dion's latest, Taking Chances, at No. 3 with 214,400 sold, and the 26th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation franchise follows at No. 4, scanning around 208,000 units; this latest edition to the family features tracks by the likes of Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Kanye West, the Plain White T's, Daughtry, Nickelback and more. Coming in at No. 7, with 136,400 copies snatched up, is Mothership, a two-disc compilation set chronicling the works of Led Zeppelin.

Meanwhile, the rest of the top 10's saturated with some of music's biggest names. Garth Brooks' Ultimate Hits sits in the No. 5 position, with 203,600 in second-week scans, followed at No. 6 by the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, selling another 197,500 copies. Jay-Z's American Gangster drops seven spots to No. 8 on sales of 130,600; week-two sales of the album declined by nearly 70 percent. Carrie Underwood, fresh off her American Music Award wins, owns the No. 9 spot, selling 113,200 copies of her Carnival Ride, while Chris Brown's Exclusive rounds things out at No. 10, with 109,600 scans.