The unstoppable Jay-Z performed what may be the unprecedented feat of appearing on the top three albums on the Billboard chart this week. His ''Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse'' became his fifth release to debut at No. 1 and sold 545,174 copies, according to SoundScan. It ended the two-week reign of Eminem's ''8 Mile'' soundtrack, on which Jigga also performs; that disc was pushed to No. 2 on sales of 400,000. The ubiquitous rapper also guests on Missy Elliott's ''Under Construction,'' which debuted at No. 3 and moved 258,800 units. Justin Timberlake's ''Justified'' dropped two notches to No. 4 in its second week and endured a 57 percent drop in sales, to 188,602 copies. Debuting at No. 5 was Pearl Jam's first studio release in more than two years, ''Riot Act,'' which sold 165,991 copies. Jay-Z was nowhere to be found on Timberlake's or Pearl Jam's CDs.
Competition was so fierce this week that ''3D,'' TLC's much-anticipated valedictory release and tribute to Lisa Lopes, couldn't muster a higher debut than No. 6. Christina Aguilera's ''Stripped'' dropped three places to No. 7. The week's fifth top-10 debut was 3 Doors Down's ''Away From the Sun,'' coming in at No. 8. Eminem's ''The Eminem Show'' slipped two slots to No. 9, and Santana's ''Shaman'' fell five spots to No. 10.
You Might Also Like
- All About 8 Mile
- Single File Deep Impact | Germain Lussier
- In the News Norah Jones challenges Eminem for chart supremacy | Gary Susman
- In the News Eminem boots Shania from No. 1 | Gary Susman
- Music Review Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver | Rob Brunner
- Music Review Music from the Motion Picture Titan A.E. | Marc Weingarten
