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Kanye West's 'Graduation' leads hot sales week
About 957,000 copies of Kanye West 's third album, "Graduation," were sold during the set's first week in stores, more than enough to keep rival rapper 50 Cent from the No. 1 spot on the US album chart.
50 Cent--who said he'd retire as a performer if his new album, "Curtis," didn't outsell "Graduation," then backed down--enters the chart at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart with a healthy 691,000 copies sold.
Another major release, Kenny Chesney 's "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates," moved 337,000 copies during its debut week, and claims No. 3, according to Billboard, which bases its chart on Nielsen SoundScan retail data.
The trio of strong debuts ends Disney's "High School Musical 2" soundtrack's four-week stay at No. 1. It moved 133,000 copies over the last week, and falls to No. 4. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus ' "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus" falls from No. 3 to No. 5 with 42,000 sold.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Fergie 's "The Dutchess," Nickelback 's "All the Right Reasons," Colbie Caillat 's "Coco," the "NOW 25" hits compilation and Justin Timberlake 's "FutureSex/Lovesounds."
