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Charts: Backstreet Boys score another No. 1 with “Black & Blue”
“Black & Blue” (Jive), the latest release from Backstreet Boys , tops the album chart this week on the strength of U.S. sales of roughly 1.6 million copies in its first week out, according to a band press release. Backstreet Boys' new album has set two new first-week sales records, but has failed to top the first-week U.S. sales records set by ‘NSync and Eminem earlier this year.
In addition to its strong first-week showing in the States, sales of “Black & Blue” abroad bring the album’s worldwide total to 5 million copies, a first-week international-sales record, according to the group’s press release. The group also becomes the first to achieve million-plus first-week sales with two consecutive albums, the release said. Backstreet Boys’ “Millennium,” sold 1.13 million albums during its debut week in 1999.
Despite claiming the two aforementioned records, Backstreet Boys failed to top the first-week sales record set by fellow boy band ‘NSync in March of this year with “No Strings Attached” (Jive), which sold an unprecedented 2.4 million copies in its debut week. Eminem’s July release, “The Marshall Mather LP” (Interscope), maintains its second-place standing with sales of 1.76 million copies in its debut week.
The No. 1 debut from Backstreet Boys pushes teen-idol predecessors the Beatles’ “1” (Capitol), which debuted in the top spot last week, down to No. 2 this week. That album, which features 27 of the Fab Four’s No. 1 hit singles, in turn pushes the “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 5” (Columbia) compilation down a notch to No. 3 this week. The latter compilation features previously released hits from a number of chart-topping acts, including Backstreet Boys.
Country artist Tim McGraw debuts at No. 4 this week with “Greatest Hits” (Curb), an album that includes “Let’s Make Love,” a duet with wife Faith Hill that originally appeared on her 1999 album, “Breathe” (Warner Bros.).
Wu-Tang Clan also scores a top-10 debut this week with “The W” (Loud), which land’s at No. 5. The album is the follow-up to 1997’s “Wu-Tang Forever.” Group-member Ol’ Dirty Bastard will have to celebrate the album’s successful debut from behind bars, however, as the fugitive rapper was nabbed by Philadelphia police on Monday after spending over one month on the lam following his escape from a court-ordered stay at a drug-treatment facility in California.
Sade’s “Lovers Rock” (Epic), which entered the chart at No. 3 last week, is down to No. 6 this week. The album is the singer’s first release of new material in about 8 years.
R. Kelly’s “TP-2.com” (Jive), a No. 1 debut two weeks ago, slips two spots from No. 5 last week to No. 7 this week. OutKast’s “Stankonia” (LaFace/Arista), also down two notches, follows R. Kelly at No. 8 last week.
Limp Bizkit’s “Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water” (Flip/Interscope) takes a small dip as well, down to No. 9 in its sixth week of release. The group’s current tour has been plagued by frontman Fred Durst’s vocal problems, which have caused the cancellation of a number of shows.
Ricky Martin’s “Sound Loaded” (Columbia) rounds out this week’s top 10 by landing in the No. 10 spot, down from its No. 4 debut-position of last week.
Note: Ongoing updates and information for the Backstreet Boys tour is available at liveDaily's Backstreet Boys 'Black & Blue' Tour page.
