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Evanescence open the door to US top spot
Source: Music Week


In a rare moment of commonality, the UK and US share the top two albums this week but across the pond it is Evanescence who triumph over The Killers.

While The Killers’ second set Sam’s Town (Island) last Sunday debuted at one in the UK with an opening-week sale of 269,946 units, in the States it has to settle for second place with 315,000 takers. Ahead are Wind-Up-signed Evanescence who, having started life in runners-up spot in the UK with The Open Door, go one better Stateside by debuting at one for their first-ever Billboard 200 chart-topper.

The Open Door SoundScanned 447,000 copies in its first week to become what is the 700th Billboard 200 number one since Billboard began running the chart half a century ago. The band’s previous set Fallen reached number three with more than 6.6m sales in the US.

Evanescence and The Killers head another busy week for new entries on the chart with five in the Top 10 and another 28 elsewhere on the countdown. MCA Nashville’s country star George Strait completes an all-new top three by entering at three with It Just Comes Natural as last week’s number one, Def Jam artist Ludacris’s Release Therapy set, slips to six after just a week. Tony Bennett’s Columbia set Duets: An American Classic (moving 3-4) and Jive’s Justin Timberlake with FutureSex/LoveSounds (5-5) complete the top five.

Interscope’s Beck fell foul of chart rules in the UK with his new album The Information because it included free stickers, but there are no such obstacles in the US where it enters at seven. J’s Monica completes the Top 10 entries with The Makings Of Me appearing at eight.

Only one UK artist figures among the new arrivals, Angel’s Sarah Brightman, with Diva: The Singles Collection starting life at 100.

Interscope’s Snow Patrol remain the highest-ranked UK act with Eyes Open progressing two places to claim a new peak of 27 in its 22nd week on the chart. Their single Chasing Cars, though, slips a notch on the Billboard Hot 100 back to sixth place where it had spent three weeks before moving up to five a week ago.

Back on the Billboard 200, the contrasting fortunes of Scissor Sisters – released through Motown in the States – on either side of the Atlantic are put into sharp focus with their second set Ta-Dah tumbling 19-58 in only its second week on the Billboard 200. It spent its first two weeks in the UK at number one.

Among the other UK highlights on the Billboard 200: Capitol’s Corinne Bailey Rae self-titled set improves 55-54, Custard/Atlantic’s James Blunt drops 70-79 with Back To Bedlam and Rocket/Interscope’s Elton John declines 49-89 with The Captain & The Kid in only its third week on the chart.

Jive’s Justin Timberlake makes it seven weeks at one on the Hot 100 with SexyBack in an unchanged top three also including the Def Jam-issued Money Maker by Ludacris featuring Pharrell Williams at two and Universal Republic’s Hinder with Lips Of An Angel at three. And, while his last UK hit was back in 1992, Zomba’s parody king Weird Al Yankovic remains a chart property in the US with his latest effort White & Nerdy the week’s greatest sales gainer, vaulting 28-9.

There are seven new entries on the Hot 100 with the highest at 80, the Columbia-issued Shortie Like Mine by Bow Wow featuring Chris Brown and Johnta Austin.