US chart analysis: Now 22 tops rundown

Source: Music Week

 

 

Now That’s What I Call Music is a British concept successfully exported to America but that’s no consolation for Thom Yorke, who is denied a solo number one in America this week by Now 22, writes Alan Jones.

 

First week sales of 397,785 for Now 22 are more than four times as high as Yorke’s The Eraser, which debuts at number two on sales of 90,493. Texas rapper Pimp C completes an all-new top three, selling 87,288 copies of his latest album Pimpilation.

 

Now 22 is the ninth number one for the all-conquering series and although it contains five Hot 100 chart-toppers amongst its 20 tracks, it was widely discounted to less than $10 (against a list price of $18.99), with WalMart, Target and Amazon.com all selling it at a rock bottom $9.72. The only track on the album by a British artist is Black Horse & The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall.

 

Thom Yorke’s solo debut beats his band Radiohead’s most recent album, Hail To The Thief, which sold more than three times as many copies but debuted at number three in 2003. Publicity surrounding the release of Yorke’s album help Radiohead’s most successful album, OK Computer, to rally 195-66 on the Catalogue Albums Chart, with sales up 61% to 2,969, taking its cume to 2,067,562.

 

Yorke is joined among the new entries to the Top 10 by fellow British act Muse whose Warner album Black Holes & Revelations comfortably gives the band their biggest US album hit yet by debuting at nine with 48,000 sales. Their previous highest-placed US hit was Absolution, which reached number 107 in 2004.

 

Corinne Bailey Rae completes the UK interest in the Top 20, holding at number 20 with her self-titled debut, which sold another 30,889 copies last week, 3% down on the previous frame.

 

Being included on Now 22 doesn’t seem to have done any harm to KT Tunstall’s Black Horse & The Cherry Tree, which climbs 24-22 on the download chart with sales up 10% week-on-week to 26,892. It has now sold 452,785 downloads, and climbs 33-27 on the Hot 100, even as new single Suddenly I See debuts at number 88, driven by rapidly increasing radio support and fast rising downloads. Suddenly I See sold 11,402 copies last week, an 88% increase over the previous frame, and moves 118-58 on the download chart as a result. Tunstall’s Eye To The Telescope album slips 35-39 on the Top 200, with sales of 20,418 in the week (down 4%) taking its 23 week cume to 495,949.

Now 22 is so successful because it's the first American Now to include so many REAL US hits... it is the first American Now to include the impressive amount of 5 US No.1's.

Wow!!! KT enters the top 100 with Suddenly I see-hope its a huge hit there for her!!!

Wow!!! KT enters the top 100 with Suddenly I see-hope its a huge hit there for her!!!

 

I hope so!! :cheer:

Now 22 is so successful because it's the first American Now to include so many REAL US hits... it is the first American Now to include the impressive amount of 5 US No.1's.

 

what do you mean about REAL US hits. I recognise a great deal of the artists on the American Now compilations that i have got, much more than the Danish and Australian ones.

what do you mean about REAL US hits. I recognise a great deal of the artists on the American Now compilations that i have got, much more than the Danish and Australian ones.

 

The earlier releases didn't include much US hits, or what I would call hits. For example, Now 10 (2002) includes Britney's "Overprotected" which only managed US No.86... that's not what I would include on a compilation that says "20 Chart Topping Hits" on the cover.

I guess they only used to include what was popular, regardless being big on The Billboard Hot 100. Now they stick more to the charts and include real big hits, that's why there are 5 No.1's on Now 22, which is the most No.1's on a US Now so far.

They included britney because it was the remix (darkchild remix) and it was not available anywhere except on Now 22, thats why i bought it.

 

And besides KT Tunstall, Rihanna, and All American rejects the soundtrack sucks.