US Chart Goss

Norah Jones tops US chart

09 February 2007 - 12:41:01

Source: Music Week

A week after registering her third number one album in the UK, Norah Jones completes an identical hat trick in America, writes Alan Jones.

Not Too Late takes pole position stateside, just as its predecessors Come Away With Me and Feels Like Home did in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

The album’s first week sales tally of 402,000 compares poorly with Feel Like Home’s opening week, which saw it sell 1,020,000 copies but brings welcome relief for a beleagured US market, where no album had previously sold even 200,000 copies in a week this year.

She was runner-up in last year’s American Idol, and it’s a position Katharine McPhee repeats on the album chart this week, with her self-titled debut falling far short of Norah Jones, with first week sales of 116,000. She’s the third contestant from the 2006 season of American Idol to debut at number two, following Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtrey, though Daughtrey later climbed to number one.

Two British acts who made their domestic breakthroughs last year make their US album chart debuts this week: Lily Allen’s Alright, Still opens at number 20 on sales of 34,000, while Paulo Nutini’s These Streets debuts at number 48 with sales of 18,000.

Allen’s album is being driven by the single Smile, which jumps 83-31 on the download chart on sales of 29,000 and 83-54 on the Hot 100. It’s primarily airplay for first single New Shoes which is creating a buzz for Nutini. Lacking the download impetus of Allen’s single as yet, New Shoes is not in the Hot 100, but debuts at number 15 on the ‘bubbling under’ chart, which tracks songs approaching the Hot 100. Nutini’s fellow Scots The Fratellis fare even better on the ‘bubbling under’ chart, where their Flathead debuts at number eight.

Despite Allen’s success, the top UK act on the album chart remains Corinne Bailey Rae, whose eponymous debut slips 11-17. Bailey Rae’s first US single, Put Your Records On, reached number 64 on the Hot 100 last year. Follow-up Like A Star is having a tougher time, having moved 3-21-out on the 25 slot ‘bubbling under’ chart in the last fortnight but it is beginning to pick up core support on urban radio stations, hence its number 75 debut this week on the R&B/Hip-Hop single chart.

Meanwhile there are number ones for Snow Patrol, whose Chasing Cars completes a 35 week ascent to arrive at the Adult Top 40 summit, and Natasha Bedingfield, whose Unwritten returns to the number one slot on the Adult Contemporary Chart after an 11 week break. On the Hot 100, Chasing Cars, peaked at number five and slips 30-33 this week. Unwritten also reached number five but has since dipped out of the Hot 100.

While Mika continues atop the UK singles chart with Grace Kelly, the song is rapidly gaining ground stateside. Increasing airplay by 40% while debuting at number 70 on the downloads chart on sales of 16,000, it is rewarded by a number 81 debut on the Hot 100.

Finally, Busted never had a hit in America, but their 2003 UK number two hit Year 3000 is the highest new entry on the Hot 100 this week in a cover by fraternal New Jersey trio The Jonas Brothers. Debuting at number 40, their version, as befits a Christian rock act, tones down the more sexual references of the Busted original, and it’s a sign of the times that the lyric "Everybody bought our seventh album/It had out-sold Michael Jackson," has been replaced by with "Everybody bought our seventh album/It had out-sold Kelly Clarkson