Billboard Chart

Billboard Chart...

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1623796/20091014/michael_buble.jhtml
Oct 14 2009
You already knew Oprah Winfrey had the power to make any book she deems worthy a blockbuster, but the queen of all media is proving to be a musical kingmaker as well. A week after appearing on Winfrey's show, smooth crooner Michael Bublé will top the Billboard 200 charts with his latest, Crazy Love, on modest sales of 132,000.

Bublé managed to pull the feat off after pushing his album up from October 13 to an earlier, off-cycle Friday (October 9) release to coincide with the Winfrey appearance, dealing a harsh blow to legendary greasepaint rockers Kiss in the process. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees were looking like shoo-ins to land the first-ever #1 debut in their 30-plus-year career with the bargain-priced three-CD Wal-Mart exclusive Sonic Boom, but they will have to settle for #2 after moving just 108,000 copies.

The other top 10 debuts include a #3 bid by flag-waving country star Toby Keith with American Ride (90,000), followed by rising country singer Luke Bryan's second album, Doin' My Thing, at #6 (58,000). The rebooted Backstreet Boys hit the golden circle with This Is Us (#9, 42,000), despite scuttling some promotional events last week due to member Brian Littrell's battle with swine flu.

Barbra Streisand's Love Is the Answer lost nearly 60 percent of its business in week two, dropping to #4 on sales of 75,000. Jay-Z holds pretty steady at #5 with The Blueprint 3 (65,000), while Mariah Carey's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel dips four spots to #7 (55,000) after shedding 68 percent of sales in its second week. Though she's been busy recuperating from strep throat and quitting Twitter, Miley Cyrus has managed to creep back into the top 10 with her Time of Our Lives EP (#8, 47,000). Rockers Breaking Benjamin round things out with Dear Agony (41,000).

Proving that they still have a tall hill to climb in the U.S., German eyeliner popsters Tokio Hotel land with a thud at #35 in the debut week of their latest, Humanoid, which sold 17,000 copies.

It was a short ride near the top for Paramore, who lost 77 percent of the first-week sales for Brand New Eyes, dropping nine spots to #11. Revived grunge icons Alice in Chains are just behind at #12, as their first effort in more than a decade, Black Gives Way to Blue dropped more than 70 percent of its first-week numbers (37,000).

They had plenty of company as a number of former top-10ers have taken swift rides down the stream, including Pearl Jam's Backspacer (#16, down 46 percent on 32,000 in sales), Miranda Lambert's Revolution (#19, down 58 percent on sales of 28,000), Madonna's greatest-hits compilation Celebration (#20, down 63 percent and 13 spots on sales of 26,000) and Selena Gomez and the Scene's Kiss and Tell (#25, down 62 percent and 14 spots on sales of 25,000).

Elsewhere on the charts, country royalty Roseanne Cash debuts at #22 with The List (26,000), an album of covers based on a list of songs given to her by late father Johnny Cash.Singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile debuts at #26 with her third full-length CD, Give up the Ghost (25,000), and veteran indie-rockers Built to Spill hit #50 with There Is No Enemy (12,000).

Karen O and the Kids were sent to virtual chart detention with the soundtrack to Spike Jonze's eagerly anticipated big-screen adaptation of "Where the Wild Things Are," dropping nearly 30 spots in week two to #62 (10,000). And Joey Crack might be a bit hungry after his sequel, Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2) failed to stir the Fat Joe nation, mustering a #73 debut on sales of just over 8,000. Also licking wounds is former "American Idol" semifinalist and beatboxer Blake Lewis, whose second effort, Heartbreak on Vinyl barely scratches the surface, landing with a thud at #135 (4,000).

With the release date just pushed up to this Friday (October 16), the soundtrack to "New Moon" looks like it will easily crush the competition next week, which will also bring debuts from Mario and Barry Manilow.