I'll give 50 Cent and Kanye West credit for keeping relatively clean this competition to have the best first week album sales. As 50's Curtis and Kanye's Graduation hit stores today, it is a good time to review the buzz we've been receiving throughout Yahoo!
We launched a contest on Yahoo!'s Bix.com on August 31 that gave fans a chance to pick the better of two videos, 50's "I Get Money" or Kanye's "Stronger." 50 Cent never lost the lead in this race and at 1 p.m. PT today had 12,854 votes, nearly 1,500 more counts than Kanye's 11,366.
In terms of Yahoo! buzz, things haven't fared better for Mr. West. Among Yahoo!'s top searched music artists today, 50 Cent remains ahead, ranking at No. 11, though down three spots from last week. Kanye comes in at No. 14, actually up four spots.
Both artists have two videos each on Yahoo! Music's Top 100 chart. 50's "Ayo Technology" featuring Justin Timberlake is No. 31, up 4 places from last week's chart. Kanye's "Stronger" moved up three spots to No. 41. 50 Cent's "I Get Money" debuts at No. 86, while Kanye's "Can't Tell Me Nothin'" drops from No. 81 to No. 93.
Also on Yahoo! Music, searches for 50 Cent and Kanye West are two to one. Over the last month, 50 Cent has remained one of the top 10 most searched artists, whereas Kanye West has gradually climbed from the top 30 range to the top 20 range.
If these numbers translate to album sales, 50 Cent won't be retiring anytime soon.
We'll have to wait until next Wednesday, when the final first week's sales are released, to see who actually comes out on top.