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Charts: Licensed to Il (Divo)
02/01/2006 4:37 PM, E! Online
David Jenison
Apparently pop stardom is as easy as Simon Says.
The
Simon Cowell-shepherded pop opera foursome of Il Divo is following in
the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood et al.,
topping the U.S. album chart with Ancora.
Ancora
sold 156,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to the latest
Nielsen SoundScan numbers. This marks the first time an album topped the
Billboard 200 without a radio single since Radiohead's Kid
A in 2000.
"This is a dream come true for all of us," the
snarky American Idol judge, who doubles as music mogul, said in a
post on the group's Website. "I am especially delighted for the four
boys, who, over the last 12 months, have worked incredibly hard for
this."
This brings Il Divo's tally to 23 number ones around
the world. The quartet's self-titled 2004 debut also hit number one in
13 countries, but only peaked at number four in the States.
Cowell spent the better part of two years putting Il Divo together. The
group features Spanish opera baritone Carlos Marin, French pop singer
Sebastien Izambard and two classically trained tenors, American David
Miller and Swiss Urs Buhler.
The pretty opera boys put an end
to the Jamie Foxx-Mary J.
Blige's tug-o-war for chart dominance that
had been going on since the end of December. With Il Divo at number one
and country gospel sensation Josh Turner opening at number two with
Your Man, Foxx and Blige each tumbled two spots. Foxx's
Unpredictable landed at three with 99,000 copies, and Blige's
The Breakthrough, at four with 98,000 copies.
After an
otherwise slow start to '06, five new albums cracked the Top 10. While
Il Divo was the clear-cut winner, Turner, who scored platinum success
and several award nominations with his '03 debut, also had six-digit
sales, with 102,000 copies.
Pop-punk outfit Yellowcard also
made a strong showing with Lights and Sounds, the follow-up to
its multiplatinum smash Ocean Avenue. On the strength of the
title track single, the disc sold 90,000 copies to check in at number
five. The release just narrowly beat out the latest rehashed hits
collection Now #1s, featuring Nelly, Smash Mouth and Creed, among
others.
Rounding out the Top 10 newbies was San Diego's
P.O.D., whose Testify moved 58,000 copies at nine. This marks
the group's first major label release under the direction of producer
Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette), having previously recorded with the
more rock-minded Howard Benson (Hoobastank, Cold).
Though not
a debut, the High School Musical soundtrack climbed 133 spots
over the last two weeks to sneak into the Top 10. This soundtrack to the
Disney Channel cable movie sold 52,000 copies last week following the
film's broadcast.
The other two Top 10 albums were a couple of
mainstays: Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts at seven and Eminem's
Curtain Call at eight.
Elsewhere, the 2006 Grammy
Nominees disc sold 43,000 copies at 14. Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc.,"
Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and Coldplay's "Speed of Sound"
are among the cuts included--and in competition for the hardware, which
gets divvied up on Feb. 8.
Kenny Rogers opened at 24 as 21
Number Ones sold 31,000 copies. The man who "knows when to hold 'em,
knows when to fold 'em" has now released 20 anthology albums dating back
35 years.
Other noteworthy debuts included Cat Power's The
Greatest at 34, Marty Casey & the Lovehammers' self-titled at 67,
Rosanne Cash's Black Cadillac at 84 and Rilo Kiley singer Jenny
Lewis at 88 with Rabbit Fur Coat.
Here's a recap of the
Top 10 albums:
1. Ancora, Il Divo
2. Your
Man, Josh Turner
3. Unpredictable, Jamie Foxx
4.
The Breakthrough, Mary J. Blige
5. Lights and Sounds,
Yellowcard
6. Now #1s, various
7. Curtain Call,
Carrie Underwood
8. Some Hearts, Eminem
9.
Testify, P.O.D.
10. High School Musical, various
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