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Ne-Yo Smites Hawthorne Heights
03/08/2006 4:18 PM, E! Online
David Jenison
Ne-Yo's so sick that he can't be denied.
The rookie R&B
crooner, whose debut single "So Sick" already topped the
Billboard Hot 100 radio, now has a number one album to go along
with, as In My Own Words topped the Billboard 200, selling
301,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan
numbers.
The 23-year-old singer (whose birth certificate
reads Shaffer Smith) also saw his follow-up single, "When You're Mad"
become the most added track on urban and rhythm radio stations.
Before his solo release, Ne-Yo had waves in the music biz as a
songwriter for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Ruben Suddard,
Faith Evans and B2K. He even cowrote the most played song of 2004,
Mario's "Let Me Love You."
"Ne-Yo's use of the harmonies and
words has touched music lovers from all ages and backgrounds," Jay-Z,
the president and CEO of Def Jam, says in a statement. "He is the true
embodiment of the word 'artist.' "
Ne-Yo's supremancy came at
the expense of high-voltage Ohio rockers Hawthorne Heights. Last month,
the group called on fans to do whatever they could to deter In My Own
Words sales and help make the band's own If Only You Were
Lonely number one. The group said a victory for Hawthorne Heights
would be a victory for rock music and independent labels.
However, when the dust settled, the Buckeye State's finest sold 114,000
copies of If Only You Were Lonely to finish in third place,
behind Ne-Yo and last week's champ, the Disney Channel's High School
Musical soundtrack. Still, the group remains one of the best-selling
indie rock acts of the decade. Its 2004 debut, The Silence in Black
and White, has sold more than 780,000 copies, an all-time best for
the Victory Records roster, thanks in large part to the band's Top 40
rock hit, "Ohio Is for Lovers."
Meanwhile, thanks to continued
promotion and airplay on Disney's television and radio networks, High
School Musical soundtrack sold 127,000 copies last week, actually
up 26,000 copies from its chart-topping previous week.
Alan Jackson had a Top 5 debut with his new gospel album, Precious
Memories. The country singer, known for such hits as "Gone Country"
and the Grammy-winning 9-11 tribute "Where Were You (When the World
Stopped Turning)," sold 107,000 copies of his new disc to open at number
four.
Finally, with Walk the Line out on DVD and hype
around Reese Witherspoon's successful Oscar bid, The Legend of Johnny
Cash roped in 80,000 copies to jump 14 spots to number six.
Likewise, the Walk the Line soundtrack leapt 34 spots to 11.
The rest of the Top 10, all holdovers, were Mary J. Blige's
The Breakthrough at five, Jack Johnson's Sing-A-Longs and
Lullabies for the Film Curious George at seven, Carrie Underwood's
Some Hearts at eight, James Blunt's Back to Bedlam at nine
and Andrea Bocelli's Amore in the 10 spot.
Sex-tape
star Kid Rock narrowly missed a Top 10 open as his concert album Live
Trucker sold 56,000 copies at 12. The album, whose title and cover
references Bob Seger's Live Bullet, features such Rock hits as
"Badwitdaba," "Cowboy" and "Picture" (replacing Sheryl Crow with
Gretchen Wilson for the female vocals).
Further down the
charts were Hank Williams III's Straight to Hell at 73, Algo De
Mi's Conjunto Primavera at 82, Bruce Springsteen's double-disc
Hammersmith Odeon Live '75 at 93, Rhett Miller's Believer
at 138 and Elvis Costello's live album with the Metropole Orkest
orchestra, My Flame Burns Blue, at 188.
Here's a recap
of last week's Top 10 albums:
1. In My Own Words,
Ne-Yo
2. High School Musical soundtrack, various
3.
If Only You Were Lonely, Hawthorne Heights
4. Precious
Memories, Alan Jackson
5. The Breakthrough, Mary J.
Blige
6. The Legend of Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash
7.
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, Jack
Johnson & Friends
8. Some Hearts, Carrie Underwood
9.
Back to Bedlam, James Blunt
10. Amore, Andrea
Bocelli
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