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Charts: McCartney, Rhianna Feel T-Pain
06/13/2007 10:00 AM, E! Online
Sorry, Sir Paul, but when T-Pain offers to "Buy U a Drank," he's not talking venti frappuccinos.
While Rihanna debuted her new bad-girl image and Paul McCartney launched his new association with Starbucks' Hear Music label, it was Sunshine State rapper-singer T-Pain that snuck in and swiped the number one slot. For the week ended Sunday, T-Pain sold 171,000 copies of Epiphany to top the Billboard 200.
Originally part of the rap group Nappy Headz, T-Pain was taken under wing by Akon. Signed to the latter's Jive Records imprint, Konvict Musik, T-Pain made some noise with his debut album, Rappa Terned Sanga, which sold peaked at 33 and sold 800,000 copies, before taking Epiphany to the top of the pops powered by the Hot 100 number one hit, "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')."
Rihanna, who currently tops the Hot 100 with "Umbrella," barely edged out McCartney for the two spot. Her Good Girl Gone Bad moved 162,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures, giving her new career highs in chart-position and first-week sales.
As for the former Beatle, he fell short of predictions that he would top the charts, settling for a number three debut for Memory Almost Full. McCartney's 16th solo studio album sold 161,000 copies, his best showing since 1997's Flaming Pie. After 45 years with Capitol Records, the 64-year-old rock icon joined Starbucks' record label and recorded the new album with hip producer David Kahne (Sublime, the Strokes).
Three other albums also debuted in the Top 10.
Maverick country duo Big & Rich opened at six, selling 103,000 copies of Between Raising Hell and Amazing. The Nashville outlaws, who rode to fame on 2004's hit "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)," got assists from John Legend and Wyclef Jean this time out.
Marilyn Manson, who topped the charts with 2003's The Golden Age of Grotesque and scored a Modern Rock career-high with 2004's "Personal Jesus," returned with his first studio album in four years, Eat Me, Drink Me. Led by the radio single "Heart Shaped Glasses," the disc sold 88,000 copies to open at number eight.
Reggaeton royal Daddy Yankee landed his own career-high on the album charts with El Cartel: The Big Boss selling 82,000 copies to land at number nine. The news should be good medicine for the "Gasolina" singer, who just got out of the hospital after coming down with a nasty viral infection.
With new albums debuting in the top three spots, R. Kelly's Double Up fell to number four with 120,000 copies. The other Top 10 holdovers were Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long at five, Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight at seven and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black at 10.
The Police just missed, checking in at 11 with a double-disc self-titled anthology that moved nearly 58,000 copies.
Grunge pioneer Chris Cornell entered at 17 with his second solo album, Carry On, selling 37,000. His first solo album, Euphoria Morning, came out in 1999, between stints with Soundgarden and Audioslave.
Prog-rockers Dream Theater followed at 19 with their ninth studio album, Systematic Chaos, selling 36,000 copies. Bruce Springsteen made a strong showing with Live in Dublin, selling 31,000 copies at 23, and Carl Thomas sold 28,000 of So Much Better at 25.
Other noteworthy debuts included the 2007 Warped Tour Compilation at 31, Poison's Poison'd! at 32, Lil Wyte's One and Only at 46, Tesla's covers album Real to Reel at 48 and Tiger Army's Music from Regions Beyond marching into the 49 spot.
With so many new debuts, album sales were up more than 5 percent from the previous week but still down 8 percent compared to the same week last year.
Here's a recap of the Top 10:
1. Epiphany, T-Pain
2. Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna
3. Memory Almost Full, Paul McCartney
4. Double Up, R. Kelly
5. It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Maroon 5
6. Between Raising Hell and Amazing, Big & Rich
7. Minutes to Midnight, Linkin Park
8. Eat Me, Drink Me, Marilyn Manson
9. El Cartel: The Big Boss, Daddy Yankee
10. Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
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