By edging out the Jay-Z-produced soundtrack album, the country band lands its third No. 1 album in the chart with 'Golden'.
- May 16, 2013
AceShowbiz - Country pop music group Lady Antebellum reigns supreme in this week's Billboard 200 album chart with their new album "Golden", arriving at the top spot with 167,000 copies sold. With a safe lead of 30,000 records separating it from the week's runner-up, "Golden" gives the trio their third No. 1 album in the chart, after 2010 LP "Need You Now" and 2011-released "Own the Night".
Although "The Great Gatsby" soundtrack's 137,000 debut wasn't enough to give executive producer Jay-Z the No. 1 spot, it posted much higher sales than the 95,000 estimate originally projected for the star-studded compilation. It actually is the best sales week in over a year for a soundtrack, coming after "The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond" which entered the chart with 175,000.
Taking Justin Timberlake's long-maintained position at No. 3 is the new "Now 46" compilation, debuting in the top ten with 91,000 copies sold. Meanwhile, occupying the fourth spot is Michael Buble's "To Be Loved", down 12|percent| with 84,000 and falling two places down from last week's No. 2 position.
At No. 5 is another debut, the Pistol Annies sophomore album "Annie Up", moving 83,000 copies in its first week in the chart, followed at No. 6 by JT's "The 20/20 Experience", down by 3|percent| with 66,000. The No. 7 spot is filled by the fifth and last debut album in the chart this week, Rod Stewart's "Time", with 52,000, becoming the legendary rocker's highest-charting LP containing all original materials since his 1979 "Blondes Have More Fun".
Rounding up the top ten are last week's top album, Kenny Chesney's "Life on a Rock" falling down to No. 8 with 48,000, posting a staggering 68|percent| decline in sales, followed at No. 9 by Blake Shelton's consistent chart entry "Based on a True Story...", which slides down from No. 6 although its sales went up by 9|percent| with 38,000. Getting the last spot in the top ten despite a 24|percent| increase in records sold with 32,000 is last week's No. 8, Bruno Mars' "Unorthodox Jukebox".
Billboard 200
