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Monday, January 31, 2005 12:59 PM
Tupac back at the top of the charts
LOS
ANGELES, California (Billboard) - Late rapper Tupac Shakur grabbed his third
posthumous U.S. chart-topper on Wednesday as “Loyal to the Game”
entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1.
The Amaru/Interscope set, featuring contributions by the likes of Eminem,
Nate Dogg and Jadakiss, sold 330,000 copies in the week ended December 19,
according to Nielsen SoundScan. It becomes his fifth No. 1 on the tally.
Since his 1996 murder, Tupac’s album sales have totaled more than 18
million units in the United States, with a career total of 24.4 million. His
previous album, “Better Dayz,” debuted in 2002 at No. 5 with 366,000
copies; it has sold 1.6 million to date.
Last week’s No. 1, Ludacris’ “The Red Light District”
(Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South), plummeted to No. 12 with sales of 213,500.
The top 50 contained just two other new entries. “Concrete Rose,”
Ashanti’s third studio set for The Inc./Def Jam, opened at No. 7 with
sales of 254,000, becoming her first album of non-holiday material to not
debut at No. 1. Last year’s “Chapter II” entered at the
top with sales of 326,000 copies and has sold 1.5 million to date.
Despite his popularity with the “Total Request Live” set, Xzibit’s
“Weapons of Mass Destruction” (Columbia) settled for a No. 43
debut on sales of 81,000 in its first week. In 2002, the rapper and host of
MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” saw “Man vs. Machine” start
at No. 3 with 156,000 copies; it has sold 596,000 to date.
Leading the stocking-stuffer charge as the gift-giving crunch hit full swing
was the 17th installment of “NOW That’s What I Call Music!”
(Sony BMG/Universal/EMI/Zomba/Capitol), which jumped three places to No. 2
with 323,000 units.
Eminem’s “Encore” (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) held steady
at No. 3 with 315,000 units. Shania Twain’s “Greatest Hits”
(Mercury Nashville) rose two to No. 4 with 311,000.
U2’s former chart-topper “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”
(Interscope) fell three places to No. 5 with almost 300,000 copies.
Destiny’s Child’s “Destiny Fulfilled” (Sony Urban/Columbia)
gained one place to No. 6 with 267,000 copies.
Toby Keith’s “Greatest Hits 2” (DreamWorks Nashville/Interscope)
held at No. 8 with 238,000 copies. Usher’s “Confessions”
(LaFace/Zomba) returned to the top-10 with a two place leap to No. 9 on sales
of 237,000 copies. Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s “Collision Course”
(Machine Shop/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) slipped one to No. 10 with 236,000 copies.
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