Maxwell ends recording hiatus with No. 1 album
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - R&B singer Maxwell's first album in eight years debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart Wednesday with a career-high sales week of 316,000 copies.
"BLACKsummers'night" is Maxwell's second chart-topper, after his last release, 2001's "Now," which opened at No. 1 with 296,000 copies sold.
During the week ended July 12, the "Hannah Montana" parade on the album chart continued as the TV soundtrack "Hannah Montana 3" bowed at No. 2 with sales of 137,000. Earlier this year, the "Hannah Montana: the Movie" film soundtrack started at No. 2 with 139,000. The first two "Hannah" TV soundtracks both reached No. 1 on the chart, in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
Rock band All Time Low achieved its best sales week and highest-charting album with "Nothing Personal," which entered the chart at No. 4 with 63,000.
Elsewhere in the chart's top 10, the "Now 31" compilation slipped two spots to No. 3 with 101,000, while the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." held on at No. 5 with 63,000. In its second week, Brad Paisley's "American Saturday Night" fell four positions to No. 6 with 44,000, Rob Thomas' "Cradlesong" slipped four rungs to No. 7 with 41,000, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" climbed three slots to No. 8 with 36,000, Eminem's "Relapse" stood still at No. 9 with 34,000, and Jonas Brothers' "Lines, Vines and Trying Times" dropped two spots to No. 10 with 34,000.
Eclipsing the sales of new releases was the late Michael Jackson's continuing dominance of music sales since his June 25 death. Jackson's catalog of solo albums sold 1.1 million U.S. copies during the week, and the pop star's greatest-hits set "Number Ones" ranked as the biggest-selling album for a third straight week, with sales of 349,000 copies.
Overall album sales for the week totaled 7.27 million units, up 4.5 percent from the previous week and down 0.75 percent from the year-earlier period. Year-to-date album sales stood at 188.7 million, down 14 percent from the same point in 2008.
(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)
