Metallica hits No. 1, Jessica Simpson falters

By Katie Hasty

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Metallica's first album in five years soared to No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart Wednesday, while Jessica Simpson's country debut and hip-hop icon LL Cool J's label swan song faltered.

The hard rock band's "Death Magnetic" sold 490,000 copies during the week ended September 14, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But it was on sale for only three of those days, because it was released worldwide on Friday. Albums usually come out on a Tuesday in the United States, and a day earlier everywhere else.

Metallica's previous studio release, "St. Anger," started with 418,000 copies during a similarly shorter-than-normal window in 2003, and was ultimately considered a critical and commercial disappointment. The last Metallica album to stage a larger opener than "Death Magnetic" was 1996's "Load," which rolled 680,000 units in its first frame.

Metallica is the first group to see five of its albums bow at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. Previously, the act was tied with the Beatles, U2 and the Dave Matthews Band, with four each. It is also Metallica's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 and its seventh release to start with more than 300,000 since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data.

Last week's No. 1, Young Jeezy's "The Recession" fell to No. 2 with 90,000. In its 49th week on the Billboard 200, Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" rose one to No. 3 with 75,000 copies.

Simpson's first country album, "Do You Know" started at No. 4 with 65,000 copies. Her last album, "A Public Affair," debuted and peaked at No. 5 in 2006 with 101,000. It ended up selling a mere 300,000 copies, far short of the 2.9 million total for her previous album.

Slipknot's former chart-topper "All Hope Is Gone" held at No. 5 with 52,000, and the Jonas Brothers' "A Little Bit Longer" at No. 6 with 50,000.

The Game's "LAX" fell four places to No. 7 with 49,000, and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" was up two to No. 8 with 47,000.

L.L. Cool J's "Exit 13," his final release for Def Jam, entered at No. 9 with 44,000. His previous release, 2006's "Todd Smith," bowed at No. 6 with 116,000.

The soundtrack to the hit movie "Mamma Mia!" fell three to No. 10 with 41,000.

Other new entries included Eric Benet's "Love and Life" at No. 11; Gym Class Heroes' "The Quilt" at No. 14; late comedian Mitch Hedberg's "Do You Believe In Gosh?" at No. 18; Natalie Cole's "Still Unforgettable" at No. 19; and Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall's "Not 4 Sale" at No. 40.

At 6.84 million units, sales were up 1.3% from the previous week's sum, but down a hefty 25% from the year-ago period.

Reuters/Billboard