Kanye tops US chart, although sales disappoint

11:43 | Friday December 5, 2008

While that is way more than anything else sold last week, it’s something of a disappointment for West, whose last album, Graduation, opened with a massive sale of more than 957,000 just 15 months ago.

Although this is a higher sale than the number one album has recorded in all but nine of this year’s 48 chart weeks to date, it is surprisingly low for an album that has already spawned the major hits Love Lockdown (number three) and Heartless (number four) and also supplies this week’s highest Hot 100 debut in the form of See You In My Nightmares, a collaboration with Lil’ Wayne, which debuts at number 21.

Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy was expected to give West some tough competition but the veteran rockers’ first album of new material for more than 17 years – a Best Buy exclusive - has enough firepower only for a number three debut on sales of 261,191. It allows Taylor Swift’s Fearless to rebound 4-2 on sales of 267,371.

There are also Top 10 debuts for Ludacris and The Killers. Ludacris’ sixth but lowest charting Top 10 album Theater Of The Mind debuts at number five, on sales of 213,493, while The Killers follow-up the number seven Hot Fuss and number two Sam’s Town with Day & Age, in at number six on sales of 193,421.

Coldplay’s new EP Prospekt’s March is the highest charting disc by a UK act, debuting at number 15 on sales of 76,723. The tracks from Prospekt’s March have also been added to the band’s Viva La Viva Or Death And All His Friends album, and generate a 127% increase in sales of that set to 42,532, propelling it to a 54-26 leap on the chart.

Last week’s highest charting album by a UK act, Dido’s Safe Trip Home, suffers a steep 13-64 decline with sales slashed by 64% to 18,062.

In a week when most albums enjoyed a lift from the Thanksgiving Day holiday – only nine of the Top 50 lost sales – that’s the biggest sales slide of any album on the chart.

Seal’s Soul is also in negative territory, falling 35-57 with a 16% dip in sales to 20,907. By contrast Leona Lewis’ 50-59 slip with Spirit, and Sarah Brightman’s 58-60 adjustment with A Winter Symphony are both attended by increased sales – Spirit is up 4% to 20,694, and A Winter Symphony records a handsome 27% jump to 20,041.

Paul McCartney and Youth’s latest Fireman project, Electric Arguments, debuted at number 79 in the UK last week but fares slightly better in America, entering at number 67 on first week sales of 17,348. And there’s also a debut for Tom Jones, whose 24 Hours set arrives at number 105, on sales of 9,267.

Modest though that might seem, it’s 68 year old Jones’ highest chart placing Stateside since 1977, when Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow reached number 76.

The last of Jones’ 19 previous chart albums was Reloaded: Greatest Hits, number 127 in 2003. His last album of new material to chart was Darlin’, number 179 in 1981, and his highest charting set was Tom Jones Live In Las Vegas, a distillation of his performance at the city’s Flamingo Hotel that reached number three in 1969.

On the Hot 100, Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) climbs 2-1 dethroning T.I. and Rihanna’s Live Your Life. Leona Lewis’ Better In Time falls 18-22, while M.I.A.’s Paper Plane glides 39-45. Coldplay’s Viva La Vida moves 27-29, and their Lost! re-enters at number 87, completing a meagre British showing on the list.