Lady Antebellum back to the top in the US

09:29 | Friday March 26, 2010

Said album suffered an 11% downturn in sales itself but still sold 91,000 copies to take its eight-week tally to 1,482,000.

Ludacris actually dips to number three, because Marvin Sapp makes history by debuting at number two with his eighth album Here I Am, which thus becomes the highest charting gospel set in the chart’s history. Sapp is pastor of The Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Michigan and sold more than 75,000 copies of his album last week.

The only other album to secure a Top 10 debut in the TV-advertised rock compilation The Edge, which debuts at number four on sales of 53,000 copies.

Two British acts survive another week in the Top 10. Sade holds up best, remaining at number six with Soldier Of Love on sales of 41,000 copies – bringing the album’s six-week total to 991,000. Gorillaz’s Plastic Beach sees its sales slide 66% week-on-week to 38,000, as it dives 2-9.

Suaan Boyle’s I Dreamed A Dream holds up better, losing 10% week-on-week to 17,000 as it falls 25-26.

Two new indie rock bands from London enjoy their best week yet, with eponymous debut albums that have sold more copies in America than in the UK.

The xx were, by all accounts, the buzz act of the influential South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and their self-titled debut album accordingly gets a 51% increase in sales to 5,500 – enough for it to enter the Top 100 for the first time in its 14-week chart career. The album climbs 173-94, and has now amassed sales of 110,000 copies in America. Although it reached number 36 here last year, its UK sales are just shy of 74,000.

Meantime, One eskimO (sic) surface on the chart for the first time after appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The American Idol judge’s patronage helped their eponymous album to post a 214% increase in sales to just over 3,000, enough for it to debut on the Top 200 at number 196. The album’s overall US sales are more than 19,000, compared to the 3,600 copies it has sold here since its release in September. Produced by Faithless star Rollo Armstrong, it is independently released in both countries, appearing on the band’s own Little Polar label in Britain, and on Shangri-La in America.

On the Hot 100 singles chart, Rihanna’s Rude Boy continues at number one. Britain’s Taio Cruz slips further, dipping 3-5 with Break Your Heart on the composite sales/airplay/streaming chart, though the track is the biggest selling download for the third week in a row, with a further 176,000 sales last week. La Roux’s debut Hot 100 entry, Bulletproof, also continues to improve, jumping 80-71, although there’s no sign yet of a return to the chart for their eponymous debut album, which reached number 170 last year.