EmInem

On the Charts: Eminem’s “Relapse” Fends Off Manson, Stays On Top

The Big News: Even an uncomfortable encounter with Brüno couldn’t stop Eminem from trumping the competition on the charts this week as Relapse stayed at Number One for a second week with another 210,000 copies sold. That total nearly tripled the units sold by the Number Two album, Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown, which moved 75,000 LPs in its third week on shelves. The biggest debut of the week was Marilyn Manson’s The High End of Low entering at Number Four, which is an improvement over the rocker’s 2007 album Eat Me Drink Me (that LP hit the chart at Number Eight). It was a solid week for a pair of soundtracks, too: Hannah Montana: The Movie crossed the platinum plateau while coming third and Twilight reached double-platinum status at 17. Our Hot Issue cover girl, Lady Gaga, rounds out the Top Five with The Fame.

Debuts: While Manson had the highest debut, Grizzly Bear pulled off the most stunning one as the Brooklyn indie band’s Veckatimest bowed at Number Eight, one spot ahead of mega-seller Taylor Swift’s Fearless. For any indie artist, cracking the Top 10 (and scoring the Number Three Digital Album) is a major accomplishment, and to celebrate the band’s achievement, they’ll be our Breaking artist later today, so check back for the full story. Other notable debuts include Mandy Moore’s Amanda Leigh at 25 and The-Dream protégés Electrik Red and How To Be A Lady, Vol. 1 at 100.

Last Week’s Heroes: Relapse, which couldn’t be expected to repeat last week’s best debut of 2009, experienced a 65 percent sales drop. No other albums crossed the 100,000 sales threshold as 21st Century Breakdown also saw its sales drop 54 percent. On the Digital Album front, Adam Lambert’s Season 8 Performance Favorites continues to outsell Kris Allen’s, ranking Eight to Allen’s 21. Next week in this space, we’ll find out if Eminem can use all that Brüno publicity to fend off his biggest competitor, Dave Matthews Band’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King.