As reported yesterday (April 30), pop singer Michael Buble earns his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart this week with the arrival of "To Be Loved." The set sold 195,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Buble's last album, 2011's "Christmas," bowed at No. 3 with 141,000. It eventually rose to No. 1 four weeks later, remaining there for five consecutive frames.
To compare To Be Loved" to his last regular studio album, we have to scroll back to 2009's "Crazy Love." That set debuted at No. 1 with 132,000 after only three days on sale, as it was released on a Friday instead of Tuesday. (The SoundScan tracking week ends at the close of business on Sunday.)
The following week, after the album had a full week's worth of sales, it remained atop the list, selling another 203,000.
In the runner-up slot this week is Fantasia with her fourth studio effort, "Side Effects Of You" (91,000). It matches the 2004 "American Idol" winner's highest rank, logged when her 2010 set "Back to Me" also debuted and peaked at No. 2 (117,000). However, "Side Effects" represents the smallest opening week for Fantasia, though it's not all that far from the sales start of "Back to Me" almost three years ago.
Justin Timberlake's former No. 1 "The 20/20 Experience" holds at No. 3 for another week, selling 74,000 (down 3%).
Alternative band Phoenix nets a career-high sales week and chart peak as "Bankrupt!" starts at No. 4 with 50,000. The act's fifth studio release easily surpasses the No. 37 peak of 2009's "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix."
Last week's No. 1, Fall Out Boy's "Save Rock and Roll," falls to No. 5 with 36,000 (down 76%). Blake Shelton's "Based On a True Story" slips 4-6 with just under 36,000 (down 16%).
Rob Zombie's new "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" takes a bow at No. 7 with 34,000, marking the rocker's fifth solo to 10 album. His last studio effort, 2010's "Hellbilly Deluxe 2," debuted and peaked at No. 8 with 49,000.
Kid Cudi's "Indicud" tumbles 2-8 with 32,000 (down 77%) in its second week, while will.i.am's new "#willpower" debuts at No. 9 with 29,000. The producer and Black Eyed Peas' front man saw his last solo set, 2007's "Songs About Girls," debut and peak at No. 38 off a 21,000 launch.
Closing out the top 10 is P!nk's "The Truth About Love," staying steady at No. 10 with just under 29,000 (up 3%).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending April 28) totaled 5.15 million units, down 5% compared with the sum last week (5.40 million) and down 5% compared with the comparable sales week of 2012 (5.40 million). Year to date album sales stand at 95.64 million, down 5% compared to the same total at this point last year (100.96 million).
Top 10 Albums
1. Michael Buble -"To Be Loved" ~ 195,000 (DEBUT)
2. Fantasia - "Side Effects Of You" ~ 91,000 (DEBUT)
3. Justin Timberlake - "The 20/20 Experience" ~ 74,000 (1,674,000)
4. Pheonix - "Bankrupt!" ~ 50,000 (DEBUT)
5. Fall Out Boy - "Save Rock And Roll" ~ 36,000 (190,000)
6. Blake Shelton - "Based On A True Story" ~ 36,000 (421,000)
7. Rob Zombie - "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" ~ 34,000 (DEBUT)
8. Kid Cudi - "Indicud" ~ 32,000 (168,000)
9. will.i.am - "#willpower" ~ 29,000 (DEBUT)
10. P!nk - "The Truth About Love" ~ 29,000 (1,430,000)