Madonna Tops Billboard 200, Shinedown Has Best Week Ever

As earlier reported, Madonna’s MDNA and Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee bow at Nos. 1 and 2 this week on the Billboard 200, selling 359,000 and 199,000 copies, respectively (according to Nielsen SoundScan).

Madonna has now etched No. 1 albums in the ’80s, ’00s and ’10s. Remarkably, she missed scoring a No. 1 in the 1990s, but she did claim five No. 2 albums in that decade with I’m Breathless, The Immaculate Collection, Erotica, the Evita soundtrack and Ray of Light.

Richie’s start of 199,000 for Tuskegee is his best sales week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. His previous largest frame in that span of time was when 2006’s Coming Home started with 75,000 at No. 6 in 2006. Richie last scored higher on the Billboard 200 in 1986, when Dancing on the Ceiling spent two weeks at No. 1.     

Adele’s 21 slips one rung to No. 3 with 121,000 (down 7%) while rock band Shinedown has its best week ever at a career-high No. 4 with the arrival of Amaryllis. The set starts with 106,000 — the act’s best sales week yet. Shinedown’s previous high came in 2008 when The Sound of Madness debuted and peaked at No. 8 with 50,000.

Last week’s No. 1 album, The Hunger Games soundtrack, slips to No. 5 with 64,000 (down 64%) while One Direction’s Up All Night falls 4-6 with 46,000 (down 16%). The latter’s erosion was eased by the act’s performance on the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on March 31.

Katy Perry’s deluxe reissue of her Teenage Dream album, dubbed Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, spurs the set 31-7 with 33,000 (up 190%). It’s the album’s highest rank since the Feb. 5, 2011, chart and its best sales frame since Christmas.     

The Used’s Vulnerable bows at No. 8 with 32,000, marking the rock group’s fourth top 10 album. It follows 2009’s Artwork, which debuted and peaked at No. 10 with 35,000.

Rounding out the top 10 on the albums chart are Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball (6-9 with 28,000; down 26%) and the Now 41 compilation (8-10 with 25,000; down 18%).

Over on the Digital Songs chart, Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” storms in at No. 1, selling 521,000 downloads while last week’s leader, fun.’s “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monae), falls to No. 2 with 364,000 (down 6%).     

Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” (featuring Kimbra) is pushed back 2-3 despite a gain (244,000; up 17%) while Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” rises 5-4 with 204,000 (up 17%).

One Direction‘s “What Makes You Beautiful” jumps 7-5 (199,000; up 22%), Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones” (featuring Sia) holds at No. 6 (184,000; up 9%), and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” steps 9-7 (182,000; up 32%).

The Wanted’s “Glad You Came” descends 3-8 (169,000; down 8%), Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” slides 8-9 (137,000; down 9%), and Perry’s “Part of Me” rises 11-10 (122,000; up 6%).     

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending April 1) totaled 6.2 million units, up 13% compared with the sum last week (5.5 million) and down 7% compared with the comparable sales week of 2011 (6.6 million). Year-to-date album sales stand at 77.84 million, up less than 1% compared with the same total at this point last year (77.83 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 26.7 million downloads, up 4% compared with last week (25.6 million) and up 9% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (24.5 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 361.3 million, up 7% compared with the same total at this point last year (339.1 million).

Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when: Adele‘s 21 returned to No. 1 with 88,000 (down 6%) and the previous week’s leader, Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale, fell to No. 2 with 75,000 (down 73%). The chart’s highest debut was at No. 4, where Hollywood Undead’s American Tragedy started with 66,000.