As predicted, Lupe Fiasco‘s Lasers album arrives atop the Billboard 200 chart, selling 204,000 in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan.
It marks his first No. 1 and best sales week yet. His second effort, The Cool, launched at No. 15 with 143,000 at the tail end of 2007, while his Food & Liquor debut bowed at No. 8 with 81,000 in 2006.
Adele‘s 21 slides from the top slot down to No. 2 with 133,000 — down a modest 21%. Right behind her at No. 3 is the debut of the fifth volume of the Glee TV soundtrack series, starting with 90,000. All nine of the Glee-related releases have debuted in the top 10: the five regular full-length albums along with three EP sets and a Christmas effort.
Avril Lavigne‘s fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullabye, debuts at No. 4 off an 87,000 start. Each of her three previous releases peaked in the top two slots: her first, Let Go, bowed at No. 8 but eventually reached the runner-up slot; while her second and third titles Under My Skin and The Best Damn Thing both entered at No. 1. Thing, released almost four years ago, launched with 286,000.
Veteran rock band R.E.M. lands its 10th top 10 album as Collapse Into Now starts at No. 5 with 57,000. It follows the act’s last studio set, 2008’s Accelerate, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 with 115,000. Country singer Sara Evans comes in at No. 6 with Stronger (55,000) — her third top 10. Over on the Country Albums tally, it’s her second No. 1, following 2005’s Real Fine Place.
As for the rest of the top 10: Mumford & Sons‘ Sigh No More slips 3-7 (46,000; down 16%), Marsha Ambrosius‘ Late Nights & Early Mornings falls 2-8 (41,000; down 57%), Justin Bieber‘s Never Say Never: the Remixes descends 4-9 (40,000; down 25%) and the Now 37 compilation moves 5-10 (33,000; down 26%).
Over on the Digital Songs chart, Katy Perry‘s E.T. (featuring Kanye West) jumps 5-1 with 216,000 (up 30%). It’s Perry’s fifth topper on the Digital list and the fourth from her Teenage Dream album following California Girls, the title track and Firework. E.T. edges out Jennifer Lopez‘s On the Floor, which holds at No. 2 with 215,000 (down 3%). Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way falls from the No. 1 position to No. 3 with 176,000 (down 24%).
Rihanna‘s S&M stands steady at No. 4 (168,000; down 5%), Britney Spears‘ Till the World Ends flies 10-5 with 158,000 (up 36%) after its first full week in stores. Cee Lo Green‘s F**k You (Forget You) moves 3-6 (157,000; down 21%), Ke$ha‘s Blow slips 6-7 (140,000; down 15%) and P!nk‘s F**kin’ Perfect holds at No. 8 (124,000; down 11%). Dr. Dre‘s I Need a Doctor drops 7-9 (124,000; down 16%) and Chris Brown‘s Look at Me Now returns to the top 10, climbing two runs to No. 10 with 117,000 (up 18%).
Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending March 13) totaled 6.22 million units, down 2% compared to the sum last week (6.34 million) and up 2% compared to the comparable sales week of 2010 (6.09 million). Year to date album sales stand at 59.01 million, down 7% compared to the same total at this point last year (63.41 million).
Digital track sales this past week totaled 24.29 million downloads, down 5% compared to last week (25.45 million) and up 7% stacked next to the comparable week of 2010 (22.59 million). Year to date track sales are at 264.90 million, up 7% compared to the same total at this point last year (248.09 million).
Next week’s Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2010 when: Lady Antebellum‘s Need You Now returned to No. 1 with 93,000 (despite a 1% decline in sales) while Marvin Sapp‘s Here I Am bowed at No. 2 with 76,000. The previous week’s topper, Ludacris‘ Battle of the Sexes, fell to No. 3 with 61,000 (down 55%).
