Juno Soundtrack Takes Number One Spot
January 31, 2008

In the continuously depressed CD market, the soundtrack to the Best Picture nominee Juno rose to the top spot on the charts, making it the highest selling disc of the last week and unseating Alicia Keys' As I Am. The sales for Juno increased 13 percent from last week, giving it the boost it needed to get to the top spot. It's the first time that a soundtrack has held the top spot since Dreamgirls claimed it around this time last year and it's the first number one soundtrack from a Best Picture nominee since Titanic in 1998. As I Am flip-flopped to second place with only a 1 percent decrease to about 60,000 copies. Juno sold 65,000 copies in the last week.

Natasha Bedingfield scored her best charting and sales week ever with her sophomore album, which debuted in the number three spot with 50,000 copies sold. Off the strength of "Love Like This," Pocketful of Sunshine turned into a hit for Natasha Bedingfield. Her debut in 2005, Unwritten peeked at number 26 and its best-selling week was 34,000 copies. "Love Like This" with Sean Kingston recently broke into the top 20 on the Hot 100, clearly propelling debut week sales of the album.

Growing Pains by Mary J. Blige fell from number three to number four with 45,000 copies sold. That was a 12% dip. In Rainbows by Radiohead dropped 24% to 35,000 copies sold, good enough for the fifth spot. Read between the lines. In Rainbows sold about as many copies as the best week of Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield but in 2005 that was only good enough for number 26. In 2008 it's good enough for number 5. It shows you how depressed the market really is. Big Machine by Taylor Swift held on to the sixth spot in its 66th week on the chart.

Rounding out the top ten were Exclusive by Chris Brown, Just Like You by Keyshia Cole, The Ultimate Hits by Garth Brooks, and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus by Miley Cyrus held on to the tenth spot with a 9% increase. Other debuts included Jukebox by Cat Power in 12th place (a career best in position and sales), Radio Disney: Jams 10 in 18th place, Brighter Than Creation's Dark by Drive-By Truckers in 36th place, Unfamiliar Faces by Matt Costa in 59th place, and Don't Look Away by Kate Voegele in 63rd place.

2008 is already 10.3% down from last year at this point.

(Source: Reuters.)

For other music news, check out recent pieces on High School Musical, U2 3D, and American Idol.