Billboard 200: 2/25/12: Adele #1: 237k

I find it difficult to believe that the combined total of ALL of her albums for ALL of 2011 (plus a month and change of 2012) was under 100,000. :o

"I Will Always Love You" sold 195K (or at least, the bulk of it) in that short amount of time? Wow.

Oh, Whitney...... how I'd give anything I could to have you here over any amount of sales you had in one day.

OMG huge album sales if #6 sold over 60k.

Sadly, unlike Jackson, Whitney's estate probably will see very little of that money since she's not a songwriter or publisher of any of those hits. Even with album sales, her money was made through bulk album advances so I doubt there will be much to gain there.

Hopefully Dolly Parton will share some of that IWALY windfall with Bobbi Kristina or at least donate some to a charity of sorts.

Hip Hop DX
(Current Albums rankings)

8). Drake, Take Care - 32,000 (1.438 million

(21). Young Jeezy, TM 103: Hustler's Ambition: 22,000 (441,000)

(25). Jay-Z & Kanye West, Watch The Throne: 18,000 (1.316 million)

(29). Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV: 16,000 (1.997 million)

(62). J. Cole, Cole World: The Sideline Story: 9,200 (545,000)

(65). Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: 8,700 (1.764 million)

(100). Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel: 5,100 (693,000)

(119). Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 4,100 (1.249 million)

(127). Common, The Dreamer/The Believer: 3,900 (123,000)

(145). Yo Gotti, Live From The Kitchen: 3,500 (33,000)

^Well, we don't know how much he has now. Lots of these celebs aren't the best at handling their funds. But, yah, I don't see Dolly Parton "donating" anything from her estate.

Bobby was dead broke a couple of years ago and was pretty much living off of Whitney before their divorce.

The point of my bringing up the estate wasn't toplay the game who, how, or what Bobbi is or to feel sorry for her (I'm sure Whitney had numerous assets). It was only to feel some empathy that it would be a shame that her family would see very little of the income generated from her biggest hit on her death.

Do you ever got to record stores and look at the albums being sold?

Target stocks 1-2 album per artist. I don't think they've had a Whitney section recently.

Best Buy had a good stock of Whitney albums last year.

Walmart has decreased its album stock in the past few years.

I live in NYC. We have 1 traditional record store. J&R Music in the Financial District.

^Except Best Buy. They usually have a good selection.

Target and Walmart carry new releases and discounted albums.

Barnes & Noble usually has a good selection albums, but they are priced too high. Usually $18.

Week Ending Feb. 12, 2012. Albums: Adele Ties Whitney
By Paul Grein | Chart Watch – 3 hours ago

music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-feb-12-2012-albums-adele-ties-124552378.html

Adele's 21 tops The Billboard 200 for the 20th week. This enables it to tie Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack as the longest-running #1 album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard in 1991. That is a remarkable coincidence, since Houston died on Saturday, just one day before the end of this tracking week.

This is the seventh consecutive week at #1 for 21. It's the first album to log seven straight weeks at #1 since Taylor Swift's Fearless three years ago.

The album sold 88K digital copies this week, which pushes its digital total over the 2 million mark. It's the first album to sell 2 million digital copies. (The first album to sell 1 million was Eminem's Recovery, just last July.)

Even with just one day to rack up sales, six Houston albums re-enter the chart this week, led by The Greatest Hits, which bows at #6. The two-disk set originally debuted and peaked at #5 in May 2000.

The Greatest Hits is #1 on Top Catalog Albums. This is the seventh time in the Nielsen SoundScan era that an album has zoomed to #1 on the catalog chart in the week after (or, in two cases, the first full week after) the artist's death. The others, working backwards, were Amy Winehouse's Back To Black in July 2011, Michael Jackson's Number Ones in June 2009, Johnny Cash's 16 Biggest Hits in September 2003, the Bee Gees' One Night Only in January 2003 (following the death of Maurice Gibb), Aaliyah's One In A Million in August 2001 and the Grateful Dead's Skeletons From The Closet in August 1995 (following the death of Jerry Garcia).

This morning, I posted a separate blog on Houston's songs and albums that have resurfaced in the wake of her death. If you missed it, here's a link.

Houston first cracked the top 10 on The Billboard 200 (with Whitney Houston) in August 1985, giving her a top 10 span of nearly 27 years. But two artists in this week's top 10 easily outdo that. Van Halen first cracked the top 10 (with Van Halen II) in May 1979. Paul McCartney first cracked the top 10 (with the Beatles' Meet The Beatles!) in February 1964.

Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth debuts at #2. This is Van Halen's first studio album with original lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984, which logged five weeks at #2 in 1984 (it got stuck behind Michael Jackson's Thriller and later the Footloose soundtrack.) Oddly, the band has yet to land a #1 studio album with Roth on board.

Roth left the band in 1985. With new lead singer Sammy Hagar, the band reached #1 with four consecutive studio albums: 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance. (Roth was featured on two cuts on Best Of Volume 1, which was hit #1 in 1996.)

This is Van Halen's 14th top 10 album. The band has had at least one top 10 album in each of the last five decades. (Not to make them feel old.)

Paul McCartney's Kisses On The Bottom debuts at #5. This is McCartney's 18th top 10 album apart from the Beatles. He has had at least one top five album in each of the last five decades. And that doesn't even count the Beatles. Add them in and we can take this back to the 1960s, giving McCartney six straight decades with a top five album.

McCartney is the second former Beatle to have hit with a collection of songs that pre-date the rock era. Ringo Starr reached #22 in 1970 with Sentimental Journey. (The two albums have one song in common: Gene Austin's 1926 classic "Bye Bye, Blackbird."). The irony, of course, is that the Beatles, more than any other single act, swept Tin Pan Alley aside; made it seem musty and old-fashioned. (Now, there's widespread acknowledgement that much of that music was stellar.)

Kisses On The Bottom includes such standards as "It's Only A Paper Moon," "The Glory Of Love," "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive" and "Always." (The album's cheeky title is drawn from the 1935 Fats Waller song, "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter," which is included on the set).

McCartney is the instant front-runner to win next year's Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. If he does, McCartney will become the first artist to win Grammys in both the Traditional Pop and Rock fields. (He has won two Grammys in the rock field: "Rockestra Theme" as Best Rock Instrumental Performance of 1979 and a cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" as Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance of 2010.)

Adele's 2008 album 19 leaps from #19 to #9, which is its highest ranking to date. The album previously peaked at #10 in the week after the 2009 Grammys, when Adele won her first two trophies. This is the first time that Adele has had two albums in the top 10 simultaneously.

This week marks the first time that two catalog albums (this album and Houston's compilation) have appeared in the top 10 simultaneously since September 2009, when the Beatles' Abbey Road and Michael Jackson's Number Ones were both listed in the top 10.

There are three (count 'em) franchise albums in the top 15 this week: Now 41, Grammy Nominees 2012 and Kidz Bop Kidz 21.

"We Are Young" by fun. featuring Janelle Monae surges from #22 to#1 on Hot Digital Songs. It was #41 on last week's Hot 100. How high will it climb this week? You'll find out later today when we post Chart Watch: Songs.

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

1. Adele, 21, 237,000. The album logs its 20th week at #1. This is its 51st week in the top 10. The album is #1 on Top Digital Albums for the 13th week. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Set Fire To The Rain," which drops from #2 to #4.

2. Van Halen, A Different Kind Of Truth, 187,000. This new entry is the band's 14th top 10 album.

3. Various Artists, Now 41, 142,000. This new entry is the 46th Now volume to crack the top 10, extending its lead as the most successful franchise in chart history.

4. The Fray, Scars & Stories, 87,000. This new entry is the band's second top 10 album. The Fray debuted at #1 in February 2009. "Heartbeat" jumps from #56 to #39 on Hot Digital Songs.

5. Paul McCartney, Kisses On The Bottom, 74,000. This new entry is McCartney's 18th top 10 album apart from the Beatles.

6. Whitney Houston, The Greatest Hits, 64,000. This re-entry originally debuted and peaked at #5 in May 2000. This is the album's third week in the top 10. Twenty-two Houston songs are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "I Will Always Love You" at #3.

7. Dierks Bentley, Home, 55,000. This new entry is Bentley's sixth top 10 album. It's his fourth #1 on Top Country Albums. "Home" jumps from #97 to #61 on Hot Digital Songs.

8. Various Artists, 2012 Grammy Nominees, 51,000. The album drops from #4 to #8 in its third week.

9. Adele, 19, 36,000. The album jumps from #19 to #9 in its 121st week on the chart. This is its highest ranking to date. This is its second week in the top 10. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Make You Feel My Love" re-enters at #145. "Chasing Pavements" re-enters at #180.

10. Drake, Take Care, 32,000. The former #1 album drops from #6 to #10 in its 12th week. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Four songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by the excellent "Take Care" (featuring Rihanna), which drops from #20 to #26.

Lana Del Rey's Born To Die drops from #2 to #13. It fares better in the U.K., where it holds at #1 for the second week. Six other albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Leonard Cohen's Old Ideas drops from #3 to #33, Kidz Bop 21 drops from #5 to #15, Tim McGraw's Emotional Traffic drops from #7 to #20, Fred Hammond's God, Love And Romance plummets from #8 to #54, LMFAO's Sorry For Party Rocking drops from #9 to #11 and Rihanna's Talk That Talk drops from #10 to #18.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 surges from #70 to #22 in the wake of the release of the DVD. The album has climbed as high as #4. The album is #1 on Top Soundtracks for the fourth week. It has been the top soundtrack to a theatrically-released movie for 10 weeks.

Frank Sinatra's Sinatra: Best Of The Best surges from #127 to #36 in the wake of Valentine's Day gift-giving. (If an album this romantic doesn't make it happen, it ain't going to happen.) The album has climbed as high as #23…The Civil Wars' Barton Hollow surges from #121 to #41 in the wake of the duo's double Grammy victory on Sunday. The album has climbed as high as #12…The Beatles' 2000 compilation 1 surges from #199 to #97. The album topped the 12 million mark in U.S. sales a few weeks ago.

Adele's Live At The Royal Albert Hall is #1 on Top Music Videos for the 11th straight week. The DVD sold 27K copies this week, bringing its total to 574K.

The Vow was #1 at the box-office over the weekend. The album sold fewer than 1K copies, too few to make The Billboard 200.

Coming Attractions: Shane Harper's Shane Harper is expected to be among next week's top new entries. The 19-year old stars on the Disney Channel sitcom Good Luck Charlie.

I haven't seen a good selection and good stock in BEst Buy in a long, long time. Best Buy *used* to do well in that regard, but not any of the approximately 6 BEst Buys that I've been in recently.

Adele's '21' Hits 20th Week at No. 1, Van Halen Debuts at No. 2

www.billboard.com/news#/news/adele-s-21-hits-20th-week-at-no-1-van-halen-1006195752.story

Thanks to a Grammy Awards-fueled gain, Adele's "21" album beats out Van Halen's new "A Different Kind of Truth" for the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart.

Adele's "21" sold 237,000 in the week that ended on Feb. 12 (the day of the Grammys) -- posting a gain of 95%. Van Halen's "A Different Kind of Truth" arrives in the No. 2 position with 187,000. Adele won six Grammy trophies on the Sunday night ceremony -- including album, record and song of the year -- and performed on the broadcast. It was her first stage performance since undergoing throat surgery last year.

With 20 weeks at No. 1, it marks the longest run at the top of the chart since "The Bodyguard" spent 20 weeks at No. 1 in 1992-1993. It's quite likely "21" will easily net a 21st frame atop the tally next week, once a full week of Grammy impact is felt.

Adele is also found at No. 9 with her debut set, "19," selling 36,000 (up 103%). It's the first time an act has had two albums in the top 10 since March 19, 2011, when Justin Bieber occupied the Nos. 4 and 8 slots with "Never Say Never: the Remixes" (EP) and "My World 2.0," respectively.

Van Halen's set is the band's 14th consecutive top 10 album -- stretching back to 1979's "Van Halen II," which topped out at No. 6. The only release in the veteran act's catalog that missed the top 10 was its self-titled 1978 debut, which peaked at No. 19. The group's last studio record, 1998's "Van Halen 3" (with Gary Cherone on lead vocals), debuted and peaked at No. 4 with 191,000 in its first week.

The "Now 41" compilation bows at No. 3 with 142,000 while the Fray's "Scars & Stories" enters at No. 4 with 87,000. The latter's previous set, its self-titled 2009 effort, started at No. 1 with 179,000.

Paul McCartney, who earned two performance slots on the Grammy Awards, lands at No. 5 with "Kisses on the Bottom," selling 74,000 in its first week. It is the icon's 18th top 10 album -- including his Wings work (but not his Beatles' releases).

The late Whitney Houston's "Whitney: The Greatest Hits," re-enters at No. 6 with 64,000 (up a whopping 10,419%). It's one of six total albums for Houston on the chart. Her next-largest seller was her 1986 debut, "Whitney Houston," which re-enters at No. 72 with 8,000 (up 3,901%).

Whitney Houston Re-Enters Top 10 on Billboard 200

Dierks Bentley's "Home" debuts at No. 7 with 55,000 -- the country star's sixth straight top 10 set. It follows "Up on the Ridge," which debuted and peaked at No. 9 with 39,000 on the chart dated June 26, 2010.

Rounding out the top 10 this week is Drake's "Take Care," which slides 6-10 with 32,000 (up 9%).

Over on the Digital Songs chart, fun.'s "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monae) makes a splash, rising from No. 22 to No. 1 with 296,000 downloads sold (up 338%). The tune was used in a stunt-filled Chevrolet Super Bowl (Feb. 5) commercial touting its 2012 Sonic.

fun.'s ascent to the top pushes Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" down a slot to No. 1, despite a sales gain. It sold 260,000 and was up by 10%.

Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" debuts at No. 3 with 195,000 (up 6,724%) in the wake of her passing. It's a debut on the chart -- rather than a re-entry -- as the Digital Songs list didn't exist in 1992 when the song was first released.

Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" is forced backwards -- falling 2-4 -- though it increases in sales: 187,000 (up 14%). Clearly thanks to her Grammy buzz, she has two more songs in the top 10: "Someone Like You" rallies 23-9 with 128,000 (up 91%) and "Rolling in the Deep" (which she performed) zooms 39-10 (126,000; up 174%).

It's the first time a lead act has had three songs concurrently in the top 10 since the chart dated July 25, 2009, when Michael Jackson was at Nos. 2, 8 and 9 with "Man in the Mirror," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller," respectively.

LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" rises 9-5 with 170,000 (up 53%) while Madonna's "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) rises 7-6 with 165,000 (up 44%) in its first full week of availablility. Tyga's "Rack City" slips 4-7 (139,000; up less than 1%) and David Guetta's "Turn Me On" (featuring Minaj) drops 8-9 (139,000; down 6%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Feb. 12) totaled 6.83 million units, up 17% compared to the sum last week (5.81 million) and up 6% compared to the comparable sales week of 2011 (6.43 million). Year to date album sales stand at 33.99 million, up 4% compared to the same total at this point last year (32.77 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 28.93 million downloads, up 10% compared to last week (26.39 million) and up 8% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (26.78 million). Year to date track sales are at 170.50 million, up 7% compared to the same total at this point last year (159.72 million).

Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when: Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never: the Remixes" (EP) debuted at No. 1 with 165,000 while Mumford & Sons' "Sigh No More" held firm for a second week at No. 2 with 133,000 (up 169%). The previous week's leader, the "Now 37" compilation, fell to No. 3 with 95,000 (down 37%).

I'm sure.

Best Buys visited in the last 6 months:

Alexandria, VA
Lincoln, NE
Denver, CO (Aurora, I think)
Hagerstown, MD
Martinsburg, WV
Raleigh, NC

I think there have actually been a couple more, but regardless, none of them had much of anything for physical CDs.