Usher overtakes Justin Bieber at No. 1 on The Billboard 200

Erykah Badu's 'Window Seat' helped out on 'New Amerykah' sales

By Katie Hasty Wednesday, Apr 7, 2010 12:04 PM

Usher

Usher is back on top of The Billboard 200 with his new album "Raymond vs. Raymond," his third straight album to go straight to No. 1. It sold 329,000 copies in its first week.

His previous two sets -- 2004's "Confessions" and 2008's "Here I Stand" -- bowed at the summit. The latter started with 443,000.

It bumps Justin Bieber's "My World 2.0" to No. 2.0 on the chart, even after a 3% sales increase to 291,000. It's odd, though, for an album to have an increase in sales in its second week; his multiple media appearances plus the Easter holiday with baskets to fill likely amped those sales that tend to lag after the initial excitement.

The "Now 33" hits compliation sits tight at No. 3 (123,000, -9%).

Erykah Badu's "New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh" debuts at No. 4 with 110,000. The hype surrounding her "Window Seat" video -- in which she gets naked in a public park -- likely helped generate sales. "New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War)" started with 124,000 at No. 2 in 2008.

Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" slips No. 4 to No. 5 (87,000, +11%) while Monica's "Still Standing" goes from No. 2 to No. 6 (81,000, -56%).

Alan Jackson's "Freight Train" arrives at No. 7 with 72,000, making it the country singer's 11th top 10 album. His previous "Good Time" from 2008 bowed at No. 1 with 119,000.

Bieber's "My World" the First descends No. 5 to No. 8 (63,000, -26%), Lady GaGa's "The Fame" slips No. 8 to No. 9 (63,000, -26%) and Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." keeps the No. 10 spot warm (43,000, +25%).

Sales are up 13% over last week's sum but down 4% compared to the same sales week last year. Overall sales for the year are down 8% compared to last year's overall sales from the same time period.

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.