Los Angeles – Grammy-nominated punk trio Green Day returned to the top of the U.S. pop charts Wednesday with its hit opus “American Idiot,” which sold just 178 copies more than Eminem’s reigning champ.
“American Idiot” (Reprise/Warner Bros.) sold 100,167 copies in the week ended Jan. 9, according to Nielsen SoundScan, taking its total to 1.9 million units. Worldwide sales stand at over five million copies, the label said.
Upon its Sept. 21 release, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a first for Green Day, and it also opened at No. 1 in Britain, Canada, Japan and Australia.
“American Idiot” yielded seven Grammy nominations, including album of the year, the first time a punk release has made the coveted category. The Grammys take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.
Green Day will appear Wednesday on NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” (1:35 a.m. EST/PST), premiering its nine-minute punk rock opera, “Jesus of Suburbia,” in its entirety, the label said.
Elsewhere on the charts, Eminem’s “Encore” (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), which had spent four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1., slipped to No. 2 with 99,989 copies, taking its total to 3.6 million.
Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz’ “Crunk Juice” (TVT) held steady at No. 3 with 80,000 copies, tallying 1.5 million copies to date. Kanye West protege John Legend’s debut “Get Lifted” (Sony Urban Music/Columbia) jumped three places to No. 4 in its second week with 75,000 copies; its total stands at 192,500.
Ludacris’ former chart-topper “The Red Light District” (Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South) held at No. 5 for a second week with 74,500 copies and a cumulative haul of 995,500.
Destiny’s Child’s “Destiny Fulfilled” (Sony Urban Music/Columbia) rose four to No. 6; Shania Twain’s “Greatest Hits” (Mercury Nashville) was up five to No. 7; Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s “Collision Course” (Machine Shop/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) fell four to No. 8; Usher’s “Confessions” (LaFace/Zomba), slipped three to No. 6; and Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” (RCA), rose three to No. 10.
For the second week in a row, Fox/Epic/Sony’s “Garden State” soundtrack bucked the chart’s overall downward sales trend. The Billboard 200’s greatest sales gainer jumped 29 places to No. 22, fueled by a 21% rise to 44,000 copies.
In a slow week for new entries, one has to go all the way down to No. 144 to find the chart’s top debut, Rhino’s soundtrack to the Bobby Darin biopic “Beyond the Sea.” The set features actor Kevin Spacey singing such classics as “Mack the Knife,” “Dream Lover,” “Splish Splash” and the title cut.
The rest of this week’s debuts were late rapper Ol Dirty Bastard’s “Osirus: The Official Mixtape” (JS, No. 157), Atmosphere’s “Headshots: Se7en” (Rhymesayers, No. 165) and the Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” (Merge, No. 169).
Overall U.S. album sales in the year’s first full chart week were down 33% from the previous week to 10.6 million units, 28% less than the comparable week in 2004.
