Eminem And Godsmack Control The Charts

Eminem’s upbeat “Not Afraid” will go straight in at #1 tomorrow on Billboard‘s Hot 100, the trade publication reports. Not only will it mark Em’s third chart-topping single (after “Lose Myself” in 2002 and “Crack A Bottle” in 2009), it’s also only the 16th time in the chart’s nearly 52-year history that a song has debuted at #1. Over on the Top 200 Albums, Godsmack’s Oracle rules the roost.

Billboard notes that the last single to debut at the top of the Hot 100 was Britney Spears’ “3,” last fall. Eminem’s “Not Afraid,” which sold 380,000 downloads in its first week, is now only the second rap song to enter at #1, after the 1997 Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112 collaboration “I’ll Be Missing You.”

That said, it looks like Eminem will be facing some stiff competition next week from Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg’s “California Gurls,” which was added to iTunes yesterday and has already bumped “Not Afraid” off the top of the digital download store’s Top Songs chart.

Getting back to the album chart, Godsmack’s Oracle moved 117,000 copies in its first week on sale. There are five other entries within the Top 10, including the self-titled debut from Dixie Chicks splinter band Court Yard Hounds at #7 and Toni Braxton’s sixth studio album Pulse, which goes in at #9.

Meanwhile, B.o.B’s The Adventures Of Bobby Ray seems to have fallen into a bit of a misadventure—the album has dropped from its perch at #1 to #12.

The Top 10 of Billboard’s Top 200 Albums:

1. Godsmack, Oracle *new* 2. Lady Antebellum, Need You Now 3. MercyMe, The Generous Mr. Lovewell *new* 4. James Taylor & Carole King, Live At The Troubadour *new* 5. Justin Bieber, My World 2.0 6. Deftones, Diamond Eyes *new* 7. Court Yard Hounds, Court Yard Hounds *new* 8. AC/DC, Iron Man 2 soundtrack 9. Toni Braxton, Pulse *new* 10. Usher, Raymond v. Raymond