Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic’ Bests Phillip Phillips, Kicks One Direction’s To The Curb On Album Chart
Following her whirlwind 777 Tour last week and the achievement of her 12th #1 single on the Hot 100 (with “Diamonds”), Rihanna can now pour another flute of Ace Of Spades for herself, as her seventh LP Unapologetic has become her first to hit the peak position on the Billboard Top 200. All of the Barbadian diva’s previous six albums placed in the Top 10, with 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad coming the closest to the top, at #2. Unapologetic sold 238,000 copies out of the gate — 31,000 more than her best sales week, when Loud first hit shelves and digital retailers in November 2010.
Rihanna’s seventh album bumps One Direction‘s Take Me Home down to #2, and forces American Idol winner Phillip Phillips to settle for a #4 entry with The World From The Side Of The Moon. Phillips’ debut sold 169,000 copies — not quite the amount 2011 Idol winner Scotty McCreery‘s On A Clear Day opened with (197,000), but far ahead of the 39,000 Lee DeWyze‘s Live It Up racked up in 2010.
Elsewhere, Kid Rock‘s latest and a live Led Zeppelin album make the upper tier of the Top 200, as does Keyshia Cole (just barely), at #10 (96,000), with her fifth LP Woman To Woman.
The Top 10 Of Billboard’s Top 200 Chart
1. Rihanna, Unapologetic *new* *1 week*
2. Taylor Swift, Red
3.One Direction, Take Me Home
4. Phillip Phillips, The World From The Side Of The Moon *new*
5. Kid Rock, Rebel Soul *new*
6. Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas, Baby
7. Pink, The Truth About Love
8. Jason Aldean, Night Train
9. Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day *new*
10. Keyshia Cole, Woman To Woman *new*
