Cake Debut At #1 As Album Sales Tank Hard

Robbie Daw | January 19, 2011 10:30 am

It’s been a long time since we went the distance with quirky Cali rock act Cake. But here they are again suddenly, with not only their first Top 10 album—Showroom Of Compassion—but their first to reach #1 on Billboard‘s Top 200. Unfortunately, the rug gets yanked out from under that feat since it’s also the lowest number of copies moved for a #1 album in Nielsen SoundScan’s history of tracking LP sales. Last week Taylor Swift spent a sixth non-consecutive week on top of the album chart with Speak Now, which sold 52,000 copies—at that point, a record low for a #1 LP. Cake’s Showroom Of Compassion has now snatched that dishonor away from Tay Tay a mere seven days later, after selling around 44,000 copies out of the gate.

It’s a hollow victory for an album that leads ahead of two other debuts in the Top 10 this week: Cage The Elephant’s sophomore set Thank You, Happy Birthday (#2 with 39,000) and the self-titled debut from Can You Duet country duo Steel Magnolia (#7 with 28,000).

Hell, we’re just bummed that Daft Punk climbed to a career high of #4 last week with the TRON: Legacy soundtrack, and have now fallen out of the Top 10 altogether.

The Top 10 of Billboard’s Top 200 chart:

1. Cake, Showroom Of Compassion *new* *1 week* 2. Cage The Elephant, Thank You, Happy Birthday *new* 3. Taylor Swift, Speak Now 4. Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans 5. Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday 6. Various, Country Strong soundtrack 7. Steel Magnolia, Steel Magnolia *new* 8. Rihanna, Loud 9. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More 10. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy