Carrie Underwood Is #1, Beastie Boys Return To Album Chart

Robbie Daw | May 9, 2012 9:42 am

Carrie Underwood‘s fourth LP Blown Away becomes her third to blow to the peak position on Billboard‘s Top 200 this week. The album sold 267,000 copies out of the gate, putting it behind only Madonna‘s MDNA, which started with 358,000 last month, as far as biggest opening-week sales in 2012. Billboard also notes that Carrie joins Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill as only the third female country artist to rack up three chart-topping albums on the Top 200.

Behind Blown Away, the Top 10 sees five other debuts this week: Norah JonesDangermouse-produced fifth album Little Broken Hearts (110,000) enters in the runner-up position, the 42nd NOW compilation (95,000) is #3, B.o.B‘s Strange Clouds (76,000) breezes in at #5, TV tie-in The Music Of SMASH (39,000) starts at #9 and Marilyn Manson‘s Born Villain (38,000) diabolically crashes in at #10.

Meanwhile, following the cancer-related death of Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch on Friday, the trio’s albums sold enough copies collectively (55,000) to make an impact on the Top 200 before Sunday’s weekly chart cut-off time. This week, Licensed To Ill re-enters at #18 (19,000), while the rest of the Boys’ catalog pops up in the following positions:

* Solid Gold Hits (#51) * Paul’s Boutique (#56) * Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (#107) * Ill Communication (#109) * Check Your Head (#124) * Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds Of Silence (#141)

As far as the hip hop trio’s songs, Billboard notes that Beastie Boys sold 151,000 downloads last week, led by “Brass Monkey”.

The Top 10 Of Billboard’s Top 200 Chart

1. Carrie Underwood, Blown Away *new* *1 week* 2. Norah Jones, Little Broken Hearts *new* 3. Various, NOW 42 *new* 4. Adele, 21 5. B.o.B, Strange Clouds *new* 6. Lionel Richie,Tuskegee 7. Jack White, Blunderbuss 8. One Direction, Up All Night 9. Various, The Music Of SMASH *new* 10. Marilyn Manson, Born Villain *new*