Modest Mouse Debuts at Number 1 on the Charts

Modest Mouse has the first number 1 album on The Billboard 200 of its career after "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" debuted on top of the chart.

The Epic band sold 129,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That is more than double the group's previous best sales week. Their last album was 2004's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News." That album debuted at number 19 on the chart with 68,000 copies sold.

Joss Stone's third album, "Introducing Joss Stone," enters the chart at number 2, selling 118,000 units. That is also a career best. Stone's last album, 2004's "Mind, Body, and Soul," peaked at number 11 on the chart.

"American Idol" 2006 third-place finisher Elliott Yamin's album debut sold 90,000 copies to land at number 3 on the chart. Yamin is the fifth finalist from last year's "American Idol" to reach The Billboard 200. Yamin joins Taylor Hicks, Kellie Pickler, Katharine McPhee, and Chris Daughtry (number 4 on this week's chart). Daughtry's self-titled album sits at the number 4 position for the second straight week. His album sold 76,000 copies.

At number five on this week's chart is R&B singer Marques Houston's album "Veteran." The album is also number one on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums with 69,000 albums sold. Houston's last album debuted in 2005 at number 13 on the chart with 65,000 copies sold.

Akon's "Konvicted" just falls to number 6 on the chart after selling about a hundred copies less than "Veteran." Lloyd's "Street Love" falls to number seven. Rounding out the top 10 on the chart is Musiq Souldchild's "Luvanmusiq" at number 8, Rich Boy's self-titled debut at number 9, and Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," which falls to number 10. Winehouse made history last week as she had the highest debut in chart history for a British Female artist.

Other artists in this week's top 50 on The Billboard 200 include Insane Clown Posse, Baby Boy Da Prince, and rapper Devin the Dude.

Maylene & the Sons of Disaster also made their first appearance on any Billboard chart with their second album, dubbed "II." Miguel Bose and Tracy Thorn also make their first appearance on a Billboard chart.

Overall album sales are up 2.6% over last week at 8.5 units. Sales are down 18.2% compared to this time last year. Overall album sales are down 17% for the year.

Sources:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003563939
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/modest_mouses_ship_comes_in_at_no_1/20070328-013037-3221r/