From the Archives

Backstreet Boys Hold Off Beatles for Second Week

"Black & Blue" still No. 1, but "1" isn't far behind

Posted Dec 06, 2000 12:00 AM

Just because the Backstreet Boys fell short of breaking 'N Sync's first week sales record doesn't mean they have any intention of giving up the ghost just yet. Black & Blue, the boys' third album, racked up another 689,578 sales its second week in stores to hold onto its No. 1 spot on the nation's album chart.

It was far from a rout, however. After three weeks in stores, the Beatles hits collection 1 came in a close second with sales of 606,809 copies, according to SoundScan. The various artist compilation Now That's What I Call Music! 5, Creed's Human Clay and Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits rounded out the Top Five. Meanwhile, the Backstreet Boys' labelmates/rivals Britney Spears and 'N Sync each found their way back into the Top 10, with Spears' Oops! . . . I Did it Again climbing from No. 15 to No. 8 and 'N Sync's No Strings Attached swinging back in at No. 10 spot from No. 17. OutKast, Ricky Martin and the Wu-Tang Clan all fell out of the ten club, however, dropping to No. 11, No. 13 and No. 19, respectively.

The week's highest debuts belonged to Master P (bowing in at No. 26 with Ghetto Postage, which scanned 92,936 copies), and the rap collective Lyricist Lounge 2 (in at No. 34 with sales of 69,250).

Although sales across the board were mostly down from last week's bountiful SoundScan tallies (which included the sales count from Thanksgiving weekend), Americans still seem to be in a record-buying holiday frenzy. The top twenty-three albums (with U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind holding up the back-end) each sold more than 100,000 copies last week.

This week's Top 10: Backstreet Boys' Black & Blue (689,578 copies sold); The Beatles' 1 (606,809); Now That's What I Call Music! 5 (376,102); Creed's Human Clay (225,405); Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits (215,816); Sade's Lovers Rock (189,598); Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (177,435); Britney Spears' Oops! . . . I Did it Again (171,819); R. Kelly's TP-2.com (168,645) and 'N Sync's No Strings Attached (165,566).