Eminem Holds on to Number One for Fourth Straight Week

For the fourth straight week, Eminem has held on to the Number One spot on the Billboard 200. The MC's latest album Recovery moved 195,000 copies, making Em the first artist since Susan Boyle to lock the top spot for four straight weeks. The rapper's dominance this week was fueled by the success of the single "Love the Way You Lie" (featuring Rihanna), which unseated Katy Perry's "California Gurls" for the Number One spot on the Hot 100.

No other artists came close to matching Eminem's big week. Korn's Korn III: Remember Who You Are arrived at Number Two selling 63,000 copies, three times less the amount than Em's total sales. Korn's last album (2007's Untitled) also debuted at Number Two, although their last LP sold nearly double the copies of Korn III. Drake's Thank Me Later hung around at Number Three with 50,000 units sold. Christian rock group Newsboys scored Number Four with Born Again and Justin Bieber rounded out the Top Five with My World 2.0.

The bottom of the Top 10 was packed with debuts. Sting's classical disc Symphonicities placed Number Six with 36,000 copies. Country musician Jerrod Niemann came in at Number Seven with Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury while Hellyeah's Stampede debuted at Number Eight. Despite success with the massive single "Paper Planes" and recent controversy with the press, M.I.A.'s Maya opened at a disappointing Number Nine. The rapper's third LP sold only 28,000 — 1,000 copies less than the first-week sales of her last LP, Kala.

Overall, album sales were down 23 percent compared to the same week in 2009.

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Song Stories

“Youth Knows No Pain”

Lykke Li | 2011

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

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