Justin Bieber, The National Top Charts as Album Sales Slide

A month after its release, Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 returned to the Number One spot on the Billboard 200, but it wasn't under the most auspicious circumstances: My World 2.0 managed to sell just north of 60,000 copies, making it the second-lowest-selling Number One album since Nielsen SoundScan began tabulating sales info in 1991. Bieber's debut full-length just edged out the current lowest record holder, the Dreamgirls soundtrack, which topped the charts in January 2007 with 60,000 copies, Billboard reports. Lady Antebellum settled for Number Two with 54,000 more copies sold.

The low totals at the top helped propel the National to their best debut ever. The Brooklyn band's latest album High Violet entered the Billboard 200 at Number Three with 51,000 copies, a vast improvement over Boxer's Number 68 peak in 2007. The AC/DC-fueled Iron Man 2 clung to Number Four while Jack White's latest album with the Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards, rounded out the Top Five with 45,000 copies.

The Top 10 also welcomed Charice's self-titled debut album, which grabbed Number Eight with 43,000 copies. Last week's Number One album, Godsmack's The Oracle, dropped down to Number Nine as sales fell 63 percent from its debut week. Carole King and James Taylor's Live at the Troubadour took Number Six, and Usher's Raymond v Raymond followed at Number Seven.

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

More Song Stories entries »

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