Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" Goes Platinum After One Week

In an age where albums struggle to sell a million copies in their lifespan, Lil Wayne's much-anticipated and ultra-hyped Tha Carter III has gone platinum in one week of release, becoming the first album since 2005 to top a million units in its debut week. 50 Cent's The Massacre was the last album to do so back in March 2005. In 2006, no album sold more than 800,000 in a week, and only Kanye West's Graduation managed to crack 900,000 last year. Tha Carter III fared much better than its predecessor, as the Tha Carter II only sold 238,000 units in its opening week in 2005. To thank the fans and pretty much everybody else who helped TC3's rise to the top, Weezy posted a hilarious "Thank You" video where the rapper equates his success to the book drives he used to have in school. Watch the video above. Check back later today for more from this week's charts, and click below for more on how Lil Wayne parlayed a deluge of mixtapes into superstardom.

• How Lil Wayne Became a Superstar

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  MUSIC The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments
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  MOVIES & TV 'Game of Thrones': The Show Vs. the Books
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Song Stories

“Weird”

Hanson | 1997

Accomplished tunesmith Desmond Child co-wrote "Weird" with the three brothers that make up Hanson. Credited for dozens of cuts, including songs by Kiss, Cher, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Child told Rolling Stone that "Weird" holds a special place in his heart, "because it's about being different--and I grew up poor, I grew up being Latin, I grew up being gay, and now I'm fat!" The song was included on Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which sold more than ten million units.

More Song Stories entries »

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