On the Charts: Alicia Keys Overtakes Radiohead in Slow Sales Week

The Big News: After nine weeks on the charts, Alicia Keys' As I Am reclaimed the top spot, unseating Radiohead's In Rainbows, which dropped to two. As I Am sold 70,267 copies, a relatively low total for the week's best-selling album, but the biggest news may be the Kimya Dawson-heavy Juno soundtrack which, echoing the film's success, continues to rise on the charts. Juno comes in at Number Three this week with 67,507 copies, which isn't exactly Garden State soundtrack numbers — yet.

Debuts: Two noteworthy rookies cracked the top fifty. Quirky Aussie singer Sia and her new album Some People Have Real Problems came in at twenty-six, and Artist to Watch Kate Nash debuted strong, with Made of Bricks slotting at thirty-six.

Last Week's Heroes: Last week's top ten primarily stayed the same, with Colbie Caillat's Coco dropping out to make room for Fergie's The Dutchess, which returned to number ten on its sixty-eighth week on the charts. Radiohead held relatively strong, selling 68,784 copies of an album that was available for free months before its physical release. In platinum news, Keyshia Cole's Just Like You crossed the million-sold mark in its sixteenth week on the shelves.

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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.”

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