On the Charts: Buble Eclipses "New Moon," Dylan Defeats Archuleta in "Christmas" Battle

The Big News: Twilight Nation couldn't stand up to the Power of Oprah on the charts, as Michael Buble's Crazy Love held on to Number One on the Billboard Top 200 after the crooner's October 9th appearance on Winfrey's show boosted his disc's sales to 55 percent more than its first week on shelves. Crazy Love wound up selling 203,000 copies in its second week, outpacing the New Moon soundtrack, which finished at Number Two with 115,000 copies since its rush-release on Friday, October 16th, according to Nielsen SoundScan. By comparison, the Twilight soundtrack finished at Number One with 165,000 copies in its debut week in November 2008.

Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3, Barbra Streisand's Love is the Answer and Miley Cyrus' Time of our Lives EP placed at Three-Four-Five respectively. In addition to the New Moon soundtrack, which features new tracks from Thom Yorke, the Killers and Muse, two more debuts found their way into the Top 10: The Flaming Lips' Embryonic moved 32,000 to claim Number Eight, while Mario's D.N.A. followed at Nine.

Debuts: In the first of many fights for Xmas supremacy, Bob Dylan's Christmas in the Heart faced off against David Archuleta's Christmas from the Heart. After seven days, Dylan's disc claimed yuletide victory over Archuleta's, selling 20,000 copies to finish at Number 23, seven spots ahead of the former American Idol runner-up. Elsewhere, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and his side project Dead By Sunrise took Number 29 with Out of Ashes and Hall & Oates' four-disc collection Do What You Want, Be What You Are placed 89th.

Last Week's Heroes: Buble accomplished the rare feat — nowadays at least — of increasing sales following a strong debut week. The same can't be said for last week's Number Two album, Kiss' Sonic Boom, which dropped down to Number 11 in its second week on the charts. Toby Keith's American Ride rode the coattails of Kiss' decent, falling from three to 12 thanks to a 68 percent sales decrease.

• 
  MUSIC The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments
• 
  MOVIES & TV 'Game of Thrones': The Show Vs. the Books
• 
  POLITICS Matt Taibbi: Facebook IPO vs. Shareholders
• 
  VIDEOS Exclusive: Garbage Rip Through 'I Think I'm Paranoid'

Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter