Rascal Flatts Stay on Top

Country boy band Rascal Flatts held onto the top spot in a country-dominated week, selling another 345,000 copies of their latest album, Me and My Gang, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This means the boys have sold more than one million CDs in just two weeks -- putting them in a league with hip-hop superstars Eminem and 50 Cent. In a close second place is another country star, Toby Keith, whose White Trash With Money moved 330,000 CDs, making for Keith's eighth Top Ten album on the pop chart.

Flexing some pop and rock muscle in such a Nashville week, the twenty-first installment of the hits compilation Now That's What I Call Music! landed at Number Three, moving another 293,000 units thanks to singles by Mariah Carey, All-American Rejects and Black Eyed Peas. And keeping things eclectic, seasoned rapper LL Cool J's eleventh album, Todd Smith (after his birth name), sold a solid 116,000 copies -- boosted by guests Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez and Jamie Foxx.

The breakout moment of the week goes to newcomer Daniel Powter, who saw the radio-friendly piano rock of his self-titled debut sell a substantial 90,000 CDs to hit Number Nine. Recently dubbed one of Rolling Stone's "Ten Artists to Watch," Powter got lucky when American Idol -- a show that continues to influence music sales -- used his song "Bad Day" prominently in its montages.

In the rest of the chart, two big artists continued to sell strong: Country man Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 dropped just two spots to sit at Number Seven (116,000). And feisty pop star Pink also stepped down two places -- to Number Eight, selling another 90,000 copies of her latest, I'm Not Dead.

Meanwhile, Southern rapper Bubba Sparxxx's The Charm, his third Top Ten album, zipped down thirty spots to Number Thirty-Nine (30,000). And after the highest debut of their long-running career, Oklahoma indie rockers the Flaming Lips saw their latest, At War With the Mystics, plummet from Number Eleven to Fifty-Seven (22,000).

With no major releases this week, expect country to stick to the Top Ten.

This week's Top Ten: Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang; Toby Keith's White Trash With Money; Now That's What I Call Music! 21; High School Musical: The Original Soundtrack; T.I.'s King; LL Cool J's Todd Smith; Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2; Pink's I'm Not Dead; Daniel Powter's Daniel Powter; and James Blunt's Back to Bedlam.

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  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
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  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
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  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
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  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

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