Eminem's Recovery Dominating the Charts

Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty ImagesEminem‘s chart reign goes on. After a brief interruption two weeks ago courtesy of Arcade Fire, he promptly returned last week to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, and that’s where he’s staying this week after selling another 116,000 copies of Recovery, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This is Shady’s seventh nonconsecutive week at No. 1 with Recovery — more than anyone has racked up since Taylor Swift’s Fearless in 2008 and 2009, and more than any rap album since OutKast’sSpeakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003 and 2004. Will Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream knock Eminem back down to No. 2 next week? Stay tuned.

Soul singer Kem’s Intimacy leads this week’s crowded pack of new arrivals, taking No. 2 with 74,000 copies sold. At No. 3, it’s Ray LaMontagne with 64,000 copies sold of God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise, a career best for the folk troubadour. Iron Maiden follow at No. 4 with 63,000 copies sold of Final Frontier. Trace Adkins rounds out the Top 5 with 50,000 copies sold of Cowboy’s Back in Town. Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs falls to No. 7 in week 3 after selling another 31,000 copies.

The new entries resume at No. 9 with David Gray, who sold 25,000 copies of Foundling. John Mellencamp notches No. 10 with 24,000 copies sold of No Better Than This. Down at No. 17, Lady Antebellum make it onto the chart with 18,000 digital copies sold of their iTunes Sessions EP; a few spaces above, their hit Need You Now also rose from No. 12 last week to No. 6 this week.