Beth Orton News

There's some serious monkey business going down on the album charts.

While Grammy winners got their traditional post-ceremony sales spikes, the top branch of the Billboard 200 was occupied by a cinematic simian as Jack Johnson's Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George swung to number one with 163,000 in sales for the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album, for which Johnson gives voice to the little furball's adventures, marks the first number one debut for the surfer turned singer. The album also features contributions from Johnson pals Ben Harper, G. Love and Matt Costa.

While the Curious George album topped the charts, the film itself opened in third at the box office last weekend. Meanwhile, the number one film, The Pink Panther, helped push Beyoncé's "Check On It" to the top of the singles sales and airplay charts.

Aside from the movie-powered music, the big impact on the charts came from the Grammys. After going five-for-five at the awards, including Album of the Year, U2's 2004 release, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb exploded back on the pop chart at 49, selling more than 27,000 copies, a six-fold sales increase.

The band, which performed two songs on the telecast, also helped boost Mary J. Blige. She joined U2 on stage for "One," and her new album, The Breakthrough, which also contains the duet, jumped 30,000 copies to 152,000 to hold down the number-two position.

Mariah Carey's three trophies and performance pushed The Emancipation of Mimi up seven spots to number seven with more than 90,000 copies. Carey, who entered the ceremony with a leading eight nominations, ended a 16-year Grammy drought with her wins. Two-time winner and performer Kelly Clarkson also reentered the Top 10 as Breakaway leapt 16 spots to number eight on 83,000 copies.

Among other Grammy bumps, Green Day's two-year-old American Idiot climbed 16 spots to 50 thanks to the band's Record of the Year win for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"; triple winner Kanye West jumped 20 spots to 30 with his Best Rap Album, Late Registration; and Alison Krauss & Union Station's Lonely Runs Both Ways reentered the charts at 199 after their trio of trophies.

But the biggest climber was Best New Artist winner John Legend. Also a triple winner, Legend's 2004 release, Get Lifted shot up 169 spots to number 18, selling 52,000 copies, up nearly nine-fold.

Monkey and Grammy business aside, Dem Franchize Boyz registered the week's second-best bow, with On Top of Our Game selling nearly 106,000 at number five.

With George becoming king of the jungle, last week's chart-topper, Barry Manilow's Greatest Songs of the Fifties, fell two spots to three. The remaining Top 10 holdovers: Andrea Bocelli's Amore at four, Il Divo's Ancora at six, Eminem's Curtain Call at nine and Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable at 10.

Just outside the Top 10, White Ron's comedy disc, You Can't Fix Stupid, sold 64,000 copies at 14, while Totally Country Vol. 5 sold 56,000 discs at 17. Terror Squad member Remy Ma, who was mentored by the late Big Pun, sold 37,000 copies of There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story at 33. The female rapper originally came on the scene as Remy Martin and made a name for herself on M.O.P.'s classic "Ante Up (Remix)."

Other notable debuts included KT Tunstall's Eye to the Telescope at 47, the second One Tree Hill soundtrack at 54, In Flames' Come Clarity at 58, Belle & Sebastian's Life Pursuit at 65 and Beth Orton's Comfort of Strangers at 93.

Here's a recap of last week's Top 10 albums:

1. Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George, Jack Johnson & Friends
2. The Breakthrough, Mary J. Blige
3. Greatest Hits of the Fifties, Barry Manilow
4. Amore, Andrea Bocelli
5. On Top of Our Game, Dem Franchize Boyz
6. Ancora, Il Divo
7. The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
8. Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
9. Curtain Call, Eminem
10. Unpredictable, Jamie Foxx