Norah Jones News

Becoming the first new chart topper since March, the Eminem -led rap group D12 knocked off Usher's Confessions and took over the top slot with its sophomore release, D12 World. The new disc, featuring the singles "My Band" and "40 Oz.," benefited from repeated MTV specials and an appearance by the group last week on TRL.

D12 World sold 544,000 copies for the week ended, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released today. This marks the best single-week sales for a rap album so far this year, besting Twista's Kamikaze's 312,000-copy debut in February.

D12's initial release, 2001's Devil's Night, sold a lesser 371,000 first-week copies on its way to a current tally north of 4 million copies. That disc featured the hits "Purple Pills" and "Fight Music."

With Eminem's D12 posse on the throne, Usher's Confessions took over number two. The disc held the top spot for five straight weeks, outlasting 2004's previous best streak of four weeks by Norah Jones . Confessions sold another 262,000 copies last week--up 9,000 from the previous period--thanks to a SNL appearance over the weekend.

Prince's Musicology held at number three in its second week, selling 172,000 copies, only a slight dip from its first-week numbers. The R&B star clearly benefits from bundling his new disc with concert tickets, hence sprucing up his CD sales numbers.

Canadian-born jazz vocalist Diana Krall landed the week's second-best bow at number four with Girl in the Other Room selling 144,000 copies. Krall, who collaborated on the disc with husband Elvis Costello , filmed a performance last week at the Union Station in Toronto, which will air May 18 on the Bravo Network.

Television's favorite talent show helped secure the week's final Top 10 bow. American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics, which features 13 tracks by the show's 12 finalists, sold 55,000 copies to hold down the 10 spot. That's off about 40 percent from the 91,000 discs moved in the first week by American Idol Season Two: All Time Classic American Love Songs, featuring Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard.

The rest of the Top 10 were all returning favorites yet to be voted off by consumers: Mario Winans' Hurt No More at five, Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 15 at six, Hoobastank's The Reason at seven, Kanye West's The College Dropout at eight and Evanescence's Fallen at nine.

Ladies led the way for the week's remaining debuts. Beyonc took a bow at 17 as her DVD/CD combo Live at Wembley moved 45,000 copies. Country queen Loretta Lynn opened at 24 with the Jack White-produced Van Lear Rose selling 37,000 copies. Mary-Chapin Carpenter opened at 50 with Between Here & Gone. Punk priestess Patti Smith opened at 123 with Trampin.

Meanwhile, the Women & Songs collection sold 16,000 copies to enter the charts at 67. The 19-track disc features songs by Faith Hill , Jewel, Nelly Furtado , Dido and Leann Rimes.

Elsewhere, the Jagged Edge Collection cracked the charts at 131, while the Love Actually soundtrack reentered the charts at 135 as the film's DVD hit stores last week.

Here's a rundown of the Top 10 albums:

1. D12 World, D12
2. Confessions, Usher
3. Musicology, Prince
4. Girl in the Other Room, Diana Krall
5. Hurt No More, Mario Winans
6. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 15, various
7. The Reason, Hoobastank
8. The College Dropout, Kanye West
9. Fallen, Evanescence
10. American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics, various