Usher returned to familiar territory at the top of the charts this week with his sixth album, while Erykah Badu’s much-talked-about “Window Seat” music video helped propel the soul songstress to a Top 5 debut.
Not even heavy online leaks could stop Usher from selling 329,000 copies of Raymond v. Raymond, making it his third straight No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. His last effort, 2008’s Here I Stand, debuted at No. 1 with 443,000. Raymond holds the third-best sales week of the year so far, following Sade’s Soldier of Love (502,000) and Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now (481,000).
The R&B crooner edged out his protégé Justin Bieber, who moved down one spot to No. 2 with My World 2.0, which was up 3% over its initial week with 291,000. According to Billboard, it marks the first time a No. 1-debuting album—released on a traditional Tuesday—has posted a sales increase in its second week since 2002.
All the publicity from her controversial “Window Seat” video didn’t hurt Erykah Badu, whose latest album New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, bows on the Billboard 200 at No. 4 with 110,000 units. Its predecessor, 2008’s New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War, entered at No. 2 with 124,000.
Monica’s Still Standing takes a dip to No. 6 with 81,000 in its second week. It opened at No. 2 with 184,000, backed by the chart-topping R&B single “Everything to Me.”