U2 has long been accused of having a Messiah complex, and the band certainly lived up to it this week when its "Pop" album debuted at No. 1 by a comfortable margin, selling 349,000 albums, according to SoundScan.
While the music industry and retailers might have wished for a showing more along the lines of past superstar debuts by such bands as Pearl Jam and Metallica, Pop provides at least some relief from the spring doldrums. Many in the industry hope "Pop" and the Notorious B.I.G. album due March 25 will lift the music business out of its current slump.
After the Messiah, consumers decided a small child shall lead them. LeAnn Rimes continued her phenomenal sales streak, coming in at No. 2 by selling 137,500 copies of "Unchained Melody: The Early Years" and also appearing at No. 10 with her debut album, "Blue," which sold 88,200 copies.
The week's biggest slip was the soundtrack to Howard Stern's "Private Parts," which fell from the top slot to No. 11. Like the film, the soundtrack was expected to do well with Stern's core fans, but it may not have the legs some thought it would in markets where the King of All Media's radio show isn't on the air.
"Falling Into You" came in at No. 3 on the charts as Celine Dion continued to ride a post-Grammy Award uptick, selling 120,00 units.
Jewel's debut, Pieces of You and the now-hoary No Doubt album Tragic Kingdom came in at No. 4 and 5 respectively. Girl Power still had a sales impact in the form of a No. 6 showing by the Spice Girls, and Live's new Secret Samadhi slipped to No. 8 from last week's No. 2 showing. The Wallflowers' Bringing Down the Horse and Erykah Badu's Baduizm stayed strong at No. 9 and 10 respectively.