How The West Has Won (Hits Daily Double)

Kanye’s Opening Week of 800k+ Will Be Biggest in Two Years, 50 Cent at 600k, Kenny Chesney 450k September 12, 2007 School may have just started, but Kanye West’s Graduation has come just in time for the beleaguered music biz. Following one of the worst weeks in the history of album sales comes one of the liveliest, and boy was it needed. Thanks to a record-shattering first day at iTunes and traditional retail (where it reportedly sold more than 435k), IDJ artist West will debut at #1 on next Tuesday’s HITS Top 50 Album Chart, easily surpassing 800k in sales. That would more than top Linkin Park’s previous one-week high of 625k set in May and Rascal Flatts’ 2006 high of 722k. In fact, it would be the biggest sales debut since West’s last album Late Registration bowed in August 2005 with 860k. Shady/Aftermath/Interscope rapper 50 Cent, who has loudly declared he’d retire if West’s album sold more than his, better start boning up on his golf game, because Curtis will land at #2 with a still-impressive 600k, plus or minus. Kenny Chesney will have to settle for third place with his new album Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates on SBMG Nashville, which will bow at #3 with around 450k. The only other album of note to hit retail is the latest edition of the Gray’s Anatomy soundtrack from Disney's Hollywood Records. The market was down a little less than 4% vs last week, down about 23% vs same week last year and now down 14.5% year-to-date.