NYTimes.com – Record sales increased last week with new albums from Beyoncé, below, Nickelback and David Cook, the latest “American Idol” winner.
“I Am … Sasha Fierce” (Columbia) became Beyoncé’s third album in a row to open at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, with sales of 482,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Nickelback, the Canadian rock band, opened at No. 2 with its latest.
“Dark Horse” (Roadrunner), moving 326,000 copies and Mr. Cook’s self-titled album on RCA sold 280,000 to land at No. 3. Last week’s top seller, Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” (Big Machine), dropped to No. 4, with 217,000, a decline of 63 percent.
The classical crossover group Il Divo reached No. 5 with 162,000 sales of its new album, “Promise” (Columbia), and the “Twilight” soundtrack (Atlantic) slipped one to No. 6, with 125,000 sales. Sales were up 6 percent over all from last week, but down 32 percent from the same week last year.
Beyoncé Knowles, 27, is one of the few pop stars left with a wholesome, good-girl image. Ms. Knowles’s latest film is “Cadillac Records,” in which she plays the legendary blues singer Etta James, a former heroin addict and the daughter of a prostitute. Her role as the hard-living and emotionally scarred singer altered the direction of her latest album, “I Am…Sasha Fierce” (Music World/Columbia Records). The film opens December 2008.
