Evanescence Caps Killers: Chasing Amy

Evanescence is the Little Rock band with a big rock debut.
Despite a revamped lineup, the Amy Lee-led band still knows how to make an entrance as its sophomore album, The Open Door, shut on the Killers and topped the album charts.
The Arkansas-bred band's major-label debut, Fallen, sold nearly 14 million copies worldwide and became one of only eight albums ever to spend a full year in the Top 50 of the Billboard 200. Still, The Open Door, which features guitarist Terry Balsamo taking over for band cofounder Ben Moody, is the band's first chart-topper, selling 447,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen SoundScan numbers, outselling the Killers' sophomore release, Sam's Town.
With the new single, "Call Me When You're Sober," performing strongly on radio, The Open Door also went number one in Australia, Germany, Greece, Japan and Switzerland and Top 5 in over a dozen other countries. The disc opened at number two in the U.K., behind the Killers.
Powered by "When We Were Young," the first Killers track to top the Alternative/Modern Rock chart, Sam's Town finished second in U.S. sales with 315,000 copies. The follow-up to the 5 million-selling debut Hot Fuss was shepherded by legendary producers Flood and Alan Moulder and recorded at the Palms Hotel & Casino, making the Killers the first group to cut an album at the Sin City resort's new recording studio.
With Evanescence and the Killers debuting atop the album chart, and five newcomers in the Top 10, last week's 1-2 punch took a slide. Ludacris' Release Therapy fell five spots to number six, while Janet Jackson's 20 Y.O. dropped seven spots to nine.
George Strait's It Just Comes Natural opened at number three on 232,000 copies sold. The country music legend debuted at number one last year with Somewhere Down in Texas. Meanwhile, Beck's The Information moved nearly 100,000 copies to debut at number seven, while Monica opened at eight, selling 93,000 copies of Makings of Me.
The remaining Top 10 albums, all holdovers, included Tony Bennett's Duets: An American Classic at four, Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds at five and Hinder's Extreme Behavior in the 10 spot.
Just outside the Top 10, Aussie rockers Jet landed at 16, selling 51,000 copies of Shine On. The new disc is dedicated to the recently deceased father of band members Nic and Chris Cester.
Chris Young, the 21-year-old winner of USA's Nashville Star competition, sold 36,000 of his self-titled bow to open at 22, just a few copies more of the posthumous Ray Charles release, Ray Sings Basie Swings. Gospel star Fred Hammond opened at 29 with Free to Worship moving 31,000.
Finally, the Decemberists' major label debut, The Crane Wife, sold 26,000 to open at 35, marking the Portland band's best sales week and chart debut.
Other albums cracking the Billboard 200 included Wow Hits 2007 at 39, Robin Thicke's The Evolution of Robin Thicke at 45, SPM (South Park Mexican)'s When Devils Strike at 46, Big Boi cohort Sleepy Brown's Mr. Brown at 53, Skillet's Comatose at 55, Smokie Norful's Life Changing at 56, From Kumbia Kings to Kumbia All-Starz at 68, Pillar's The Reckoning at 70 and Pepper's No Shame at 96.
Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions reentered the charts at 111 thanks to the release of the American Land Edition, which features bonus songs and videos. Likewise, with Walk the Line hitting HBO, the soundtrack reentered the charts at 123 and The Legend of Johnny Cash collection climbed 14 spots to 72 in its 50th week on the charts. —Agencies