Underwood tops charts; Spears in the wings
Geoff Mayfield

LOS ANGELES—After the previous week’s lacklustre top 10, “American Idol” champ Carrie Underwood gives the current charts the bombast of a fireworks display.
The opening-week volley of 527,000 copies for her sophomore effort, “Carnival Ride,” is substantial by several measures. Only five albums have fetched larger numbers in 2007, and it’s the second-largest sum by any of this year’s country acts, exceeded only by the 545,000 that Rascal Flatts’ “Still Feels Good” ran through when it crowned The Billboard 200 five weeks ago.
Underwood’s total also represents the second-largest week by any “American Idol” contestant, surpassed only by 613,000 sales that greeted the first album by 2003 runner-up Clay Aiken. That accolade goes nicely with the distinction she recently earned when her first album, “Some Hearts,” overtook Kelly Clarkson’s second set for the best release-to-date total by any “Idol”-related album (5.98 million to date, compared with 5.87 million for Clarkson’s 2004 set, “Breakaway”).
“Hearts,” incidentally, gets a 38 percent lift in the week of the new album’s release, good for Greatest Gainer honours on Top Country Albums (No. 13) and the big chart (81-60).
“Carnival” beats Underwood’s first album’s start by 213,000. It also establishes the best week for any female solo artist since Beyonce’s “B’Day” rallied 541,000 sales when it opened at No. 1 in September 2006 and the biggest by a female country solo artist since Shania Twain’s “Greatest Hits” did 530,000 units when it entered the big chart at No. 2 in November 2004.
One would have had to live under a rock to be unaware that the fourth-season “Idol” winner had a new album coming to market. If you somehow missed her numerous magazine and newspaper stories, including cover pieces in Billboard and Entertainment Weekly, she gave you ample opportunity to find her on TV during release week. Aside from multiple shows on CMT and Great American Country, her opening tracking week included shots on “Good Morning America,” “Live With Regis and Kelly” and “The Early Show.”
After more than a year’s worth of headlines about divorce, child custody, partying, wardrobe malfunctions and, lately, driving mishaps, Britney Spears is about to make news of a different kind. The next Billboard 200 will remind people why they heard of Spears in the first place, as “Blackout” is poised to become her fifth No. 1 album.