I am No. 1: Alicia Keys
David Jenison

LOS ANGELES—Sorry, Norah, but Alicia Keys is doing more than keeping up with the Joneses. Keys helped breathe new life into the sluggish music business this week as her latest album, As I Am, topped the charts with one of the best sales weeks in recent memory. The nine-time Grammy winner hit number one by selling 742,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to the latest Nielsen SoundScan numbers.
To date, all of Keys’ four albums—Songs in A Minor (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), Unplugged (2005) and now As I Am—debuted at number one. Keys now joins Britney Spears as the only female artists to have their first four albums debut atop the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, the As I Am single “No One” continues to inch toward the Hot 100 top spot, currently sitting at number two behind Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss.”
To put these sales numbers in perspective, Kanye West is the only artist so far this year with a bigger debut, moving 957,000 first-week copies of Graduation in September. Keys also tops Norah Jones’ Never Too Late, which sold 405,000 copies in February, as 2007’s biggest open by a female artist. In fact, one actually has to go back to Jones’ million-plus Feels Like Home open in 2004 to find a female artist with a bigger first week than Keys had with As I Am.
(Though Keys is currently the year’s leading lady, she could get a run for her money from Mary J. Blige next month. Blige, who sold 727,000 first-week copies of The Breakthrough in 2005, returns Dec. 18 with Growing Pains.) With Keys leading four top 10 bows this week, Jay-Z’s American Gangster plunged seven spots to number eight, selling 131,000 second-week copies. Despite releasing last month, the holidays helped Josh Groban’s Noël surge four spots to number two. In its sixth week, the operatic pop singer sold 223,000 copies on a near-twofold sales spike.
Canadian superstar Celine Dion came in at number three, with the aptly titled Taking Chances selling 214,000 copies. The 16-track disc features its share of standard pop fare, but the singer channels Janis Joplin with more rockin’ tracks like “Fade Away” and “That’s Just the Woman in Me.” Contributing producers/songwriters include Evanescence alumnus Ben Moody, the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and rocker-turned-songstress Linda Perry.
The once-unstoppable Dion, who is about to embark on a major tour after wrapping her longtime Vegas residency, last topped the Billboard 200 with 2002’s A New Day Has Come and the Hot 100 with her 1998 megasmash “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic soundtrack. Her current album leads at radio with the title track. With the holiday season here, it’s time for another Now! hits collection for stuffing those stockings. Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 26 opened at number four, moving 208,000 copies. The latest instalment features such radio hits as the Plain White T’s’ “Hey There Delilah,” Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” and Daughtry’s “Over You.”
Classic rock gods Led Zeppelin make a chart appearance at seven with Mothership. The double-disc release features 24 remastered hits, including “Rock and Roll,” “Stairway to Heaven” and “Houses of the Holy.” Mothership, which will quickly be followed by the remastered Song Remains the Same, set sail with 136,000 copies. The rest of the top 10 are leftovers: Garth Brooks’ The Ultimate Hits at five, the Eagles’ Long Road Out of Eden at six, Carrie Underwood’s Carnival Ride at nine and Chris Brown’s Exclusive in the 10 spot. Just missing the top 10 was comedian Dane Cook, whose Rough Around the Edges: Live at Madison Square Garden sold 90,000 copies at 11. Two years ago, Cook had the highest debuting comedy album ever with Retaliation, which opened at number four.
The Killers’ B-sides and rarities collection, Sawdust, trailed at number 12, selling 82,000—just enough to edge out George Strait’s 22 More Hits, which sold 80,000 copies at 13. James Taylor followed at 17, selling 60,000 copies of his new live album, One Man Band, on Starbucks’ popular Hear Music label. Taylor joined Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell on Hear Music earlier this year. Other noteworthy debuts included Boyz II Men’s Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA at 27, Trisha Yearwood’s Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love at 30, the Goo Goo Dolls’ Greatest Hits, Vol. I at 33, Seal’s System at 35 and Duran Duran’s Red Carpet Massacre at 36.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, newcomer Leona Lewis set new sales records on the U.K. charts this past week. Her rookie release, Spirit, sold 375,000 first-week copies to become the fourth-fastest selling release in U.K. history, trailing only Oasis’ Be Here Now, Coldplay’s X&Y and Dido’s Life for Rent. Spirit is also the U.K.’s fastest selling debut album ever, topping the Arctic Monkey’s Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, which set the previous rookie record last year with 363,000 copies. Spirit is set to debut stateside on Mar. 18.