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Ashlee: The No. 1 Simpson
07/28/2004 2:55 PM, E! Online
David Jenison
Move over, Jessica, Ashlee Simpson 's second to none.
The 19-year-old singer-actress has officially emerged
from her big sister's shadow, as her first album, Autobiography,
has debuted on top of the album chart.
Ashlee, who
got her initial break as an actress on the WB's 7th Heaven, has
focused on music in recent months. Leading up to her inaugural chart
bow, the Texas native's first single, "Pieces of Me," remains in
Billboard's Top 40, the video is in TRL's Top 10, and her
MTV reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show, is the week's
highest-rated cable program.
Her disc is also
tops on iTunes, AOL Music and MTV.com's Leak, where Simpson set a new
Leak record with more than 2.66 million requested streams.
With so much heat, Autobiography finished last
week as the number one album in the country, selling 398,000 copies
according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released Wednesday. Remarkably,
this represents the best first-week sales for a straight pop album so
far this year.
"This is beyond my wildest dreams,"
said Simpson in a statement. "I'm so excited for what's happened and
what's to come. I am so thankful for everyone's support."
And Ashlee is putting Jessica to shame. For example,
Jessica's 2001 disc, Irresistible, marked her career-best open at
number six, while her repackaged In This Skin set her career
chart peak last March at number two. Moreover, that same chart peak
represents her best single-week sales, 160,000 copies, less than half of
Ashlee's current numbers.
We're guessing
Thanksgiving at the Simpson house will be a little more interesting this
year.
Van Halen, currently on its 2004 World
Tour, landed the only other Top 10 bow, with Best of Both Worlds.
The 36-song, double-disc collection, spanning both the David Lee Roth
and Sammy Hagar eras, features three new songs and three live tracks.
Last week's chart leader, Jimmy Buffett 's License
To Chill, dropped to number two with 148,000 copies sold.
Usher's Confessions fell to number four with
113,000 copies. For Usher, this marks his lowest chart position since
his new disc debuted last March.
Gretchen Wilson
declared herself Here for the Party at five, Lloyd Banks
continued to Hunger for More at six, Avril Lavigne 's fans still
go Under My Skin at seven, Prince's Musicology settled
down to study the number eight, Big & Rich's Horse of a Different
Color rode in at nine, and A Cinderella Story soundtrack
waltzed into the 10 spot.
Lloyd, the newest rap
artist from The Inc. (formerly Murder, Inc.), sold 67,000 copies of his
debut release, Southside, for a number 11 open. For his album,
the rookie rapper recruited such Inc. artists as Ashanti and Ja Rule, as
well as Lil Wayne, Taniya and Scarface.
Swedish
garage rockers the Hives scratched their way into the number 33 spot
with Tyrannosaurus Hives selling 32,000 copies. Maria Mena 's
White Turns Blue and Dillinger Escape Plan's Miss Machine
followed at 102 and 106, respectively.
Other
notable debuts include Mis-Teeq's self-titled disc at 125, Static-X's
rarities collection Beneath, Between, Beyond at 139 and Less Than
Jake's B Is For B Side at 157.
Lastly,
Coldplay's Grammy-winning A Rush of Blood to the Head marked its
100th week on the charts. The disc, which currently sits at 171,
originally opened at number five, way back in September 2002. Norah Jones ' Grammy-winning Come Away with Me at 126 weeks is the only
other charting album that has been out that long.
Here's a recap of the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday:
1. Autobiography, Ashlee Simpson
2.
License to Chill, Jimmy Buffett
3. Best of Both
Worlds, Van Halen
4. Confessions, Usher
5. Here for the Party, Gretchen Wilson
6. Hunger
for More, Lloyd Banks
7. Under My Skin, Avril
Lavigne
8. Musicology, Prince
9. Horse
of a Different Color, Big & Rich
10. A Cinderella
Story Original Soundtrack, Various Artists
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