McGraw Outdraws R. Kelly

09/01/2004 5:45 PM, E! Online
David Jenison

When it comes to being quick on the draw, can't no one shoot up the charts like Tim McGraw.

In a week that saw new discs taking the top four slots on the Billboard 200, it was McGraw who ruled the rodeo. His Live Like You Were Dying, facing first-week bows from R. Kelly, Young Buck and Mase, snagged the number one spot with the third best opening of 2004.

Live Like You Were Dying sold nearly 766,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released Wednesday. Only Usher and Norah Jones had higher first-week tallies so far this year.

Though the country singer's wife Faith Hill boasts more crossover appeal, McGraw still brings home the most bacon. Last week's sales mark his personal best and top Hill's 472,000 first-week high set in fall of 2002. In fact, only Garth Brooks has claimed better first-week numbers among male country stars.

Perhaps most surprising is how easily McGraw beat back Kelly. The legally challenged R&B star finished a distant second as his double-disc release Happy People/U Saved Me moved 403,000 copies. The second disc's title refers to the singer turning to God for help and guidance--a higher power may well be listening as Kelly's long-awaited Best of Both Worlds Tour with Jay-Z is finally back on track, with tours dates released last week.

G-Unit rapper Young Buck cashed in 261,000 copies of Straight Outta Cashville to open at three. The G-Unit crew--50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck--released Beg gor Mercy last November, while Banks dropped his chart-topping Hunger for More in July. G-Unit's fourth member, Tony Yayo, recently completed his latest jail stint and plans to drop his debut later this year.

Mase capped the four-for-four debuts with his retirement-ending disc, Welcome Back. Bad Boy Entertainment's hit rapper debuted in '97 with his quadruple-platinum Harlem World and followed with his '99 gold-certified Double Up. Not long after releasing his sophomore disc, Mase retired from music to pursue faith and education.

The rest of the Top 10 were all repeat offenders: Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16 at five, Ashlee Simpson 's Autobiography at six, Prince's Musicology at seven, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane at eight, Usher's Confessions at nine and Big & Rich's Horse of a Different Color at 10.

Sunshine State rapper Pitbull bit into the charts at 14 with his TVT Records debut, M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is A Major Issue), selling 55,000 copies. The Cuban-American emcee made his mark at radio and in the clubs this past summer with the bilingual hit "Culo," featuring frequent collaborator Lil Jon.

Rapper Jim Jones also scored with his solo bow, On My Way to Church, opening at 18 with 44,000 copies. Not to be mistaken with the Kool-Aid-spiking cult leader of the same name, this Jim Jones made a name for himself as a member of the Cam'ron-led rap group the Diplomats.

The band 12 Stones--whose singer, Paul McCoy appeared on the Evanescence hit "Bring Me to Life"--opened at 29 with Potter's Field, outselling the Rolling Stones' Jump Back: Best of '71-'93 by a mere 28 copies at number 30. Jason Mraz 's live disc, Tonight Not Again, clocked in at 49, followed by Boyz II Men's Throwback at 52, O.A.R.'s 34th & 8th at 80, Steve Earle's Revolution Starts Now at 89 and Judd T. Cledus' Bipolar and Proud at 98.

G. Love, releasing his first album on Jack Johnson 's Brushfire Records, opened at 100 with The Hustle. Further Seems Forever's Hide Nothing, which marks the debut of Sense Field's Jonathan Bunch on vocals, followed at 122.

Other notable debuts included the Isley Brothers' Taken To the Next Phase at 135, Drive By Truckers' Dirty South at 147, Christian pop singer Bebo Norman's Try at 159 and Marvelous 3 singer Butch Walker's Letters at 171.

Here's a recap of the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday:

1. Live Like You Were Dying, Tim McGraw
2. Happy People/U Saved Me, R. Kelly
3. Straight Outta Cashville, Young Buck
4. Welcome Back, Mase
5. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16, various
6. Autobiography, Ashlee Simpson
7. Musicology, Prince
8. Songs About Jane, Maroon 5
9. Confessions, Usher
10. Horse of a Different Color, Big & Rich