Ashlee Out-Shynes Competition

08/18/2004 3:35 PM, E! Online
David Jenison

Not even the Godfather can take down a member of the Simpson family.

Despite the arrival of three new top five albums, most notably Shyne's Godfather Buried Alive, Ashlee Simpson kept her chokehold on the top slot as her Autobiography sold 263,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers released today.

Not only has Simpson held down number one three of the past four weeks, but Autobiography's has now gone platinum, selling more than 1.2 million since its release on July 20. Coincidentally, older sis Jessica also had reason to celebrate this week as her double-platinum In This Skin marked its one-year anniversary of the charts.

Leading the competition, incarcerated rapper Shyne capped the number-three spot as Godfather Buried Alive moved more than 157,000 copies. The much hyped emcee, born Jamal Barrow, is currently serving a 10-year prison stint for a 1999 nightclub shooting that brought unwanted attention to his former boss, P. Diddy. In the wake of the media-crazed trial, Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment cut Shyne from its roster.

Once in the slammer, the 25-year-old rapper actually signed a new multimillion-dollar deal with Island Def Jam. Godfather Buried Alive, which features the Kanye West-produced single "More Or Less," is the rapper's first album in the deal--some of the tracks were reportedly phoned in from prison. Of course, New York officials have now revoked Shyne's phone privileges and could earmark some of his royalties to victims of the shooting--the state's "Son of Sam" law prevents cons from making money off their crimes.

Another infamous rap name, Mobb Deep, scored the next best bow, checking in at four with Amerikaz Nightmare selling nearly 109,000 copies. The Queensbridge duo of Prodigy and Havoc first debuted in 1993 with Juvenile Hell and quickly became a staple artist in the growing Loud Records roster. The group, which shifted to Jive Records for this album, previously peaked at three with 1999's Mudra Muzik.

Wrapping up the trio of top five entries, Alter Bridge moved 95,000 copies of its anticipated debut, One Day Remains. The band--featuring former Creed members Mark Tremonti , Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall--announced its existence only months ago when Creed officially broke up. Former Creed frontman Scott Stapp will release his The Passion of the Christ: Songs of Inspiration album on Aug. 31.

Meanwhile, Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16 held steady at number two, selling 247,000 copies, while Usher's Confessions sold 88,000 copies and fell to six, the album's lowest chart position to date.

The remaining Top 10 were holdovers: Jimmy Buffett 's License to Chill at seven, Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party at eight, Prince's Musicology at nine and Avril Lavigne 's Under My Skin in the 10 spot.

Hip-hop R&B singer Houston, who actually hails from Los Angeles, debuted at 14, selling 49,000 copies of It's Already Written. Kidz Bop Vol. 6, the latest installment in the series of young'uns singing covers of pop hits, followed at 23 with 37,000 copies.

Gearing up for the November election, indie label Fat Wreck Chords sold nearly 26,000 of its Rock Against Bush 2 compilation for a number 45 bow. The 28-track disc features rare and previously unreleased tracks by Green Day, Bouncing Souls and the Foo Fighters, among others. The previous volume, which peaked at 54 earlier this year, was the fastest selling compilation in the label's history.

Deep down in the charts, David Crosby and Graham Nash opened at 142 with 9,000 copies of Crosby/Nash, the duo's first new studio album in nearly 30 years. Stephen Stills and Neil Young sat this one out.

Other noteworthy releases included Andy Griggs' This I Gotta See at 59, Rachel Proctor's Where I Belong at 66, the Irish Tenors' Heritage at 69, Sammy Hagar 's Definitive Collection at 75, Richard Marx 's My Own Best Enemy at 126, Rise Against's Siren Song of the Counter Culture at 136, Mystikal's Prince of the South at 140 and R&B soul singer Teedra Moses's Complex Simplicity at 168.

Also making the charts, the Garden State and Yu-Gi-Oh soundtracks debuted at 125 and 193, respectively. Meanwhile, in the wake of the film's theatrical release, the Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack leapt 11 spots to 16.

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

1. Autobiography, Ashlee Simpson
2. Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16, various
3. Godfather Buried Alive, Shyne
4. Amerikaz Nightmare, Mobb Deep
5. One Day Remains, Alter Bridge
6. Confessions, Usher
7. License to Chill, Jimmy Buffett
8. Here for the Party, Gretchen Wilson
9. Musicology, Prince
10. Under My Skin, Avril Lavigne