Billboard reports that, in a week dominated by new releases, the debut CD from American Idol 2 runner-up Clay Aiken has dropped to eighth place on the Nielsen SoundScan U.S. Album Sales charts (which also serve as the Billboard 200) in its fourth week of release. The CD, Measure of a Man, sold 113,000 copies for the week ended November 9 -- a 19% drop from its sales during the previous week.
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However, the sales, when added to its previous total of 979,000 units, are sufficient to boost total sales of the CD to 1,092,000 copies .... meaning that the CD will be certified platinum (for sales of over 1 million units) by the RIAA during November. This will give Clay the rare distinction of having both his debut single, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" / "This Is The Night", and debut album certified platinum.
The top four CDs for the week were all newcomers to the charts, as the Christmas shopping season opened with a furious rush. Toby Keith's Shock'N Y'All on DreamWorks opened at #1 with sales of 585,000 units -- only about 28,000 less than Clay's debut week sales. Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow took second, the complilation NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 14 captured third, and The Very Best of Sheryl Crow placed fourth. Last week's #1, OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below dropped to fifth, apparently still enjoying the sales bounce from an appearance on last week's Saturday Night Live -- as its total units sold increased from the prior week, despite its drop in the charts.
Budding reality TV star Rod Stewart edged Clay out (for the second straight week) to capture seventh place, just behind another debut, Ja Rule's Blood in My Eye, which grabbed sixth.
Measure of a Man may also experience its own sales bounce, especially following the American Idol Christmas special scheduled for November 25 (which will also feature a performance from Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm) and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will include both Clay and American Idol 2 winner Ruben Studdard. Looks like Clay will have plenty to be thankful for this year.