Besides last weeks' debuts experiencing usual drops, the rest of the top 20 had gains or very little decline. And considering U2 was dropping 30%+ every week before this, those declines that maoilbwhatever listed aren't that bad.
And of course, he totally ignored gains of near 100% by Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, significant gains by Kelly Clarkson, The Fray, Nickelback, pink, britney, etc., in other words artists that people usually snap up on a holiday. Which means U2 actually underperformed this week. As usual.
Come tomorrow, billboard will be reporting a huge spike in sales across the board compared to last week, helped by Rascal Flatts as well as Easter.
The underperforming U2 eh...? Well, here are some figures from last week that you need to study:
The following are the top selling albums of 2009 in the United States at the end of 14 weeks. NLOTH has only been out for only 5 of these weeks.
WEEK 14
Rank - Sales - TITLE - Artist
01 - 865,265 - FEARLESS - Taylor Swift
02 - 780,478 - NO LINE ON THE HORIZON - U2
03 - 604,802 - DARK HORSE - Nickelback
04 - 592,774 - TWILIGHT - Soundtrack
05 - 590,666 - I AM…SASHA FIERCE - Beyonce
06 - 501,910 - WORKING ON A DREAM - Bruce Springsteen
07 - 452,778 - THE FAME - Lady GaGa
08 - 451,488 - THE FRAY - The Fray
09 - 447,081 - 808S AND HEARTBREAK - Kanye West
10 - 438,313 - INTUITION - Jamie Foxx
11 - 431,129 - ALL I EVER WANTED - Kelly Clarkson
12 - 376,352 - A DIFFERENT ME - Keyshia Cole
13 - 374,469 - CIRCUS - Britney Spears
14 - 335,959 - PAPER TRAIL - T.I.
15 - 311,104 - NOW 29 - Various
16 - 295,922 - FUNHOUSE - Pink
17 - 281,185 - WE SING WE DANCE WE STEAL THINGS - Jason Mraz
18 - 273,502 - FREEDOM - Akon
19 - 271,491 - LOVE VS MONEY - The-Dream
20 - 269,725 - VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS - Coldplay
21 - 256,006 - DAVID COOK - David Cook
22 - 254,410 - ONLY BY THE NIGHT - Kings Of Leon
23 - 249,514 - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Soundtrack
24 - 246,819 - 19 - Adele
25 - 233,505 - NOW 30 - Various
26 - 232,747 - YEAR OF THE GENTLEMAN - Ne-Yo
27 - 230,985 - MAMMA MIA - Soundtrack
28 - 227,979 - THA CARTER III - Lil' Wayne
29 - 225,281 - HANNAH MONTANA THE MOVIE - Soundtrack
30 - 220,274 - ROCK N ROLL JESUS - Kid Rock
31 - 211,580 - GOOD GIRL GONE BAD - Rihanna
32 - 210,588 - ONE OF THE BOYS - Katy Perry
33 - 208,884 - TAYLOR SWIFT - Taylor Swift
34 - 205,249 - RAISING SAND - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
35 - 201,208 - THE FOUNDATION - Zac Brown Band
36 - 193,448 - TESTIMONY:VOL 2-LOVE AND POLITICS - India.Arie
37 - 192,420 - WHEN THE WORLD COMES DOWN - All-American Rejects
38 - 192,234 - LEARN TO LIVE - Darius Rucker
39 - 188,904 - 2009 GRAMMY NOMINEES - Various
40 - 188,442 - LOVE ON THE INSIDE - Sugarland
41 - 171,547 - DEFYING GRAVITY - Keith Urban
42 - 168,458 - LOTUS FLOW3R - Prince
43 - 167,237 - THEATER OF THE MIND - Ludacris
44 - 159,496 - FEEL THAT FREE - Dierks Bentley
45 - 158,494 - DAY AND AGE - Killers
46 - 158,103 - IT'S NOT ME IT'S YOU - Lily Allen
47 - 157,646 - THE POINT OF IT ALL - Anthony Hamilton
48 - 155,575 - HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR - Soundtrack
49 - 155,026 - DA REALIST - Plies
50 - 154,792 - SOUL - Seal
51 - 154,671 - DEATH MAGNETIC - Metallica
52 - 153,411 - SWAN SONGS - Hollywood Undead
53 - 151,852 - CARNIVAL RIDE - Carrie Underwood
54 - 143,962 - JENNIFER HUDSON - Jennifer Hudson
55 - 140,608 - THAT LONESOME SONG - Jamey Johnson
56 - 139,201 - EVOLVER - John Legend
57 - 138,216 - SCARS AND SOUVENIRS - Theory Of A Deadman
58 - 136,966 - BLACK ICE - AC/DC
59 - 136,659 - UNCLE CHARLIE - Charlie Wilson
60 - 136,254 - KIDZ BOP 15 - Kidz Bop Kids
61 - 135,887 - FOLIE A DEUX - Fall Out Boy
62 - 134,279 - GREATEST HITS VOLUME 1 - Rascal Flatts
63 - 133,200 - SPIRIT - Leona Lewis
64 - 131,527 - IN A PERFECT WORLD - Keri Hilson
65 - 130,500 - NOTORIOUS - Soundtrack
66 - 130,484 - THE REBIRTH - Bobby V
67 - 128,600 - GOLD-GREATEST HITS - Abba
68 - 127,832 - INCREDIBAD - Lonely Island
69 - 126,042 - WRATH - Lamb Of God
70 - 123,069 - FEARLESS - Jazmine Sullivan
71 - 119,752 - THE PROMISE - Il Divo
72 - 117,696 - ONMYRADIO - Musiq Soulchild
73 - 117,049 - LADY ANTEBELLUM - Lady Antebellum
74 - 113,549 - THE RECESSION - Young Jeezy
75 - 111,906 - THR33 RINGZ - T-Pain
76 - 111,279 - ISOULJABOYTELLEM - Soulja Boy Tell'em
77 - 111,000 - GREATEST HITS - Guns N'Roses
78 - 110,884 - ROCKFERRY - Duffy
79 - 110,832 - DAVID ARCHULETA - David Archuleta
80 - 109,879 - TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT - Hinder
81 - 109,683 - THE SOUND OF MADNESS - Shinedown
82 - 109,093 - ORACULAR SPECTACULAR - MGMT
83 - 108,500 - GREATEST HITS - Journey
84 - 106,843 - 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE - Jonas Brothers
85 - 104,374 - QUIET NIGHTS - Diana Krall
86 - 103,978 - ALL HOPE IS GONE - Slipknot
87 - 103,039 - SAVING ABEL - Saving Abel
88 - 97,350 - LEGEND - Bob Marley & the Wailers
89 - 97,157 - DOLL DOMINATION - Pussycat Dolls
90 - 96,832 - MIDDLE CYCLONE - Neko Case
91 - 96,000 - TEN - Pearl Jam
92 - 95,968 - INDESTRUCTIBLE - Disturbed
93 - 95,050 - THE BALLADS - Mariah Carey
94 - 94,890 - GOOD TIME - Alan Jackson
95 - 93,919 - LUCKY OLD SUN - Kenny Chesney
96 - 93,500 - CHRONICLE:THE 20 GREATEST HITS - Creedence Clearwater Revival
97 - 91,308 - A LITTLE BIT LONGER - Jonas Brothers
98 - 90,000 - TOTAL CLUB HITS 2 - DJ Skribble
99 - 89,400 - CHINESE DEMOCRACY - Guns N'Roses
100 - 89,200 - NOW MOTOWN - Various
A few days from now, will get week 15 results for 2009 and NLOTH will be up to nearly 820,000 and still way ahead at #2 for the year.
Here are some worldwide stats for 2009 to consider:
Best Selling Albums During 2009 WORLDWIDE
1. U2 No Line On The Horizon 2.286.000
2. Bruce Springsteen Working On A Dream 1.315.000
3. Beyoncé I Am... Sasha Fierce 1.238.000
4. Lady Gaga The Fame 1.204.000
5. Kings Of Leon Only By The Night 1.201.000
6. Soundtrack Twilight 1.173.000
7. Taylor Swift Fearless 1.096.000
8. Pink Funhouse 945.000
9. Britney Spears Circus 920.000
10. Nickelback Dark Horse 912.000
Best Selling Albums Released in 2009 WORLDWIDE
1. U2 No Line On The Horizon 2.286.000
2. Bruce Springsteen Working On A Dream 1.315.000
3. Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You 712.500
4. Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted 675.000
5. The Fray The Fray 587.000
6. Soundtrack Slumdog Millionaire 502.000
7. The Prodigy Invaders Must Die 499.000
8. Franz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz Ferdinand 486.000
9. Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés Font Leur Cinéma 2009 444.000
10. Annie Lennox The Collection 287.000
U2 have nearly a 1 million copies sold lead on the 2nd best selling album of 2009 to this point. A nearly 2 to 1 lead on most of the albums in the top 5.