Lil Wayne now has official numbers to back up his bragging — his lastest LP Tha Carter 3 has sold a spectacular 1,005,545 units its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. Plies’ Definition of Real (Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide) sold 215,000 to debut at No. 2. The multi-label Now 28 compilation rounds off the top 3 with 132,000 copies sold. With 101,000 units, Usher’s Here I Stand (LaFace/Zomba) endures a 30% slip and drops 3-5.
Much to my dismay, N.E.R.D.’s Seeing Sounds (Star Trak/Interscope) came in at No. 7 with 80,000.
In a slumping industry where selling 200,000 albums in one week is becoming a rare feat, Lil Wayne’s achievement is not only a triumph but a much-needed boost — the last CD to sell 1 million or more in its first week was 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” in 2005.
