Grammy Buzz Gives Santana a ‘Supernatural’ Sales Bump

Forget all those trophies. Santana’s biggest Grammy victory was at the cash registers,as his album “Supernatural” enjoyed its best single week of sales with 583,000 copies sold in the week that ended Sunday.

Last week’s Grammy telecast and the publicity surrounding Carlos Santana’s record-tying eight awards--which included album of the year--gave “Supernatural” a huge surge (it sold 219,000 copies the previous week) and saw it surpass the combined sales of the next four top titles on the week.

The figure appears to be the biggest post-Grammy boost ever for an album, exceeding the sales windfalls enjoyed by Bonnie Raitt and Lauryn Hill in the days after their big victories on the show in 1989 and 1999, respectively. “Supernatural” has now logged nine weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. since its release in June and hit 6.7 million in total sales. Arista Records chief Clive Davis, who co-produced the album, said Wednesday that “Supernatural” nearly matched its U.S. totals on the week with its international sales figures.

“In my entire career I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Davis, who signed Santana to the label three years ago. “It’s Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day rolled into one.”

The Grammy presence was seen elsewhere on this week’s tally. Best new artist winner Christina Aguilera’s self-titled debut album climbed two notches to finish at No. 3 with 133,000 copies sold, a total that trailed the No. 2 disc, Dr. Dre’s “Dre 2001,” by 44,000 units.

Best new artist nominee Macy Gray also continues her climb up the charts by breaking into the Top 10 for the first time. Gray’s “On How Life Is” sold 124,000 copies to finish at No. 6 this week. The album hadn’t cracked the Top 40 before her nomination was announced in January.

“2000 Grammy Pop Nominees,” a collection of nominated songs (featured artists include TLC, the Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin and Kid Rock), also broke into the Top 10 this week. The compilation, sold as a fund-raiser for Grammy charities, sold 113,000 copies to land at No. 9. Other artists also got powerful sales fuel from their Grammy wins and performances. Sting, an upset winner in the best pop album category, catapulted to No. 29--up 52 spots from the previous tally--and saw his “Brand New Day” sell 42,000 copies, doubling its totals from a week earlier. Jazz singer Diana Krall, a best album nominee, enjoyed a similar ride, leaping 58 spots to finish at No. 56 and doubling her previous week’s sales with 31,000 copies sold.

New and Notable:

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, “BTNHResurrection,” Ruthless/Epic. More of the rapid-fire raps and textured music that are the Cleveland group’s signatures. But the group’s appeal remains its vocal flows and rich production. (Soren Baker)

The Smashing Pumpkins, “MACHINA/the machines of God,” Virgin. Some tracks threaten to numb the listener’s mind, but returning drummer Jimmy Chamberlin’s beats propel a gorgeous din. “MACHINA” feels more assured than “Adore.” (Natalie Nichols)