This time’s a charm for Mariah Carey

Shania Twain’s “Up!” continues to top the nation’s album sales chart, but Mariah Carey’s new “Charmbracelet” debuted third -- a respectable start considering the woeful showing of her “Glitter” album last year.

Now in its third week at No. 1, “Up!” sold 317,000 copies last week, bringing its total to 1.8 million. Carey’s album sold 241,000 copies, less than the 323,000 debut of her 1999 CD, “Rainbow,” but better than the 116,000 for “Glitter.” The latter’s poor sales (less than 600,000 in the U.S.) led EMI Group to pay the singer $30 million to bail out of its contract with her this year. Island Def Jam then signed Carey to a $20-million, three-album deal.

-- Robert Hilburn