Ninth ‘Now’ Debuts in the Top Spot

Last month’s Grammy victories pushed the traditional bluegrass and country sounds of the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack to the top of the nation’s album chart, but contemporary pop-rock acts have recaptured the commercial momentum.

The ninth volume of the “Now That’s What I Call Music” series entered the chart at No. 1 on Wednesday after selling 419,000 copies in its first week in stores.

The collection of recent hit singles by acts such as U2, Mary J. Blige and Pink is a joint project of Universal Music Group, the EMI Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Zomba Music. The eight earlier volumes have sold more than 28 million copies combined since the series was introduced four years ago.

Among the hit singles featured on the ninth album: U2’s “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” Blige’s “Family Affair,” Pink’s “Get the Party Started” and Destiny’s Child’s “Emotion.”

“O Brother,” which sold 132,000 copies last week, fell to No. 3 on the chart, also trailing “The Best of Both Worlds,” the Jay-Z/R. Kelly collaboration that sold 223,000 its first week in stores.

Two other albums also debuted in the top 10: R&B; singer Glenn Lewis’ “World Outside My Window” and Jimmy Buffett’s “Far Side of the World” finished No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. The latter was released and distributed by Buffett’s own Mailboat Records--a rare top 10 collection that isn’t distributed by one of the industry conglomerates.

The remaining positions in the top 10 were claimed, in order, by Alan Jackson, Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, Ludacris and Pink. The nation’s best-selling single is ‘N Sync’s pairing with Nelly on “Girlfriend.”