Beyonce nudged aside by Ashanti’s ‘Chapter II’

In a battle of young, high-profile singers, Ashanti pushed Destiny’s Child leader Beyonce out of the top spot on this week’s national album sales chart.

Ashanti’s “Chapter II” leaped to No.1 after selling 326,000 copies in its first week in the stores, Nielsen SoundScan reported Wednesday. Beyonce’s “Dangerously in Love,” which ranked No. 1 last week with first-week sales of 317,000 copies, fell to No. 2 this week, based on sales of 183,000 copies.

Luther Vandross’ “Dance With My Father” finished No. 3 after selling 100,000 copies last week to bring its four-week total to 846,000.

Of recent rock releases, Metallica’s “St. Anger” is No. 6 in its fifth week (total sales 1.1 million), Radiohead’s “Hail to the Thief” has fallen to No. 21 in its fourth week (499,000), Staind’s “Shades of Grey” has dropped to No. 25 in its seventh week (509,000), and the Led Zeppelin live set has tumbled to No. 51 in its sixth week (401,000).

50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” is far out in front in the year’s overall sales race. The album, which is No. 5 this week, has sold 5.4 million copies since its release in February. Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” is second, with 3.8 million of its 6.5 million total coming in 2003. The album, which entered the charts in spring 2002, is the only other collection in the Top 50 that has topped the 5 million mark. It’s No. 9 this week.