T.I.’s ‘King’ takes the sales crown

THERE’S a new “King” at the top of the U.S. album charts. The royally titled “King.” is the new CD from Atlanta rapper T.I., and the 522,000 copies it sold during its first week in stores is the best sales performance by any album this year.

It was a big week for Clifford “Tip” Harris Jr., a.k.a. T.I., the self-proclaimed King of the South in hip-hop; in addition to the strong showing by his new album, he made his major Hollywood acting debut in “ATL,” the Chris Robinson film that opened Friday. T.I. portrays Rashad in the coming-of-age film set amid urban youth culture in Atlanta.

At a distant No. 2 is country star Tim McGraw and his “Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Reflected,” which sold 242,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“High School Musical,” the Disney Channel movie soundtrack and this year’s surprise hit, finishes at No. 3 this week, and the No. 4 spot goes to “Fishscale” from Wu-Tang alumnus Ghostface Killah. “Fishscale” sold 110,000 copies in its first week.

The other two newcomers to the Top 10 this week are hard-edged rock acts: Rob Zombie’s “Educated Horses” finished at No. 5 with 107,000 copies sold, while Atreyu, from Orange County, took the No. 9 spot by selling 69,000 copies of its “A Death-Grip on Yesterday” CD.

Shakira’s “Oral Fixation, Vol. 2,” is back in the Top 10 at No. 6 with sales of 81,000 copies spurred by her new hit with Wyclef Jean, “Hips Don’t Lie.”

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By the Numbers: Southland CD rankings

Here are the 10 best-selling CDs in Southern California last week, along with their national ranking.

*--* TITLE, ARTIST NAT’L RANK LAST WEEK

1 “King,” T.I. 1 --

2 “Greatest Hits, Vol. 2,” Tim McGraw 2 --

3 “High School Musical,” soundtrack 3 2

4 “Oral Fixation, Vol. 2,” Shakira 6 --

5 “Show Your Bones,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs 11 --

6 “3121,” Prince 8 1

7 “Fishscale,” Ghostface Killah 4 --

8 “A Death-Grip on Yesterday,” Atreyu 9 --

9 “Back to Bedlam,” James Blunt 7 3

10 “Educated Horses,” Rob Zombie 5 --

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*--* Source: Nielsen/SoundScan Inc.

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