Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200,
selling 304,000 -- the hip-pop act's best sales week ever. It's also
the first No. 1 album for the group, which had previously gone as high
as No. 2. Its last set, 2005's "Monkey Business," bowed in the
runner-up slot with a then-best 291,000. It had the unfortunate luck to
come out the same week as Coldplay's "X&Y," which kept the Peas' at
bay when it started at No. 1 with 737,000.
Believe it or not, "The E.N.D." is only the second
top 10 album for the Peas. While "Monkey" peaked at No. 2, its first
two releases -- 1998's "Behind the Front" and 2000's "Bridging the Gap"
-- both missed the top 50. It wasn't until the group recruited Fergie
for "Elephunk" in 2003 did the group break through big time. That
album, powered by three top 40 Hot 100 singles (including "Where Is The
Love?"), peaked at No. 14 and spent 106 weeks on the chart.
It was hard not to know that the Black Eyed Peas had
a new album last week, thanks to heavy promotion from Target. The
retailer carried an exclusive version of the album that featured
additional tracks and flooded the airwaves with a commercial touting
the new set.
Over on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the Peas debut
at No. 2 with its new single "I Gotta Feeling" while holding at No. 1
for an 11th week with "Boom Boom Pow." It's the first time any act has
occupied the top two slots on the Hot 100 with songs from the No. 1
album of the week since OutKast did it on Feb. 7, 2004. They were Nos.
1 and 2 on the Hot 100 with "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move,"
respectively, while "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" spent its seventh
(and final week) atop the Billboard 200.
By Keith Caulfield, Billboard.biz, June 18, 2009
