Madonna’s Latest Album Debuts at No. 1 on Charts
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop star Madonna’s new album, “American Life,” opened at No. 1 on this week’s U.S. pop charts despite a critical debate about whether the Material Girl’s latest effort lives up to its hype.
“American Life” sold 241,000 its first week in stores, a respectable debut by most standards but far below the 420,000 units tallied three years ago by her last release, “Music,” according album sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan.
That album went on to sell 2.9 million copies in the United States alone.
Madonna, whose 20-year recording career has often thrived from controversy, no doubt gained a commercial boost this time out from the stir she created with the original video accompanying the title track to “American Life.”
The video, featuring images of Madonna tossing a hand grenade at a George W. Bush look-alike, was pulled shortly after its release earlier this month. The performer said that scene and other war-related imagery was being misinterpreted by some as critical of the United States and the Bush administration while the nation was at war with Iraq.
The song itself, like much of the album’s lyrical content, is a critique of America’s consumer culture, materialism and the superficial trappings of stardom, which some observers noted as ironic coming from the Material Girl.
Madonna also recently irked fans trying to download her music for free on the Internet by posting decoy songs on file-sharing Web sites berating users with an obscenity.
Issued by Warner Bros. Records, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., Madonna’s new album has drawn decidedly mixed reviews, including some of the most scathing of her career. One particularly harsh notice called it the “most wretchedly empty thing she’s ever done.”
‘SHOCKINGLY EARNEST’
Entertainment Weekly, however, thought much of the music was, “refreshingly — hell, shockingly — earnest.”
“At its best, her new album offers blunt, questing, decisive music at a chaotic time. At its weakest she sounds like a gal who’s grown content with hubby and kids and the hard-earned privilege of hiring the help to keep herself at tip-top tautness,” the magazine’s Ken Tucker wrote.
The release of “American Life” also comes months after the commercial and critical flop last fall of Madonna’s latest movie, “Swept Away,” which was directed by her husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie.
Still, as the only new release last week from a high-profile artist, “American Life” comfortably clinched the No. 1 spot in the album charts.
Hard-core rapper 50 Cent remained in the top rungs of the charts with two releases, rising three spots to No. 2 with his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin”‘ while his DVD/CD combination “New Breed” fell from second place to No. 10 its second week in stores.
Meanwhile, Kelly Clarkson, winner of the Fox reality show “American Idol,” slipped to No. 3 after opening atop the charts the previous week with her debut album, “Thankful.”
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were metal band Linkin Park at No. 4 with “Meteora,” followed by Cher’s best-of collection (No. 5); the Grammy-winning album “Come Away With Me” from jazz vocalist Norah Jones (news) (No. 6); rock outfit Evanescence with “Fallen” (No. 7); veteran rockers Fleetwood Mac’s latest “Say You Will” (No. 8) and the latest “Now” compilation from various artists (No. 9).
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