Usher Controls The Chart, Knocks His Pal Justin Bieber Down To #2

Robbie Daw | April 7, 2010 11:35 am

Looks like Usher is still able to show the kiddies who’s boss. After selling 329,000 copies of Raymond v. Raymond, Usher has bumped his teenage protege Justin Bieber off the top of the album chart this week. But despite the fact that Bieber’s stay at #1 with My World 2.0 was a short one, the expert hair-flipper still managed to increase sales of the record by three percent over the past week, the trade publication reports.

Raymond v. Raymond marks Usher’s third chart-topping album in a row, following Here I Stand (2008) and Confessions (2004). Billboard notes that Ush’s latest single “OMG” (watch the video) will “make a handsome debut” on the Hot 100 tomorrow, probably thanks to his live performance of the song on last week’s American Idol results show.

That’s good news for him, since Usher will need a solid hit—something that’s eluded him over the past six months—to maintain steady sales of Raymond v. Raymond.

Meanwhile, Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 sold 283,000 in its initial week of release, but ended up moving 291,000 over the past seven days. (Happy Easter, Bieb!)

And after all the live performances, controversy and legal action surrounding Erykah Badu and her music video for “Window Seat,” her album New Amerykah, Part Two: Return Of The Ankh enters the Top 200 at #4, with a respectable 110,000 copies sold.

That said, it would be interesting to hop into a parallel universe where the “Window Seat” vid didn’t exist to see if that number either decreased or increased. Sex and assassination—are they the keys to an record’s success?

The Top 10 of Billboard‘s Top 200 Albums:

1. Usher, Raymond v. Raymond *new* 2. Justin Bieber, My World 2.0 3. Various Artists, Now That’s What I Call Music! 4. Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Part Two: Return Of The Ankh *new* 5. Lady Antebellum, Need You Now 6. Monica, Still Standing 7. Alan Jackson, Freight Train *new* 8. Justin Bieber, My World 9. Lady Gaga, The Fame 10. The Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.