NEW YORK (Top 40 Charts) - Justin Timberlake's debut solo effort, Justified, was no match for Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack, falling short of first-week expectations and landing at No. 2 on The US Albums chart behind 439,423 in sales.
While Justified's numbers are nothing to shake a stick at, industry insiders had predicted a No. 1 debut and sales upwards of 550,000. Instead, Eminem maintains the No. 1 spot with 8 Mile, which still scanned over 508,000 copies in its second week despite featuring only three tracks by the rapper and bringing its total to 1.2 million, according to industry figures released Wednesday.
8 Mile remains the No. 1 film at the box office as well, at least until the debut of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets this weekend, grossing about $51 million and drawing strong reviews. .
Timberlake's solo release, "Justified," was a close second in its first week in stores, selling about 439,000 copies. The R&B-tinged album has gotten generally positive reviews, though some have criticized him for ripping off Michael Jackson's sound.
And U2's "The Best of 1990-2000," which includes the hits "One," "Mysterious Ways" and "Beautiful Day," debuted at No. 3 with 165,000 copies sold.
Elsewhere rounding out the top 10 are Jaheim's sophomore album, Still Ghetto, which premieres at No 8 on sales of 111,000 copies, Dave Matthews Band's Live At Folsom Field, which enters at No 9 on sales of 110,000 copies and Nirvana's self-titled hits collection at No 10.
Other notable debuts include:
- Andrea Bocelli, Sentimento, No. 12
- Insane Clown Posse, Wraith Shangri-La, No. 15
- David Gray, New Day at Midnight, No. 17
- Irv Gotti Presents?The Remixes, No. 24
- The Wallflowers, Red Letter Days, No. 32
- Alison Krauss, Live, No. 36
- Deborah Cox, Morning After, No. 38
- Boston, Corporate America, No. 42 and
- Eric Clapton, One More Car One More Rider, No. 43.