NEW YORK (AP) - Ja Rule's Pain is Love has ousted Jay-Z's The Blueprint from the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200, ending the rapper's three-week reign on the top spot.
Ja Rule raked in some 360,000 in sales in its first week, more than doubling those of Jay-Z, whose album fell to the No. 2 spot. Other top 20 debuts include the latest from Garbage, Beautifulgarbage, at No. 14 and Elton John's Songs from the West Coast At No. 15.
Other notable debuts include Billy Joel's Essential Billy Joel at No. 29, Gary Allan's Alright Guy at No. 39, Oysterhead's Grand Pecking Order at No. 48, George Jones' The Rock -- Stone Cold Country 2001 at No. 65, Billy Joel/Richard Joo's Fantasies & Delusions at No. 83, and Machine Head's Super Charger at No. 115.
In single news, Whitney Houston's 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," reissued shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a benefit single, has soared to the No. 1 spot on The Billboard Hot 100. The single has been certified platinum by the RIAA and has helped raise over $1 million in relief funds since its re-release. Houston originally sang the song at Super Bowl XXV on Jan. 27, 1991.
Music fans had nothing but love for rapper Ja Rule last week, piling into record stores and vaulting his new LP to the top of the latest album rankings.
"Pain Is Love," Rule's most recent Island/Def Jam offering, moved nearly 361,000 copies in the week ended Oct. 7, according to data released Wednesday by SoundScan, pushing "Blueprint" by fellow hip-hop luminary and labelmate Jay-Z into second place after three weeks at No. 1.
"Pain" extends Island/Def Jam's dominance of the album charts' upper echelons over the past few months. This week, the Universal Music Group imprint scored three of the top five releases: "Pain," "Blueprint" and "Silver Side Up" by Canadian alt-rock act Nickelback, whose Roadrunner label has a joint venture with IDJ.
But sneaking their way inside the Def Jam fortress at the top were two female artists with phenomenal staying power.
"Day Without Rain" (Warner Bros.) from soothing new-age mainstay Enya moved up another spot to No. 3, following a stratospheric rebound in the last few weeks. "Songs In A Minor" by J Records juggernaut Alicia Keys slipped two places but managed to hang on in fourth, despite the hip-hop onslaught.
Garbage, the rock quartet fronted by Scottish alterna-diva Shirley Manson, had a respectable opening week with its third record "Beautiful Garbage" on Interscope (yet another score for Universal Music) at No. 13, as did Elton John with his Universal Records release "Songs From the West Coast" at 15.
Further down the line at No. 29 was fellow piano man Billy Joel with his greatest-hits compilation "Essential Billy Joel" (Columbia). The album includes such Joel standards as "New York State of Mind," which the songwriter reprised for last month's WTC disaster-relief TV telethon.
Country crooner Gary Allen landed at No. 39 with "Alright Guy" (Universal/MCA Nashville), while jam-band Oysterhead, which features Primus' Les Claypool, Phish's Trey Anastasio and Stewart Copeland from the Police, hit No. 48 with "Grand Pecking Order" (Elektra).
Ja Rule's reign could be unusually brief, since next week he faces stiff competition from redneck rapper Bubba Sparxxx. His new LP "Dark Days, Bright Nights" (Interscope) is infused with the infectious beats of hot producer Timbaland, who also fathered Missy Elliott's ubiquitous hit "Get Ur Freak On."
