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Beyonce Starts 'Fierce' Atop Album Chart

Beyonce scores her third straight No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 this week as the double-disc "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" (Music World/Columbia) shifts a whopping 482,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album, split between material credited to Beyonce and her new alter-ego Sasha Fierce, has already spawned the hits "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Beyonce's 2003 solo debut, "Dangerously in Love," started with 317,000, while 2006's "B-Day" moved 541,000.

In a week with seven top 20 debuts, Nickelback's "Dark Horse" (Roadrunner) sold 326,000 to start at No. 2. The Canadian rock outfit spent an astonishing 156 weeks on the chart with its prior album, 2005's "All the Right Reasons," which is at 6.97 million to date.

Reigning "American Idol" champion David Cook's self-titled 19 Recordings/RCA debut arrives at No. 3 with 280,000. That's more than double the first-week numbers of 2007 champ Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut, which sold 119,000 copies and has gone on to shift 956,000.

Last week's No. 1, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" (Big Machine), slips to No. 4 on a 63% sales decline to 217,000. New at No. 5 is multi-national vocal group Il Divo's "The Promise" (Syco/Columbia) with 162,000. The act's previous album, 2006's "Siempre," debuted at No. 17 with 108,000.


Source: billboard

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