Eminem's 'Recovery' to debut at No.1

Eminem's "Recovery" will blast in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart this week with 741,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the largest sales week for a single album since October 2008, when AC/DC's "Black Ice" debuted with 784,000 in its first week.

"Recovery" is the hip-hop king's sixth straight No. 1 debut -- and sixth overall chart-topper on the Billboard 200. His only set to miss the top spot was his "Slim Shady LP" debut, which bowed and peaked at No. 2 in 1999. Among hip-hop acts with the most No. 1 albums, only Jay-Z has earned more, with 11.

"Recovery's" debut week sales surpasses the first week of Eminem's last set, "Relapse," which began at No. 1 in 2009 with 608,000. It also beats the opening of 2005's "Curtain Call: The Hits" which entered at No. 1 with 441,000 in 2005.

Eminem's new album also wows digitally, as downloads made up 255,000 of its first week.


Billboard.com