(Reuters) – Rapper Chris Brown scored his second No. 1 debut with new album “Fortune” topping the Billboard 200 chart on Wednesday, despite failing to impress critics in early reviews last week.
“Fortune” sold 134,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a considerably lower debut than the singer’s previous album “F.A.M.E.,” which also reached No. 1 with 270,000 copies in its debut week last year.
Brown’s was the only new album in the top 10 this week.
A surprise entry from pop star Katy Perry took the No. 2 slot on the album chart. Her “Teenage Dream” record, released almost two years ago in August 2010, notched 80,000 unit sales last week, fueled by her new movie “Katy Perry: Part Of Me” and Amazon.com’s offer of the album for 99 cents on July 3.
The Amazon.com offer, which saw several albums priced at 99 cents for one day only, also pushed Gotye’s “Making Mirrors,” Fun.’s “Some Nights” and the Black Keys’ “El Camino” albums back into the top 10 of the Billboard 200, at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 10 respectively.
Justin Bieber’s “Believe” held steady at No. 3, Maroon 5’s “Overexposed” notched No. 4, and Linkin Park’s “Living Things” fell from the top spot last week to No. 5.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and M.D. Golan)
