Britney Spears' Blackout' at No. 1

11/07/2007

It's just a little bright light in Britney Spears' otherwise dim world. Her new album, "Blackout," will finish at No. 1 this week, according to all the chartmakers.

"Blackout" sold between 325,000 and 350,000 copies depending on whom you believe, but it's enough to put Spears ahead of Carrie Underwood — at least this week.

The "Blackout" numbers, though, are severely down from Spears' last release. When "In the Zone" was released in 2003, it sold 609,000 copies in its first week.

Of course, downloading legal and otherwise has eaten into CD sales. So Spears' first week's showing is respectable, even though it's not fantastic by any means.

The embattled pop mom is having more trouble on the radio, which is not playing "Gimme More" much right now. Maybe programmers will be persuaded to spin a second single from "Blackout." We'll see.

"Blackout" remains the No. 1 downloaded album on iTunes and the fifth bestselling CD on Amazon.com. Spears could have a good second week as well, while she awaits the Nov. 13 release of Alicia Keys' anticipated blockbuster, "As I Am." At that point, "Blackout" will likely be over unless a new single captivates radio listeners.

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