1. Omarion, 21, 390,000. This was the R&B artist’s second album in a row to open at #1. Omarion’s solo debut album, O, had achieved the feat in March 2005. But 21, which charted in December 2006, has sold only about half as many copies as that earlier album (see #17). The key song from 21, “Ice Box,” reached #12 on the Hot 100. This was the lowest-selling #1 album of 2006.

2. Jaheim, Ghetto Classics, 446,000. This was the R&B artist’s third album, but his first to reach #1. It charted in February 2006. A key reason Ghetto Classics is on this list: No songs from the album made the Hot 100, whereas two songs from each of Jaheim’s previous albums made the top 30.

3. Johnny Cash, American V: A Hundred Highways, 491,000. This charted in July 2006, nearly three years after Cash’s death. It was the country legend’s first studio album to reach #1. His only other #1 album on The Billboard 200 was the live Johnny Cash At San Quentin in 1969. So this wasn’t really a dud. This is the only album on this list that had first-week sales of fewer than 100,000 copies. (It bowed with lukewarm sales of 88,000.)

4. Juvenile, Reality Check, 505,000. This was the rapper’s eighth album, but his first to reach #1. It charted in March 2006. The key single from the album, “Rodeo,” peaked at #41, a drop-off from such previous Juvenile releases as “Slow Motion” (featuring Soulja Slim), which hit #1 in 2004.

5. R. Kelly & Jay-Z, Unfinished Business, 524,000. This was the second collaboration by the superstar pairing. The first, The Best Of Both Worlds, peaked at #2 in 2002. But that first album has sold a healthier 933,000 copies. This was the lowest-selling #1 album of 2004-as well as the lowest-selling chart-topper of the Nielsen/SoundScan era to that point. (It may have been undercut by Jay-Z’s collaboration with Linkin Park, Collision Course, which was released just five weeks later.) Unfinished Business charted in October 2004 with first-week sales of 215,000. That’s 41% of its total.

6. Marilyn Manson, The Golden Age Of Grotesque, 526,000. This album, which charted in May 2003, was Manson’s second #1, following Mechanical Animals in 1998. Both of these releases were the lowest-selling #1 albums of their respective years. The Gothic shock rocker is the only artist to have the lowest-selling #1 album of the year twice in the Nielsen/SoundScan era.

7. LeToya, LeToya, 529,000. This was the solo debut by LeToya Luckett, a former member of Destiny’s Child. LeToya left the group in early 2000, after the release of its top 10 blockbuster, The Writing’s On The Wall. LeToya has sold about one-twelfth as many copies as that album has. The album charted in July 2006. The single, “Torn,” reached #31 on the Hot 100.

8. Prince, 3121, 530,000. What’s a legend like Prince doing on a list like this? Anybody can have an album that under-performs, to use a favored industry euphemism. 3121 charted in March 2006. It was Prince’s fourth album to reach #1; his first to do since Batman in 1989. “Black Sweat” was the only song from the album to make the Hot 100. It spent one week on the chart at #60.

9. Private Parts soundtrack, 562,000. The rock soundtrack to the Howard Stern comedy/biopic charted in March 1997. It was that year’s lowest-selling #1 album. In fact, it was the lowest-selling #1 album between May 1991 and May 2003, when a Marilyn Manson album did even worse (see #6). It’s also the lowest-selling #1 soundtrack from 1991-2008 (except for the two-week old Twilight, which will quickly surpass it). Apart from the four oldies on the album, no songs from the album made the Hot 100.

10. Gridlock’d soundtrack, 585,000. This soundtrack charted in February 1997, five months after the movie’s star, 2 Pac, was shot to death. The album features two 2Pac tracks, one a collaboration with Snoop Doggy Dogg. No songs from the album made the Hot 100.

11. Busta Rhymes, The Big Bang, 613,000. This was the rapper’s seventh album, but his first to reach #1. It charted in June 2006 with first week sales of 209,000. A single, “Touch It,” had run its course by the time the album was released. The follow-up, “I Love My B***,” stalled at #41 on the Hot 100. By contrast, five Busta Rhymes songs from previous albums made the top 10.

12. Bruce Springsteen, Devils & Dust, 650,000. This was The Boss’ seventh #1 album; his first since The Rising in 2002. But it has sold less than a third as many copies as that album has. Devils & Dust charted in May 2005 with first-week sales of 222,000. It was that year’s lowest-selling #1 album. The title song stalled at #72 on the Hot 100. It spent just one week on the chart, compared to 11 weeks for the title song from The Rising.

13. Madonna, American Life, 674,000. This was Madonna’s fifth chart-topper; her first since Music in 2000. But this has sold less than a quarter as many copies as that album has. American Life charted in April 2003 with first-week sales of 241,000. That’s 36% of its total. The album included Madonna’s 2002 hit “Die Another Day” from the James Bond movie of the same name. The problem: No other songs from the album cracked the top 30.

14. India.Arie, Testimony: Vol. 1: Life & Relationship, 688,000. This was the R&B artist’s third album, but her first to reach #1. It charted in July 2006. The single, “I Am Not My Hair,” had one fleeting week on the Hot 100 (at #97). India.Arie’s 2001 breakthrough hit, “Video,” logged seven months on the chart.

15. Diddy, Press Play, 700,000. This was the rap icon’s first #1 album since 1997, when, as Puff Daddy, he topped the chart with No Way Out. But Press Play has sold less than one-seventh as many copies as that album has. Press Play charted in October 2006. The album’s key track, “Come To Me” (featuring Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls) went top 10 on the Hot 100. (By contrast, No Way Out contained four top five hits.)

16. Rod Stewart, Still The Same…Great Rock Classics Of Our Time, 719,000. This was the English star’s first pop/rock album following four million-selling Great American Songbook collections. It charted in October 2006. The Songbook albums were trending downward in sales, from a high of 3,221,000 for the first to a low of 1,112,000 for the fourth. A fifth Songbook outing would probably have sold about what this did. So this wasn’t a bad showing, just not as good as many figured. It was Stewart’s fourth #1 album.

17. Omarion, O, 758,000. This was the R&B artist’s solo debut album, following a pair of top 10 albums with the teen group B2K. O charted in February 2005. The title song reached #27 on the Hot 100. Omarion is the only artist with two albums on this list. (There’s another dubious distinction.)

18. Nas, Hip Hop Is Dead, 764,000. This was the rapper’s third #1 album, following It Was Written in 1996 and I Am… in 1999. But it has sold only about a third of what those albums have sold. Hip Hop Is Dead charted in December 2006, with first-week sales of 355,000. That’s a whopping 46% of its total. The title track, featuring will.i.am, peaked at #41 on the Hot 100, lower than such earlier Nas hits as “Street Dreams” and “I Can.”

19. Incubus, Light Grenades, 773,000. This was the hard rock group’s sixth album, but its first to reach #1. It charted in December 2006. The key track, “Anna-Molly,” peaked at #66 on the Hot 100, a far cry from the top 10 showing of the band’s “Drive” in 2001.

20. Godsmack, IV, 815,000. This was the hard rock group’s second consecutive full-length album to reach #1, following Faceless. But this has sold about half of what that 2003 album has sold. IV charted in May 2006 with first-week sales of 211,000. The key track, “Speak,” reached #85 on the Hot 100.

21. The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley, Body Kiss, 815,000. This was the veteran R&B group’s second #1 album; its first since The Heat Is On in 1975. Body Kiss charted in May 2003. R. Kelly wrote and produced the key track, “What Would You Do?,” which stalled at #49 on the Hot 100.

22. Led Zeppelin, How The West Was Won, 818,000. This live, three-disk compilation charted in June 2003. (It’s the only album on this list that comprises more than a single disk.) This was the legendary hard-rock band’s seventh #1 album; its first since 1979’s In Through The Out Door.

23. LL Cool J, G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith The Greatest Of All Time, 822,000. This was the rap superstar’s ninth album, but his first to hit #1. G.O.A.T. charted in July 2000 with first-week sales of 209,000. It was that boom year’s lowest-selling #1 album. “Imagine That” was the only song from the album to make the Hot 100. It peaked at #98.

24. Various Artists, The Neptunes Present…Clones, 827,000. Pharrell Williams was featured on six tracks on this hip-hop collection. One of them, “Frontin'” (featuring Jay-Z), went top five on the Hot 100. The album charted in August 2003 with first-week sales of 249,000.

25. A Tribe Called Quest, Beats, Rhymes And Life, 828,000. This charted in August 1996, making it the oldest album on this list. It was the lowest-selling #1 album of 1996-and the lowest-selling chart-topper of the Nielsen/SoundScan era to that point. (It took the unwelcome title from Depeche Mode’s 1993 album, Songs Of Faith And Devotion.) Beats, Rhymes And Life was the New York-based rap trio’s fourth album, but its first to hit #1. No songs from the album made the Hot 100.

Granted some of the names/releases on the list have stories behind the poor sales, it’s still pretty compelling stuff all the same.

Your thoughts

Lazy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Brown wants Madonna on his next album.

The 19-year-old crooner says the Material Girl would be his dream duet for a track on his upcoming CD “Graffiti,” which is due out next year. He says he’d also love to work with Coldplay. He’s collaborated with Jordin Sparks, David Banner and girlfriend Rihanna in the past.

Brown predicts that “Graffiti” will be a bigger project for him. Speaking from the red carpet at the American Music Awards, the platinum-selling R&B star said: “It’s going to be my stepping stone from Chris Brown to superstar.”

More power to him. With his undeniable success this past year, Chris really has established self as a force in the industry. It’ll be interesting to see what he’ll deliver third go round – especially with the likes of Madonna and Coldplay being touted as possible features.

NEW YORK — No big conspiracy here: 50 Cent said he decided to delay the release of his Before I Self Destruct album from December 16 until next year because he needed more setup time.

“I’m trying to leave the same way I came in,” he said Sunday night during “Total Finale Live.” “February 4 [2003], Get Rich or Die Tryin’ came out. I drop this album February 3. The time frame. It used to take six to eight weeks for us to position a hip-hop record. Now, it’s taking 12 to 14 weeks.

“Just the positioning,” he continued. “I’m not comfortable where I’m at right now. My song ‘Get Up’ is performing great. I’m happy with ‘Get Up.’ It moved faster than ‘I Get Money’ at radio. But I’m just looking for the opportunity to present more of my material [prior to the album’s release]. It’s not the strongest effort on my album; it’s just a great start for me.”

The video for “Get Up” is out now. Besides paying homage to the Will Smith blockbuster “I Am Legend,” Fif also comes full circle with a nod to his own “In Da Club” video. With the release of Before I Self Destruct, he will fulfill his contractual obligation to Shady/Aftermath and Interscope Records for new recordings. A greatest-hits collection will follow if he does not ink a new contract with Interscope.

“We may put out a greatest-hits record then, [when] we start the renegotiations,” he said of his talks with Interscope.

Although he’s publicly expressed disdain for the way Interscope and its chair, Jimmy Iovine, have handled projects such as Curtis and the G-Unit’s T.O.S., Fif did tell us he’ll let bygones be bygones for the right price.

“I think all artists have things they can point to that have been done wrong at different points in their career,” he said. “It’s cool. I’ll get over it. They can just pay me.” {Source}

Delusions of grandeur, no doubt. I’m not quite sure who 50 is trying to kid with his statements about ‘Get Up’ doing well. The track has no buzz, no nothing. For his sake, he needs to come hard with whatever he drops next, as it may be curtains for him if not (some say it is already).

Randomness: The last part about re-signing with the label for the right price, irrespective of the ‘mis-handling’s’ of his projects (I maintain they were crap anyway), speaks volumes. So much for artistic credibility, the ‘more money’ mentality seems to what 50 is working with. A shame.

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx bit into the role of a schizophrenic musician for his latest movie The Soloist – by chiseling his perfect teeth. Foxx was determined to create a realistic portrayal of Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless American musician who suffered from schizophrenia, so he took the tool to his mouth to mess up his good looks.

The actor explains to Maxim magazine, “I spent hours getting the nuances of the person, making him real. Something angelic happens and you actually become that person. For Nathaniel, I pushed things a bit. I lost about 20 pounds and I put a gap in my teeth. I had one (of my teeth) chipped out with a chisel. My teeth are just so big and white – a homeless person would never have them. I wanted to break up my big, shining piano keys to five them a little character. Some might think I f—ed up my grill for nothing, but I just wanted to come up with some s— to make the part unique.”

Anyway, it’s kind of a shame that TRL is ending. No matter your locality/nationality, you’ve likely heard of the once popular show. Hell, even, other markets tried to launch their own version (does anyone else remember the crapper than crap UK version?). I guess all good things must come to an end. Word has it, FN’MTV is to replace it.