NEW YORK (July 10) - Rapper Lil Wayne returned to the top of the U.S. pop album chart Wednesday, ending the two-week reign of British rock band Coldplay.Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" sold 156,000 copies during the week ended July 6, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and has now sold 1.68 million in four weeks of release.
Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" slipped to No. 2 with 149,000 copies, flip-flopping with Lil Wayne. The Jonas Brothers-led soundtrack to Disney's "Camp Rock" TV movie was No. 3 for a third week with 116,000.Rap combo G-Unit's sophomore set, "T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)" debuted at No. 4 with 102,000. The crew's 2003's debut album, "Beg For Mercy," started at No. 1 with 377,000.John Mayer's "Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles" was new at No. 5 with 75,000. It's the third live offering from the songwriter, on the heels of 2005's "Try! Live in Concert" and 2003's "Any Given Thursday." The former debuted and peaked at No. 34 with 50,000, while "Thursday" debuted at No. 17 with 64,000.The multi-artist hits compilation "Now 28" was steady at No. 6 with 59,000. Kid Rock's former chart-topper "Rock N Roll Jesus" jumped five places to No. 7 with 45,000 in its 39th week. Much of that album's charge as of late has been powered by strong radio airplay for the single "All Summer Long."Usher's "Here I Stand" slipped one to No. 8 with 41,000. Rihanna's "Good Girl Gone Bad" rose one to No. 9 with 40,000. That album flip-flopped with rock band Disturbed's former chart-topper "Indestructible," which sold 37,000 copies.Other new entries included rapper Tech N9ne at No. 12 with "Killer," and rock outfit Alkaline Trio's "Agony & Irony" at No. 13."High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens' "Identified" debuted at No. 23 with just 22,000 copies. Her castmate Ashley Tisdale did better in February 2007 when her debut "Headstrong" opened at No. 5 with 64,000 copies. And both did considerably better last August when the "High School Musical 2" soundtrack sold 615,000 copies in its first week.Elsewhere, Motley Crue's autobiographical "Saints of Los Angeles" slid to No. 16 after a surprisingly strong debut at No. 4 the week before.At 7.6 million units, overall sales were down 1.4% from the previous week, and off 13.4% from the same week last year.
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