Mariah Breaks Leona's Spirit

Pop diva scores sixth No. 1 album as E=MC2 notches her biggest-ever sales week

She's no Einstein, but Mariah Carey can certainly add up the numbers for a nuclear chart-topping debut.

Carey's E=MC2 energized the charts, giving the pop diva her sixth No. 1 album and delivering her biggest sales week of her career with 463,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen SoundScan.

Carey is now tied with Madonna for the second-most No. 1 albums by a female artist, with both superstars trailing Barbra Streisand's eight. E=MC2 also topped Jack Jackson's Sleep Through the Static (375,000) as the biggest bow of the year.

It's been a historic year for Carey. The E=MC2 single "Touch My Body" topped the Hot 100 earlier this month—her 18th No. 1. She now ranks only behind the Beatles, who scored 20 U.S. chart-toppers. "Touch My Body" reigned for two weeks, tying her with Elvis for the most weeks spent at No. 1, with 79.

"Mariah's an inspiration, the true definition of a star," Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid said in a statement. "Now Mariah has added another plateau of success to what has become her virtually unapproachable track record on charts around the world."

Carey's sales were bolstered by a promotional slate that literally saw her pop up all over the TV grid, including stops on American Idol, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Hills and Saturday Night Live.

Brit sensation Leona Lewis—who many call the next Mariah—saw her debut album Spirit, which opened at No. 1 last week, fall a spot on 95,000 copies.

Country act Lady Antebellum landed the week's next best bow with its eponymous debut selling 43,000 copies at No. 4.

Disney split personality Miley Cyrus-Hannah Montana roared back into the top 10 with her soundtrack disc The Best of Both Worlds Concert climbing 28 spots to a new high at No. 3 on 47,000 copies. The album debuted five weeks ago as a Wal-Mart exclusive, but the disc made it to all retail racks last week. Cyrus also benefited from cohosting the CMT Music Awards with her father.

Speaking of the CMTs, Taylor Swift's self-titled album jumped three spots to No. 10 on 30,000 copies after "Our Song" took home trophies for Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year at the April 14 ceremony. To date, Taylor Swift has sold more than 2.8 million copies in 78 weeks.

The Juno soundtrack also returned to the top 10, jumping 38 spots to No. 8 on 31,000 copies, following the film's DVD release.

Further down, Thrice's The Alchemy Index, Vol. III & IV: Air & Earth just edged out Rush's Snakes & Arrows Live to finish at 17 and 18, respectively. Both albums sold approximately 21,000 copies.

Other notable debuts include Children of Bodom's Blooddrunk at 22, the Naked Brothers Band's I Don't Want to Go to School at 23, Tristan Prettyman's Hello at 27 and the Kooks' Konk at 41.

Overall, sales were up 2 percent from last week but down 8 percent compared to the same week in '07.

To recap, the week's top 10 albums were as follows:

1. E=MC2, Mariah Carey
2. Spirit, Leona Lewis
3. The Best of Both Worlds Concert, Miley Cyrus
4. Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum
5. Now That's What I Call Music! 27, various
6. Troubadour, George Strait
7. Alvin & the Chipmunks soundtrack, various
8. Juno soundtrack, various
9. Accelerate, R.E.M.
10. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift