Despite big bumps for the king and queen of the Grammys, this week's chart fell to a pair of Jacks.
Amy Winehouse's huge Grammy haul, which included Best New Artist and Record of the Year for "Rehab," skyrocketed Back to Black 22 spots to number two, while Herbie Hancock jumped 154 spots to number five with dark horse Album of the Year winner River: The Joni Letters. Still, it was Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static that snoozed its way to a number one defense.
For the week ended Sunday, Sleep retained its chart-topping position, selling another 180,000 copies, according to the latest SoundScan numbers. Winehouse finished with 115,000 copies for the week and Hancock with 54,000 copies.
Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition would have finished ahead of Winehouse except that it's a catalog title and ineligible for the Billboard 200. Instead, the new silver-anniversary disc—featuring contributions from Kanye West, Will.i.am, Akon, Fergie and others—ruled the Top Pop Catalog chart with 166,000 copies.
Still, with only a handful of new releases, sales were driven by Grammy-related bumps, which make their first chart impact this week following the Feb. 10 ceremony.
Among the two big winners, Winehouse's debut has been a chart force for the past year, selling over 1.6 million copies to date, but Hancock's Joni Mitchell tribute peaked at 118 last fall and quickly dropped off the chart. In a night that saw Mitchell win her own statuette for One Week Last Summer (Best Pop Instrumental), the "Rockit" legend scored the first jazz win for Album of the Year in 43 years and only the third jazz win ever, following Stan Getz and João Gilberto's Getz/Gilberto in '65 and inaugural Album of the Year winner Henry Mancini for 1959's The Music from Peter Gunn soundtrack.
The 2008 Grammy Nominees compilation also registered a 40 percent sales bump, selling another 72,000 copies at number four, while Grammy presenter and Best New Artist nominee Taylor Swift sold 52,000 copies of her self-titled debut at seven, up three spots.
Thanks to a third-place finish at the box office this past holiday weekend, the Step Up 2: The Streets soundtrack also climbed three to the 10 spot, selling 45,000 copies.
The rest of the Top 10, all holdovers, included Alicia Keys' As I Am at three, the Juno soundtrack at six, Sheryl Crow's Detours at eight and Mary J. Blige's Growing Pains at nine.
Canadian punk rockers Simple Plan debuted at 14, selling 39,000 copies of their eponymous third album. Surprisingly, the band recruited the likes of Max Martin (Britney, Backstreet) and Timbaland associate Nate "Danja" Hills (Justin, Furtado) to give the album more of a clubby, mainstream pop sound.
Several other albums also got hefty Grammy bumps. John Legend, who got face time as a presenter and performer, enjoyed a 50-spot leap for Live from Philadelphia at number 12. The Eagles, who won a Best Country Performance trophy, jumped 10 spots to 16 with Long Road Out of Eden. Rihanna, who became just the second Barbados native to receive a Grammy (following Jimmy Senya Haynes), jumped 11 spots to 35 with Good Girl Gone Bad, featuring the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration winner "Umbrella." Kanye West, who gave one of the night's more flashy performances, enjoyed a 24-spot surge with his Best Rap Album victor Graduation. Finally, Best Rock Album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace blasted up 43 spots to 22 for the Foo Fighters.
Not all chart jumps were related to Grammy gold this week. Celine Dion, who launched her worldwide tour on Valentine's Day, saw Taking Chances climb 45 spots to 55 thanks to her Feb. 15 television special Celine Dion: That's Just the Woman in Me.
A trio of non-Grammy-related albums also made noteworthy debuts this week: WOW Gospel 2008 at 34, Widespread Panic's Free Somehow at 78 and Natalie Grant's Relentless at 81.
Meanwhile, over on the singles chart, the High School Musical 2 track "What Time Is It?" dropped two spots to number three, its lowest chart position in over half a year. The powerhouse single was topped by the White Stripes' "Conquest," selling 2,600 copies at number one, and Goldfrapp's "A&E," selling 2,100 copies at two.
Overall, sales were up 16 percent from last week but still down almost 12 percent from the same Grammy-bump week in '07.
To recap, the Top 10 albums were:
- Sleep Through the Static, Jack Johnson
- Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
- As I Am, Alicia Keys
- 2008 Grammy Nominees, various
- River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock
- Juno soundtrack, various
- Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
- Detours, Sheryl Crow
- Growing Pains, Mary J. Blige
- Step Up 2: The Streets soundtrack, various