Charts: Usher Beats Back the Man

Just because you have the method doesn't mean you can be the man.

Despite a strong showing by rapper-actor Method Man, the artist on top of Billboard's Top 200 album chart remained all too familiar as Usher extended his number one run to an eighth week out of nine. For the week ended Sunday, Usher's Confessions sold 214,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers announced today.

Though failing to drop Usher, Method Man's third solo outing, Tical 0: The Prequel, sold 164,000 copies to open solidly at number two. The Wu-Tang emcee, whose current solo single is the catchy "What's Happenin'" with Busta Rhymes, previously released Tical in 1994 and Tical 2000: Judgment Day--Blackout! in 1998. Method Man's acting career is equally hot with Soul Plane set to hit multiplexes this weekend and the sitcom Method & Red, pairing the rapper with his How High pal Redman, coming this fall on Fox.

Last week's chief contender, rookie country singer Gretchen Wilson, fell to number four in her second week as Here for the Party sold 138,000. In her debut week, the singer came within 1,000 copies of unseating Usher, the closest anyone's come during Usher's weeks on top. (The Eminem-fronted D12 has been the only act to topple Usher this year.)

There was plenty of action in the Top 10. New Found Glory cracked the charts at number three, selling 147,000 copies of its third album, Catalyst. The Coral Springs, Florida, punk band, who will appear on TRL next week, already sold close to 1 million copies of its 2002 disc, Sticks and Stones.

While her last album, Under Rug Swept, opened at number one in 2002, Alanis Morissette fell short this time around. Her So-Called Chaos got swept into the five spot with 114,000 copies. The singer will likely get a sales bump from appearances on consecutive Jimmy Kimmel Live shows this Thursday and Friday.

The country duo Montgomery Gentry, known individually as Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, landed the fourth and final Top 10 bow with You Do Your Thing moving 58,000 copies at number 10. The Kentucky duo's fourth disc features such inspired anthems as "All I Know About Mexico" and "I Got Drunk."

The rest of the Top 10 were holdovers: D12's D12 World at six, Hoobastank's The Reason at seven, 8-Ball & MJG's Living Legends at eight and Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 15 at nine.

Morrissey just missed out on a Top 10 debut with his first album in seven years, You Are the Quarry. The disc debuted at 11 with 56,000 copies--a career best for the singer both as a solo artist and with the Smiths. Morrissey's 1994 album, Vauxhall & I, sold a few hundred copies less to open at number 18, while 1997's Maladjusted sold only 19,000 copies at 61. Morrissey, who heads out on this summer's Lollapalooza tour, also moved an additional 75,000 copies this week in his native England.

Lenny Kravtiz's Baptism, his seventh album in 15 years, debuted at 14 with 52,000 copies sold. Remarkably, Lenny Kravitz set a record from 1999-2002 by winning four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and though nominated in 2003, he failed to stretch his wins to five straight.

George Michael's Patience, which already went double platinum in the U.K. since its overseas release in March, debuted on the U.S. charts at 29 with 36,000 in sales. Thanks largely to his Wham! and Faith heyday, the singer has moved more than 67 million albums worldwide.

Elsewhere on the charts, Disney's That's So Raven TV soundtrack clawed in at 46, George Thorogood & the Destroyers' Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock opened at 55, and U.K. emcee the Streets followed at 82 with A Grand Don't Come for Free. Other noteworthy releases included Twizdid's Cryptic Colleciton 3 at 85, Tonex' Out the Box at 89 and instrumentalist deejay RJD2 at 128 with Since We Last Spoke.

As Shrek 2 broke records at the box office last week, its soundtrack jumped 24 spots on the chart to number 12. And Lionel Richie, who cohosted the Motown 45 Special and spent an entire hour on The Oprah Winfrey Show last week, saw his Just For You rocket 58 spots to number 47. His Definitive Collection also reentered the charts at 84.

Meanwhile, over the singles charts, JoJo's "Leave (Get Out)" finally overtook Clay Aiken's "Solitaire/The Way" at number one after spending nearly two months nipping at the American Idol alum's heels from the number two spot.

Here's a recap of the Top 10 albums:

1. Confessions, Usher
2. Tical 0: The Prequel, Method Man
3. Catalyst, New Found Glory
4. Here for the Party, Gretchen Wilson
5. So-Called Chaos, Alanis Morissette
6. D12 World, D12
7. The Reason, Hoobastank
8. Living Legends, 8-Ball & MJG
9. Now That's What I Call Music! 15, various
10. You Do Your Thing, Montgomery Gentry