Monica Storms the Charts

Monica has weathered the storm just fine.

Fans last saw the young R&B starlet tussling with Brandy in the Grammy-grabbing, chart-topping hit "The Boy Is Mine," the title cut from an album that sold three million copies and scored three number-one singles. Five years of personal turmoil later, it appears the boys are still hers.

Monica laid claim to the number-one spot for the week ended June 22, as her third album, After the Storm, sold 185,000 copies, according to SoundScan numbers. Monica's latest triumph found fire in "So Gone," her new hit single produced by hip-hop diva Missy Elliott. Other guest contributors include DMX and Tyrese.

The album had several false starts as the 22-year-old Monica suffered through the suicide of her boyfriend (who, distraught over the death of his brother, killed himself in front of the singer), her adoption of his young daughter and the arrest of a former boyfriend, rapper C-Murder, who is currently jailed awaiting trial on murder charges.

With Monica on top, her J Records labelmate Luther Vandross stepped down to number two as Dance with My Father moved 182,000 copies. The ailing artist, who suffered a serious stroke two months ago, scored his first ever number-one album when Dance entered the charts last week on Wednesday--the same day he was released from the hospital.

Metallica's St. Anger slipped to number three with 137,000 copies, down 225,000 from the week previous. Sales were slow across the board, as no other albums registered six figures.

Radiohead's Hail to the Thief and Annie Lennox's Bare, which both opened big last week, each dropped just one spot. Radiohead sold 96,000 copies at four and Lennox, 93,000 copies at five. The rest of the Top 10, all familiar faces, were 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' at six, Norah Jones' Come Away with Me at seven, Evanescence's Fallen at eight and the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack at nine.

Kelly Clarkson's Thankful, temporarily dislodged from the Top 10 last week, reentered at number 10, which is more than can be said for her new American Idol big-screen bow. The excruciating From Justin to Kelly opened at number 11 at the box office over the weekend (which might spare us from From Clay to Ruben).

Elsewhere on the charts, NYC goth-metal gods Type O Negative opened at 39 with their sixth full-length depressant, Life Is Killing Me. The Reggae Gold 2003 compilation followed at 43, while the Long Island emo group Brand New wrapped up the top new bows at 63 with Deja Entendu.

In the Top 50, only two holdover albums experienced any sales gain at all. Weird Al's Poodle Hat sold an additional 4,000 copies to finish the week at 24,000, jumping 15 spots to 47. And Trapt sold an additional 1,000 copies for 22,000, jumping nine spots to 49.

On the singles chart, American Idol runner-up (and current Rolling Stone cover boy) Clay Aiken remained tops as his "Bridge Over Troubled Water/This Is the Night" single held the number-one position with 143,000 copies. Meanwhile, A.I. victor Ruben Studdard was seated one spot behind as "Flying Without Wings/Superstar" sold another 112,000 copies.

Looking at the scorecards, Studdard took round one, and Aiken round two. Assuming Simon Cowell doesn't have any Don King-like tricks up his sleeve, the big A.I. rematch is now set for August 19, when both artists will simultaneously drop their full-length debuts.

Next week, new albums breaking on the charts will include entries from Beyoncé Knowles, Michelle Branch and current Justin-Christina tourmates, the Black Eyed Peas.

To recap, the Top 10 albums for the week ended Sunday were:

1. After the Storm, Monica
2. Dance with My Father, Luther Vandross
3. St. Anger, Metallica
4. Hail to the Thief, Radiohead
5. Bare, Annie Lennox
6. Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent
7. Come Away with Me, Norah Jones
8. Fallen, Evanescence
9. 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack, various
10. Thankful, Kelly Clarkson