Fiddy Leaves Faith Behind

Wed., Apr. 13, 2005 12:00 PM PDT by David Jenison

The First Lady finished second.

Faith Evans became the latest chart pretender to get Massacre-d, as her latest disc fell just 8,000 copies shy of the top slot that 50 Cent has owned for six straight weeks.

For the week ended Sunday, 50 Cent's sophomore disc moved 165,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan figure released today.

Evans, who released her 1995 debut on P. Diddy's Bad Boy label, later married labelmate Notorious B.I.G. Though the couple were later separated, the singer appeared on a number of his tracks and was prominently featured on the chart-topping Biggie tribute "I'll Be Missing You" after the rapper's tragic murder.

Despite finishing behind Fiddy, the former Mrs. Biggie still scored some of the best sales figures of her career. The First Lady's number two debut was her highest and its 157,000 copies sold represent her best ever first-week sales.

The First Lady also came the closest of any release of the last month and a half to dethroning Fiddy. But his streak will likely to come to an end next week: Mariah Carey is on track to top next week's chart with her comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi.

This week's only other Top 10 bow belonged Lisa Marie Presley, whose sophomore disc, Now What, sold 56,000 copies at number nine. Elvis' little girl (and ex-wife of Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage) made her debut in 2003 with To Whom It May Concern, which sold 142,000 first-week copies for a number five bow.

Meanwhile, last week's slew of Top 10 debuts hung around, led by Beck's Guero, down a slot to three, and 112's Pleasure & Pain, which dropped one to five. Beanie Sigel fell five spots to eight with The B.Coming. Will Smith was the only one to hold tight as Lost and Found stayed steady at six.

The rest of the Top 10 included Now That's What I Call Music! 18 at four, Green Day's American Idiot at seven and Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams at 10.

Just missing the upper echelon was Grammy-winning Donnie McClurkin, whose live disc Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs sold 52,000 copies at number 12. The Best of Brandy followed at 27, while Hot Hot Heat's Elevator got off at number 34.

Other noteworthy debuts included Music From the O.C. Mix 4 at 56, WOW #1's at 70, Corrosion of Conformity's In the Arms of God at 108 and Reel Big Fish's We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not at 155.

Elsewhere, Joss Stone's The Soul Sessions jumped back into the Billboard 200 at 123 with nearly threefold sales thanks to a recent Oprah appearance. Maroon 5 also has reason to celebrate as Songs About Jane marked its 100th week on the charts. The disc, currently at 26, is the oldest on the charts.

Here's a recap of the Top 10:

1. The Massacre, 50 Cent
2. The First Lady, Faith Evans
3. Guero, Beck
4. Now That's What I Call Music! 18, various
5. Pleasure & Pain, 112
6. Lost and Found, Will Smith
7. American Idiot, Green Day
8. The B.Coming, Beanie Sigel
9. Now What, Lisa Marie Presley
10. In Between Dreams, Jack Johnson