Sorry Fiddy, but your new G-Unit album is more Mr. Freeze than Terminator.
T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight), the rap crew's first album in five years, managed only a No. 4 bow on sales of 102,000 copies, per Nielsen SoundScan, finishing behind holdovers Lil Wayne, Coldplay and the Camp Rock soundtrack.
Comparing opening weeks, that's 275,000 fewer copies than 2003's Beg for Mercy, which had the been the worst opening week numbers for any official Fiddy-led album, and a whopping 855,000 fewer than his last solo disc, 2007's Curtis.
Ultimately, T.O.S. suffered for lack of a radio hit. The album's first two singles, "Rider Pt. 2" and "I Like the Way She Do It," both failed to click. (Young Buck, who left G-Unit earlier this year, appears in the songs, but his parts are cut from the music videos.)
Despite the poor showing for T.O.S., Fiddy will have a chance to redeem himself with his fourth solo album, Before I Self Destruct, expected in time for the holidays.
Meanwhile, at the top of the charts, the positions may have shuffled, but it's still the same three albums for the third straight week. Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III returned to No. 1 on 156,000 copies; Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends dropped to No. 2 on 149,000; and the Camp Rock soundtrack stayed put at No. 3, with 116,000.
John Mayer scored the week's only other Top 10 bow at No. 5 selling 75,000 copies of his third concert disc, Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles.
Though not a new album, Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus jumped five spots to No. 7 on 45,000 copies, bringing its 39-week tally to 1.1 million. "All Summer Long," a major crossover hit for Kid, is driving the album's upward swing.
Outside the Top 10, there were three other notable bows. Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne sold 36,000 copies of Killer —a twisted homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller—at No. 12. The Alkaline Trio followed at No. 13, selling 36,000 copies of Agony and Irony. And High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens sold 22,000 copies of her sophomore album, Identified, at No. 23.
Other top debuts included My Chemical Romance's live Black Parade Is Dead! at No. 22, Relient K's The Bird and the Bee Sides at No. 25, Los Lonely Boys' Forgiven at No. 26 and Jim Jones & the Byrd Gang at No. 29 with M.O.B.: The Album.
Overall, sales are down just 1 percent compared to last week but off 13 percent compared to the same week last year when T.I. had a huge debut.
Here's a recap of the Top 10:
1. Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne
2. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay
3. Camp Rock soundtrack, various
4. T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight), G-Unit
5. Where the Light Is, John Mayer
6. Now That's What I Call Music! 28, various
7. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
8. Here I Stand, Usher
9. Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna
10. Indestructible, Disturbed