AP Photo/Kevork DjansezianAmerican Idol might need to bring Chris Daughtry back for a belated coronation.
The brooding rocker failed to make it to the winner's circle in season five, but his namesake band is now a two-champ where it counts—on the album charts. Having previously topped the charts with his 2006 eponymous debut, Daughtry repeats the feat this week with Leave This Town selling over 269,000 copies, per Nielsen SoundScan.
While this gives him bragging rights on the Billboard 200, Daughtry also moved more copies than Michael Jackson's top-seller, Number 1s, giving him the week's undeniable No. 1 album. Jackson's discs are only eligible for the Catalog chart, but he managed to outsell the Billboard 200's No. 1 album each of the previous three weeks.
Who's bad indeed?
Number 1s was still the No. 2 best-seller overall with 192,000 copies, and Jackson continues to dominate the Catalog chart taking up the top 12 slots. Billboard even announced this week that Thriller has likely already surpassed the Eagles' Greatest Hits 1971-1975 as the top-selling album of all time.
Topping the King of Pop is no easy feat these days, but Daughtry also joins the tiny group of American Idol contestants to have a successful second album. Typically, Idol stars like Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks debut big with their first albums, but they struggle to catch fire with their second. In fact, Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry are the only two Idol contestants with multiple No. 1 albums.
Says Daughtry, "We poured our hearts into these songs to make the record we've always dreamed about. To have people respond the way they have is extremely gratifying, but even more humbling."
With Leave This Town taking the top spot, Maxwell's BLACKsummers'night fell to No. 2 in its second week. Still, the R&B crooner stayed ahead of the three other albums that made Top 10 bows.
The week's next highest entry belonged the Dead Weather, which sold 51,000 copies of Horehound at No. 6. This new rock collaboration features Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs), Alison Mosshart (the Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (the Raconteurs).
Following close on their heels, R&B singer Joe sold 49,000 copies of Signature at No. 7 and lightning-fast rapper Twista sold 45,000 copies of Category F5 at No. 8.
With M.J. sales coming back down to earth, overall sales were down 7 percent compared to last week and down over 9 percent compared to the same week last year.
To recap, the Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 were as follows:
1. Leave This Town, Daughtry
2. BLACKsummers'night, Maxwell
3. Hannah Montana 3 soundtrack, Hannah Montana
4. Now That's What I Call Music! 31, various
5. The E.N.D., Black Eyed Peas
6. Horehound, the Dead Weather
7. Signature, Joe
8. Category F5, Twista
9. Fearless, Taylor Swift
10. Only By the Night, Kings of Leon
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How dangerous is the late King of Pop on the charts now that he's gone? Get the answer here.