Ne-Yo has emerged as this week’s top R&B artist on the charts. The “Miss Independent” singer landed at no.2 on the Billboard 200 beating out competition from Nelly and Raphael Saadiq. Ne-Yo’s “Year of the Gentleman” sold 250,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan. The Def Jam effort comes on the heels of two no.1 debuts for the singer/songwriter whose 2006 debut “In My Own Words” sold 301,000 copies and 2007’s “Because of You” which sold 251,000 copies in its first week. The “She Got Her Own (Miss Independent Remix)” singer continues to climb the singles chart also. The original version of “Miss Independent” moves from 16-5 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop songs tally while his first single “Closer” holds at no.7 on the Hot 100. Right behind Ne-Yo’s debut is Hip Hop star Nelly who released “Brass Knuckles, his first album since 2004’s “Sweat” and “Suit.” Nelly debuted with just 84,000 copies sold (no.3) falling short of his 2004 debuts at 396,000 and 342, 000 copies respectively. Former Tony, Toni, Tone! member Raphael Saadiq’s “The Way I See It” landed at no.19 with 23,000 copies sold. According to Billboard sales this week are up 1.1% over last week’s sum and down 16.5% from the same week last year. Next Week: Jazmine Sullivan “Fearless”; Joe Thomas “Joe Thomas, New Man;” and The Pussycat Dolls “Doll Domination”….(by the way all of their albums are in stores now !)
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