This Week in Sales: Game’s “R.E.D. Album” is in the Black

If I had known that Game's "R.E.D. Album" would debut at #1 when I was writing the article I would have made it the centerpiece of my debate with Andreas, but instead I'll have to settle for a belated "told you so!" Yep, that's #1, meaning he knocked out The Throne from the top spot. (I have to say, I expected YeHova to hang onto #1 longer than this, at least until next week when "Carter IV" charts.) In fairness though, I may be technically be able to say I called the success of "R.E.D.", but it only sold 98K first week, meaning we can expect it to drop pretty quickly from here. So go ahead and pop bottles tonight Jayceon, just know that the celebration will be short-lived.

On an only semi-related note, I also want to point out that this picture actually happened. So there's that.

And now let's turn our attention to the Top 10 Urban Songs with units sold

1. (5 overall) Rihanna - Cheers (131,000)
2 (6 overall). Bad Meets Evil - Lighters (127,000)
3 (7 overall). Lil Wayne ft. Drake - She Will (112,000)
4 (10 overall). Nicki Minaj - Super Bass (97,000)
5 (12 overall).Lil Wanye - How to Love (92,000)
6 (18 overall). Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo - Give Me Everything (66,000)
7 (22 overall). Drake - Headlines (57,000)
8 (24 overall). Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis (50,000)
9 (30 overall). Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony - Rain Over Me (42,000)
10 (33 overall) The Fat Guys Who Yells ft. Drake & Rick Ross - I'm on One (41,000)

1) I know RefinedHype Nation is waiting for those "Carter IV" numbers but you're going to have to wait another week. And I also know that "projections" put sales of Lil Wayne's new (pretty fucking bad) album at 800K but let's all relaxed. These "projections" are as reliable as counting on "pulling out" for your birth control. Remember, those same "projections" has Wiz Khalifa's "Rolling Papers" bombing, then it debuted at #3. I'm not saying Weezy won't do those numbers, I actually think he will (his fan base is insanely loyal), I'm just saying let's wait for the actual stats before we start talking.

2) I'm about to really show off my chart knowledge, and probably sound like a d-bag in the process. The "Grammy bump" is well documented - anyone who performs at the Grammys watches sales of their album jump the following week as America collectively goes "oh yeah, (that artist). I actually really like them." Well I'm calling it now. Beyonce's VMAs performance, coupled with the pregnancy announcement, is going to mean a notable increase in sales for "4" next week. Every woman in the world is suddenly even more obsessed with Bey, and no one buys music like women.

"4" did 20K copies this week, expect at least 25K next week. Go ahead, hold me to it. (Unless it doesn't happen, in which case don't expect me to bring it up.)

3) Weezy is a monster on the singles charts though. Just as "How to Love" finally falls out of theoverall top ten he's right back in it with "She Will". Let's be honest for a moment though - isn't "She Will" essentially a Drake song? The hazy, dark beat has Drizzy written all over it, and it's Aubrey's hook that really makes this memorable. (Lord knows it's not Wayne's lyrics: "What goes around comes around like a hula hoop." Really?) This isn't exactly a compliment considering how bad "C4" is, but Drake's making better music than Wayne right now. Hands down. The student has surpassed the teacher.

4) With "Otis" at #24 what's YeHova's next move? They put out "Ni**as in Paris" but I think they know it's not the kind of song that's going to really blow up. Is there even another hit on this album? "Lift Off"? By no means should a lack of radio singles be a factor in judging the overall quality of an album - "#Section80" isn't getting within 10 miles of the radio and that album's ill - but it will be strange if two of the biggest hit makers in rap history release a joint album, and there's only one moderate hit on it.

5) This week's Mr. Irrelevant Award, given to the song that sits at the absolute bottom of the charts (the number 200 spot), goes to...Lupe Fiasco's "No Hands". Expect Lupe to blame it on Atlantic and Obama shortly. (It's a joke, relax Lupe fans. And the hate mail arrives in 5, 4, 3....)