Scotty McCreery is sitting on top of the world – or at least on top of a number of records. “American Idol”s” Season 10 winner charged onto the Billboard 200 this week at No. 1 selling 197,000 copies of “Clear as Day.” (We interviewed McCreery this morning and will post that interview later today).
As if that were not enough of a triumph, he entered the record books as well: McCreery is the first country act to bow at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his debut album, and McCreery is the youngest male artist of any genre to start at the top spot with his debut release, according to Billboard.
As we previously noted, McCreery is also the first “American Idol” winner to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 with his debut album since Ruben Studdard in 2003. It”s a feat accomplished only by three of the “Idol” champs: McCreery, Studdard, and Kelly Clarkson, whose “Thankful” started at No. 1 seven months before Studdard.
Running down the rest of the chart, Adele”s “21” moves 3-2 and is the only other title in the Top 10 to surpass the 100,000 mark. Tony Bennett”s “Duets II” rises 4-3, while Lady Antebellum”s “Own The Night” jumps 6-4. J. Cole”s “Cole World: The Sideline Story” falls from 1-5, while Lil Wayne”s “Tha Carter IV” inches 7-6.
That means we have no more debuts until we get to No. 7, where Feist”s “Metals” opens, giving the Canadian singer/songwriter her first Top 10 album. Two more debuts follow: Rodney Atkins” “Take a Back Road” at No. 8 (read Hitfix”s interview with Atkins here) and Jack’s Mannequin”s “People and Things” at No. 9. No. 10 is reserved for Blink-182″s “Neighborhoods,” which tumbles 2-10.