Thriller Nears All- Time US Sales Record

Album sales up 90% from first week

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson is still dominating the Billboard charts, with his solo albums selling 800,000 copies in the first full week after his death and 2.2 million songs downloaded. His Number Ones collection is the top-selling album in the US as well as No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Comprehensive Albums chart, with Thriller coming in second. More»

(NEWSER) - It’s no exaggeration to say that Michael Jackson “made a more profound impact in the arenas of soul, R&B and dance-pop than any other singer or songwriter in history,” writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. But while many fans reach for Thriller, “widely considered the best-selling disc of all time,” DeRogatis and other “hardcore fans” cast their lot with 1979’s Off the Wall. More»

Will be singer's fifth No. 1

(AP) - Britney Spears' latest CD, Circus, has landed her back at a familiar position—No. 1. The singer's comeback CD—make that her second comeback CD—will top the album charts next week, according to her label, Jive. Though Nielsen SoundScan does not release its official figures until today, estimates have the record selling as many as 500,000 copies in its first week of release. More»

Sony blamed for UK price hike, now reversed

(NEWSER) - On Saturday, a Whitney Houston greatest-hits album cost about $8 in the UK iTunes store; but shortly after the singer was found dead, it had jumped to a little more than $12.50. The changed sparked a customer uproar. "It is just a case of iTunes cashing in on the singer's death, which in my opinion is totally parasitic," said one, according to DigitalSpy . But the Guardian reports that it was Sony, not iTunes, that was responsible for the change—which has now been reversed. More»

Teen queen snags artist of the year in an upset

(NEWSER) - Taylor Swift unexpectedly captured artist of the year honors at tonight's American Music Awards, preventing a sweep by Michael Jackson. The 19-year-old country-pop crossover sensation called being included in the same category as the King of Pop an "unimaginable honor." She won five awards; Jermaine Jackson accepted two of his brother's four trophies wearing a sequined glove on his left hand, the AP reports. More»