EMINEM WILL RETURN TO TOP

Now that the dust is settling on this week’s Arcade Fire album, whose sales total was over 62% digital, the HITS Top 50 returns to normal next Tuesday, with Eminem’s Shady/ Aftermath/Interscope album Recovery moving back to #1 in its eighth week, sending it over 2 million in sales.

With Amazon’s $3.99 special leading the way, the Merge critical darlings became the first act from that North Carolina indie, celebrating its 21st anniversary, to debut at #1 on that other album sales chart. Of course, we had Eminem as #1, so what do we know. The band’s last release, Neon Bible, entered at #2 in March, 2007, with 92k, behind a Notorious B.I.G. greatest hits album.

Arcade Fire's digital sales were strong across the board, with iTunes selling it for $9.99, while the band’s web site offered its own version, featuring synchronized visuals, at $7.99.

eMusic had its biggest debut of the year on the album, with 6% of the sales total, adding an onsite critique by the site’s editorial chief J. Edward Keyes here. It is currently the digi-distriberry's #1 download.

This week’s releases are topped by Walt Disney’s Camp Rock 2 soundtrack and E1’s Black Label Society, fronted by guitar maestro Zakk Wylde, both targeted in the 40-45k range.

That’s based on one-day sales reports from those music retailers now reduced to screaming into their phones at all hours of the day and night like Mel Gibson.

WB Nashville’s Blake Shelton and J/RMG Duke-bred singer/songwriter/producer Mike Posner, whose album 31 Minutes to Takeoff soared to #1 at iTunes earlier this week, are both looking at sales between 30-35k.

The market was up 1% vs. last week, down 13% vs. same week last year and still down 12% year to date. We now return you to your testy, profanity-laced Jet Blue flight attendant.