Norah Jones delivers chart-topping Valentine (Agencies) Updated: 2004-02-19 16:47
Sultry vocalist Norah Jones
swept back to the pinnacle of the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday as her second
release, "Feels Like Home," became the first album in nearly three years to sell
more than 1 million copies its first week in stores.
The follow-up to her Grammy-winning blockbuster debut "Come
Away With Me" shot to No. 1 in at least 16 countries in all, including Britain,
according to Jones' Blue Note label, owned by EMI Group Plc.
Jones apparently benefited from an across-the-board surge in retail music
sales last week reported by Nielsen SoundScan and attributed in part to
Valentine's Day business and musical appetites wetted by the Feb. 8 Grammy
Awards telecast.
In the United States, "Feels Like Home" sold 1,022,000 copies for the week
ended Feb. 15, making it the biggest album launch so far this year and the first
to crack the seven-figure mark since 'N Sync's "Celebrity" sold nearly 1.9
million copies its first week in July 2001, SoundScan said.
Jones' new album also gave a big boost to sales of "Come Away With Me," which
returned to the U.S. top 20 with sales of nearly 80,000 copies, landing at No.
18 after an astonishing 103 weeks on the Billboard 200.
"This is the kind of achievement that one can only expect from a truly
original, extraordinary artist like Norah," said Bruce Lundvall, president and
chief executive of jazz and classics for EMI Music, North America.
New York-born, Texas-raised Jones, 24, daughter of Indian sitar master Ravi
Shankar and former music promoter Sue Jones, came out of nowhere in 2002 with
her breathy-voiced debut album of jazz, country and folk-influenced standards
and new songs.
She garnered eight Grammys last year, including the coveted prize of album of
the year for "Come Away With Me." That record has sold a total of 8.1 million
U.S. copies and 17 million worldwide since its modest debut in March 2002 with
first-week sales of just 9,700 units.
Several other artists enjoyed a Grammy sales bounce this past week, including
the hip-hop duo OutKast, R&B singer Beyonce Knowles and ailing soul icon
Luther Vandross, all of whom were big winners this year.
OutKast's double-CD set "Speakerboxx/The Love Below," named album of the year
and best rap album, more than doubled its weekly sales to 275,000 copies,
climbing two notches up the chart to No. 4.
Knowles' "Dangerously in Love" likewise jumped 11 spots to No. 12 on
post-Grammy sales of 99,000 units. And Vandross' "Dance With My Father" nearly
tripled its weekly haul with sales of 58,000 copies, springing to No. 28 from
No. 61.
Rapper Kanye West made his debut at No. 2 on the charts with his first album,
"The College Dropout," selling 441,000 copies its first week, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
The week of Valentine's Day is traditionally one of busiest sales periods for
the music industry, and this past week was no exception. Album sales surpassed
17 million units.
The follow-up to her Grammy-winning blockbuster debut "Come
Away With Me" shot to No. 1 in at least 16 countries in all, including Britain,
according to Jones' Blue Note label, owned by EMI Group Plc.
