'Hope for Haiti' Debuts at No. 1

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“Hope for Haiti Now,” the download-only album of performances from the Haiti benefit telethon on Friday night, is No. 1 on this week’s Billboard chart, outselling Susan Boyle, Lady Gaga and other hits by a wide margin despite being on sale for only part of the week.

After going on sale through iTunes shortly before the show began on Friday, the album (released by MTV Networks, and for sale also through Amazon, Napster and Rhapsody) sold 171,000 copies in the United States through Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It is the first digital-only release to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and proceeds will benefit relief organizations.

Ms. Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” (Syco Music/Columbia) stands at No. 2 with 86,000 sales, Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” (Interscope) is No. 3 with 62,000, and Spoon’s new “Transference” (Merge) opens at No. 4 with 53,000. “2010 Grammy Nominees” (Grammy Recordings/EMI), a 20-track compilation album with Beyoncé, the Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift and other prominent nominees, reached No. 5 in its first week out, with 49,000 sales. (The Grammy Awards will be given out on Sunday in Los Angeles.)

Last week’s No. 1, Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” (XL), dropped to No. 6 with 43,000.

NewsDay