Common Creams Korn, Coasts To First Billboard #1

It's surprising that a rapper as respected as Common, who's been in the game for more than 15 years, never had one of his records open in the #1 slot on Billboard's albums chart — well, until now.Before now, the closest Common had come to the top was with 2005's Be, which bowed at #2, selling over 184,600 units (see "Audioslave Rage To First Billboard #1"). For Korn — whose last studio offering, 2005's See You on the Other Side, opened at #3 with sales of 220,800 — Common's conquest means they'll have to wait for another of their discs to debut on top. The last Korn set to do so was 1999's Issues on approximately 573,800 first-week sales.Sliding two places to #3 this week, selling 122,900 copies, is the 25th release in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, followed at #4 by the Hairspray soundtrack, which generated sales of close to 82,200. Meanwhile, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, the latest from the star of the Disney Channel series, falls one spot to #5, scanning 81,600 copies.T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. hangs tough at #8, thanks to 55,300 week-five scans, while Fergie's The Dutchess tumbles three positions to #9, with 53,400. And rounding out next week's top 10 is Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight; next week, look for the album's total sales to top the 1.5 million mark. All told, there were just 13 newcomers to next week's albums sales chart. A total of four managed to crack Billboard's top 10, including reggae-influenced rapper Sean Kingston, whose self-titled debut claims the #6 position with 74,700 sold. Following him at #7, with 70,700 scans, is the latest installment in the Kidz Bop franchise, Kidz Bop 12, an album boasting children covering songs by Avril Lavigne, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Nickelback, Maroon 5 and others. SOURCE:VH1.COM