It a week of numerous debuts in the top ten this week, bad Meets Evil -- the hip-hop duo of Eminem and Royce da 5'9" -- bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as its "Hell: the Sequel" launches with 171,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set beats out 11-year old Jackie Evancho's first major-label full-length effort, "Dream With Me," which arrives at No. 2 with 161,000.

Owl City's third full-length album, "All Things Bright and Beautiful" debuts at No. 6 with 48,000. The act's last effort, 2009's "Ocean Eyes," started with 18,000 (No. 27) on its way to an eventual No. 8 peak. Right behind Owl City at No. 7 is Barry Manilow's new "15 Minutes" (36,000) -- his first studio album of original songs since 2001. It's his 13th top 10 -- reaching back to "Barry Manilow II," which hit No. 9 in 1975.


"Pieces of Me," the fifth studio album from R&B singer Ledisi, starts at No. 8 with 36,000 -- her first top 10 album and best sales week. Her last set, 2009's "Turn Me Loose," debuted and peaked at No. 14 with 27,000 sold in its first week.


I was wrong. Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending June 19) totaled 6.30 million units, up 14% compared to the sum last week (5.51 million) and up 1% compared to the comparable sales week of 2010 (6.14 million). Year to date album sales stand at 143.20 million, up 1% compared to the same total at this point last year (142.36 million). It is the fourth week in a row where year-to-date album volume is greater than the same time in the prior year.


However i doubt that the music biz with have an increase bc next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2010 when Eminem's "Recovery" flew in at No. 1 with 741,000, easily bumping Drake's "Thank Me Later" to No. 2 with 157,000 (down 65%).