50 Cent maintains momentum

LOS ANGELES - 50 Cent is on course to have the top-selling album of 2005 in the US, repeating a feat he accomplished two years ago. He holds court on the Billboard 200 for a sixth week.

For now, he withstands the best sales week ever by R&B queen Faith Evans, but it looks like 50's streak will be interrupted next week.

With a start of 157,000 copies, Evans enters the big chart at No. 2 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at No. 1, career peaks on both lists. Her prior best Nielsen SoundScan week happened in 2001 when "Faithfully" sold 101,000, topping out at No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Her previous Billboard 200 peak was No. 6 for the 1998 title "Keep the Faith."

Also earning a career best on the big chart is a true keeper of faith: gospel star Donnie McClurkin, whose bow at No. 12 also represents his strongest SoundScan frame (52,000). His 2003 outing, "Donnie McClurkin ... Again," owned his prior bests (No. 31, 37,000).

In between Evans and McClurkin is a new entry for the daughter of a man who was known to record gospel music, as Lisa Marie Presley debuts at No. 9 with 56,000 copies. Her media rollout included "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Late Show With David Letterman," yet this one starts with less than half the opener that her first album enjoyed in 2003 when it bowed at No. 5 on 142,000 sold.

- REUTERS/BILLBOARD