IL DIVO OUTLASTS A CHRISTMAS SURGE BY SARAH McLACHLAN

Artist: Il Divo


Il Divo, Sarah battle for No. 1

By JOHN WILLIAMS
Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz





Il Divo outlasts a Christmas surge by Sarah McLachlan to remain at No. 1.

Pop-opera supergroup Il Divo and Canadian songbird Sarah McLachlan combined to sell over 127,000 copies in Canada last week during the Christmas shopping home stretch.

Il Divo's disc "Christmas Collection" remained at No. 1 for a third straight week with sales of 46,000, while McLachlan's "Wintersong" moved from No. 3 to No. 2 on sales of 44,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Il Divo also occupied the No. 3 position with their studio album, "Siempre," which rung up 37,000 copies.

The Beatles remix collection "LOVE" and Josh Groban's "Awake" both gained two spots to No. 4 and No. 5, while Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" slipped two to No. 6 after debuting at No. 4 last week.

Seasonal collection "MuchDance 2007" moved up one notch to No. 7, Eminem's mixtape-style showcase "The Re-Up" struggled in its second week, dropping three to No. 8.

Tony Bennett's "Duets: American Classics" moved up from No. 12 to No. 9, and Nelly Furtado's "Loose" rounded out the Top 10 at No. 10.


Notable debuts included Rex Goudie's "Look Closer" at No. 19, Taylor Hicks' self-titled debut at No. 43, and the compilation "Muchdance #1s" at No. 49.