Chart Toppers

BET.com takes a look at artists who have struck gold in their first week

Smooth Operator - Sade's full name is Helen Folasade Adu. She was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her family moved to London when she was 11 and she later studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

1 / 24

Sade - Sade's "Soldier of Love" scored the highest first week of her career by selling 501,000 units this past week.

Video Vandal - Mr. Carter shot an estimated 15 videos right before heading into the big house. Videos for Wayne's "Carter 4" opus and Drake's "Thank Me Later" debut were shot as well.

2 / 24

Lil Wayne - Despite a deteriorating climate, Weezy managed the impossible when "The Carter III" sold just over 1 million copies back in 2008.

Lawsuit - According to the Associated Press, Rick Ross’ former girlfriend Lastonia Leviston has filed a suit against 50 for illegally releasing a sex tape she's featured in, last year.

3 / 24

50 Cent - Fif's "Get Rich Or Die Trying" sold 872,000 CDs in only four days. "The Massacre," his second LP, sold 1.1 million in its first week while its follow up, "Curtis" moved 691,000 sets.

Lawsuit - According to the Associated Press, Rick Ross’ former girlfriend Lastonia Leviston has filed a suit against 50 for illegally releasing a sex tape she's featured in, last year.

4 / 24

50 Cent - Fif's "Get Rich Or Die Trying" sold 872,000 CDs in only four days. "The Massacre," his second LP, sold 1.1 million in its first week while its follow up, "Curtis" moved 691,000 sets.

Usher - Ush's "There Goes My Baby" got nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and his LP Raymond Vs. Raymond will compete in the Best Contemporary R&B Album category.

5 / 24

Usher - After releasing two multiplatinum albums, Usher amazingly topped himself by selling 1.1 copies of his "Confessions" album back in 2004.

ADVERTISEMENT
Eminem - A Grammy favorite, Eminem won Best Rap Album for "Relapse" and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Crack A Bottle" with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent.

6 / 24

Eminem - Hip-Hop's original Million Soundscan Man, Eminem sold 1.79 copies of "The Marshall Mathers LP" and moved 1.32 million of "The Eminem Show" two years later. Since then, "Encore" has sold an impressive 760,000 CDs in its first week while his most recent release, "Relapse," sold 608,000 albums.

Kanye West - The Louis Vuitton Don has flirted with the Million Soundscan club twice in his career. His "Late Registration" sold 896,000 copies back in 2005 and "Graduation" sold 957,000 in one week in 2007.

7 / 24

Kanye West - The Louis Vuitton Don has flirted with the Million Soundscan club twice in his career. His "Late Registration" sold 896,000 copies back in 2005 and "Graduation" sold 957,000 in one week in 2007.

Alicia Keys - Ms. Keys has struck gold within a week several times before. Her sophomore album, "The Diary of Alicia Keys" sold 618,000 copies in its first week and its follow up, "As I Am" moved 742,000 units in seven days.

8 / 24

Alicia Keys - Ms. Keys has struck gold within a week several times before. Her sophomore album, "The Diary of Alicia Keys" sold 618,000 copies in its first week and its follow up, "As I Am" moved 742,000 units in seven days.

Mary J. Blige - MJB delivered one of her best and highest-selling albums in years with 2005's "Breakthrough." The CD moved 729,000 sets in its first week.

9 / 24

Mary J. Blige - MJB delivered one of her best and highest-selling albums in years with 2005's "Breakthrough." The CD moved 729,000 sets in its first week.

His View - Nelly is reportedly teaming up with Jermaine Dupri and Trey Songz to work on a new television project that he has described as the male version of the popular daytime talk show, "The View."

10 / 24

Nelly - Not too many artists sold more records than Nelly back in the early 2000s. His second disc, "Nellyville" sold 714,000 records on its way to sell six million units.

ADVERTISEMENT
Jay-Z - Jay-Z routinely sells half a million in a week. "The Blueprint," "Blueprint 2," "Roc La Familia" and "Kingdome Come" all sold well over 500k their first week.

11 / 24

Jay-Z - Jay-Z routinely sells half a million in a week. "The Blueprint," "Blueprint 2," "Roc La Familia" and "Kingdome Come" all sold well over 500k their first week.

Janet Jackson - A Soundscan giant in her own right, JJ hadn't surpassed the 500k mark in a week until 2001's "All For You." Lead by the title track, the CD sold 605,000 copies in its first week.

12 / 24

Janet Jackson - A Soundscan giant in her own right, JJ hadn't surpassed the 500k mark in a week until 2001's "All For You." Lead by the title track, the CD sold 605,000 copies in its first week.

Jamie Foxx - Jamie Foxx picked up a Grammy for his hit record, "Blame It." He won for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group.

13 / 24

Jamie Foxx - More than a decade after his debut album thanked, Jamie Foxx finally struck gold with "Unpredictable." The CD sold 597,000 in a week.

Beyoncé - Despite being off-cycle, the multi-talented diva managed to get a few nods. "Halo (Live)" is nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She was also nominated for her appearance on Lady Gaga's "Telephone."

14 / 24

Beyonce - Beyonce's sophomore LP, B' Day, went gold in one week, selling 541,000 CDs. She's also broken the gold barrier as a member of Destiny's Child.

R. Kelly - The self-proclaimed Pied Piper is no stranger to charts. His TP-2.com sold 543,000 in a week back in 2000 and three years later, "The Chocolate Factory" sold an impressive 532,000 in one week.

15 / 24

R. Kelly - The self-proclaimed Pied Piper is no stranger to charts. His TP-2.com sold 543,000 in a week back in 2000 and three years later, "The Chocolate Factory" sold an impressive 532,000 in one week.

ADVERTISEMENT
First Appearance - The King’s back. T.I. (born Clifford Harris), couldn’t stay away too long as he made his first public appearance alongside his fiancée, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle for the “Lover of Our Fathers” fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research in Atlanta (Feb. 22).

16 / 24

T.I. - Tip topped the charts for the first time when his 2006 album, "King" sold 523,407 copies in its first week. Two years later, "Paper Trail" scanned 568,000 units in a week.

Ashanti - With red-hot Murder Inc. backing her up, Ashanti self-titled debut sold 501,000 CDs in its first week back in 2002.

17 / 24

Ashanti - With red-hot Murder Inc. backing her up, Ashanti self-titled debut sold 501,000 CDs in its first week back in 2002.

Diddy - On the heels of his "I'll Be Missing You" single, Diddy's "No Way Out" sold 561,000 units in its first week back in 1997.

18 / 24

Diddy - On the heels of his "I'll Be Missing You" single, Diddy's "No Way Out" sold 561,000 units in its first week back in 1997.

Biggie Smalls - Big referenced the NCAA for some of his most gutter lines. On Diddy's "All About the Benjamins," Big rhymed, "f**k the state pen, f**k hoes at Penn State." He also rhymed, "they heard about the pounds you had down in Georgetown/and they heard you got half of Virginia locked down" on "Warning."

19 / 24

The Notorious B.I.G. - Only a few weeks after his untimely death, Biggie's posthumous "Life After Death" sold 690,000 copies in its first week.

Tupac Shakur - Barely two months after his death, Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" launched a series of high-selling posthumous releases by selling 663,000 CDs in one week.

20 / 24

Tupac Shakur - Barely two months after his death, Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" launched a series of high-selling posthumous releases by selling 663,000 CDs in one week.

ADVERTISEMENT
Old Friends - Snoop Dogg spoke on working with Dr. Dre on an entire album: "What is the possibility of a Dr. Dre-produced album from Snoop Dogg?" Snoop pondered during a sit-down with BET.com. "I'd say about a 90% chance it can happen."

21 / 24

Snoop Dogg - The hottest rookie in the game at the time, Snoop Dogg sold 802,858 copies of his anticipated debut, "Doggystyle" in 1993. Five years later, he once again broke the gold mark in a week by selling 519,000 copies of "The Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told."

The Game - Chuck Taylor breathed new life into the West Coast scene when his debut, "The Documentary" sold 586,000 copies in its first week back in 2005.

22 / 24

The Game - Chuck Taylor breathed new life into the West Coast scene when his debut, "The Documentary" sold 586,000 copies in its first week back in 2005.

OutKast - Big Boi rhymes,"we headed to that bat cave, A-T-L, Georgia/bulldoggin h**s like them Georgetown Hoyas" on "Rosa Parks" from "Aquemini."

23 / 24

OutKast - Kast's "Stankonia" sold 530,000 CDs its first week back in 2000 and three years later, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" sold 510,000 units in a week.

Money Owed - Dr. Dre wants his money. The former Death Row co-owner is filing a lawsuit against his old company, which is currently owned by WIDEawake Entertainment Group, after not seeing a penny from the label for the release of several projects he created during his tenure with the imprint.

24 / 24

Dr. Dre - Seven years after his classic solo debut, "The Chronic," Dre's sequel, "2001" sold 550,000 units in its first week.