IT’S ALL UP FOR 3 DOORS DOWN

Now that this week’s album chart is baked and served (much like us), we can report that Republic/Universal’s 3 Doors Down easily claimed the #1 chart slot, moving 235k copies of Seventeen Days and beating bullet-riddled Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope rapper The Game by the comfortable margin of 83k units and change.

This week’s Top Five includes two other debuts in Brian McKnight’s Gemini (Motown/Universal) and BNA/RLG/SMG’s Totally Country IV, which land at #4 and #5, respectively, behind Green Day’s American Idiot (Reprise), which stands pat at #3.

The Top 10 includes one further debut, Michael Buble’s It’s Time (Reprise), which comes on the chart at #7, between #6 John Legend’s Get Lifted (G.O.O.D./Columbia/Sony Urban) and #8 Kenny Chesney’s Be As You Are (BNA). Tina Turner’s All the Best (Capitol) and Usher’s Confessions (LaFace/ZLG) round out the chart’s upper fifth.

Also of note is Lee Ann Womack’s There’s More Where That Came From (MCA Nashville), which makes its debut at #12.

The biggest-increase award for the week goes to Grammy-dominator Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company (Concord), which logs a 53% increase on sales north of 71k and moves up three spots, #18-15. Tim McGraw’s Live Like You Were Dying (Curb) notches a 42% increase (but stays at #39), while Rascal Flatts’ Feels Like Today (Lyric Street), improves by 34%, moving #24-#20 and Redneck Woman Gretchen Wilson’s Here for the Party (Epic/Sony Nashville) gains by 33% but stays put at #30. Yes, folks, ain’t nothin’ but a soul-country thang.

And speaking of big increases, keep an eye on the aforementioned Charles, Green Day, John Legend and Tim McGraw, as well as the likes of Alicia Keys, Usher, U2, Maroon 5, Kanye West and John Mayer as expected post-Grammy sales spikes kick in. Our retail mystics are already predicting a battle for #1 on next week’s chart between Charles and Green Day, both of whom are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries from the awards show.

But that’s a story for next week.