Lyfe Jennings
Photo: Bennett Raglin/ WireImage

R&B singer Lyfe Jennings was arrested in Smyrna, Georgia, on Sunday night after police said he fired a gun in the air and attempted to evade arrest by leading them on a high-speed car chase. He was booked on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass, discharging a firearm near a public highway and refusal to take a DUI test, as well as two felony counts of attempting to elude and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jennings, 35, (born Chester Jennings) was attempting to locate the mother of his children, Joy Pound, when he allegedly kicked in the door of a house in Smyrna and later fired a gun in the street. Corporal Milton Lane of the Smyrna Police Department told MTV News that when police arrived on the scene to respond to the shots fired in what they believed was a domestic dispute, they witnessed a red 2005 Corvette leaving the address.

A high-speed pursuit ensued, and Jennings was apprehended after he crashed the car. Once he was stopped, the warrant in the case said he refused a field sobriety test and police smelled "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" coming from his mouth. TMZ has posted a copy of the arrest report.

Jennings posted $50,000 bond on Monday night. At press time, a spokesperson at the singer's label had no comment on the incident.

Before launching his music career, Jennings began a 10-year prison sentence on a felony arson charge in 1992 at age 19. Shortly after his release, he made a name for himself by winning the amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, and released his first album, Lyfe 268-192, in 2004.

• Lyfe Jennings

Madonna's <i>Hard Candy</i>
Photo: Warner Bros.

Mariah Carey's two-week reign as the music industry's leading lady has come to an end, thanks to the Queen of Pop.

With sales totaling nearly 280,000 — by no means her strongest opening — Madonna's 11th studio offering, Hard Candy, becomes the nation's newest #1 and the seventh chart-topping debut of the Material Girl's illustrious, 26-year career.

Hard Candy, tracks from which she performed last week during an intimate gig at New York's Roseland Ballroom, will also become the singer's fourth-consecutive LP to open on top, following the successes of 2000's Music (which generated week-one sales of 419,600), 2003's American Life (241,000) and 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor (350,000).

Madonna's latest pummeled Carey's E=MC², which, according to the latest SoundScan totals, suffered a 48 percent drop in retail interest to end the week with 95,400 scans. Mariah's record falls to the chart's #2 position on next week's Billboard albums sales chart.

Hard Candy was the highest-charting (duh!) new release of the week, but was one of almost 30 records that will be impacting next week's top 200 — and among seven to enter the chart in the top 10.

Following Carey at #3, selling close to 84,000 copies during its fourth week of commercial availability, is Leona Lewis' Spirit. The next five albums on the chart are all newcomers: R&B hunk Lyfe Jennings' Lyfe Change enters at #4 with 80,000 scans, while antiquated hair-metallers Def Leppard's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge bows at #5 with 54,800 copies sold. The Roots' Rising Down debuts at #6 with sales reported at 53,700, and Portishead's Third follows at #7, scanning close to 53,000 units. The self-titled LP from Mudcrutch — Tom Petty's pre-Heartbreakers band, which has reunited more than 30 years after splitting — sold 38,000 copies, which was good enough for a #8 debut, and Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits 1 & 2 rounds things out at #10, selling 29,300 copies.

Wedged in between Mudcrutch and McGraw, we find a top-10 mainstay: Now That's What I Call Music!'s 27th installment falls three chart positions to #9, with week-eight sales of 30,800.

Elsewhere on the chart, Steve Winwood's Nine Lives enters at #12 with 26,400 sold, while Carly Simon's This Kind of Love follows at #15 with 23,000 scans. Augustana's Can't Love, Can't Hurt opens at #21 with 21,400 copies snatched up, while Lil Mama's VYP: Voice of the Young People claims the #25 slot, scanning 18,600 units. Mindless Self Indulgence's If follows at #27 with 17,700 in sales, and Estelle's Shine enters the chart at #38 with 14,800 sold. "American Idol" alum Phil Stacey's self-titled new one bows at #43 with sales reported at 13,100 and change, while Forever the Sickest Kids' Underdog Alma Mater can be found two chart positions down, thanks to sales of 13,000-plus.

Thrash titans Testament return at #59, selling 11,400 copies of their latest, The Formation of Damnation, while Santogold's self-titled debut enters at #74 with 9,500 sold. Robyn's self-titled offering debuts at #100 with 7,200 sold, and New Found Glory's two-disc Tip of the Iceberg/ Takin' It Ova! opens at #136 with 5,000 copies sold.

• Madonna Reflects On New Album, Evolving Career

• Madonna, Justin Timberlake At New York's Roseland Ballroom

• Madonna
• Mariah Carey
• The Roots
• Portishead
• Lyfe Jennings

Lyfe Jennings
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Call Lyfe Jennings old-fashioned.

The R&B singer believes in touring to break his records, working through relationship troubles instead of divorcing and teenage abstinence. You would think he was living in 1956 instead of 2006.

Jennings — who's been on the road since dropping his platinum-selling debut, Lyfe 268-192, in 2004 — discovered that his latest hit, "S.E.X.," had become a crowd favorite for its strong stance against underage promiscuity. The support led the singer to select the unconventional track as a single.

"The feedback for that song has been one of the greatest experiences [of my career]," Jennings said during a break from Video Music Awards activities (see "Underdog Night At The VMAs: Panic, Gnarls, Blunt, Chamillionaire Win Big"). "Because it's not like people are coming up to me like, 'I love the song because of the melody.' They come up to me and say, 'That song made me want to keep my virginity.' Or if they aren't a virgin, they say it makes them want to save what they have for somebody who honestly wants what they have. And I think that's the greatest thing, to have a person who can love the melody but also love the message."

The singer's new album, The Phoenix, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard albums chart last month (see "Back To Basics Takes Christina Aguilera Back To Billboard's #1"), finds Jennings ruefully weighing such topics as those in "S.E.X.," as well as the ups and downs of breaking up — and not breaking up. Jennings revealed his next single will be the Al Green-channeling "Let's Stay Together," which explores the challenges of sticking with a relationship rather than parting.

In his throaty vocals, Jennings sings: "Is it really worth salvaging?/ How do we go about deciding?/ Do we add up all the good times and divide it?/ Or do we ignore the numbers and vow right now to never take asunder?"

Jennings said he will film a video for "Let's Stay Together" later this month, hopefully with director Benny Boom at the helm. Though there is no treatment yet, Jennings said with his busy touring schedule — including dates in Memphis; Washington, D.C.; and New York — he has no choice but to fit the video shoot in this month. He's finalizing a fall tour, which is set to launch in October and run through the rest of the year.

Though the singer now has a baby boy, Phoenix (the album is named after him), he said he's still looking forward to hitting the road. The singer credits his touring with developing his fanbase and said it's still a necessity at this point in his career.

"I know I'm not a household name yet — I haven't really had a big single on the radio," Jennings said. "So I had to be out among the people and break the records on my own. I love being on the road — I have the greatest experience on tour. I have a newborn son, so I definitely can't get down like I used to. But when I'm out there, it's no-nonsense."

• Lyfe Jennings

Christina Aguilera's <i>Back to Basics</i>
Photo: RCA

Back to Basics has Christina Aguilera back on top. Sales of the double LP put the singer at #1 on Billboard's albums chart for the second time in her seven-year career.

Nearly 342,000 copies of the disc were scanned its opening week, outselling the debut of her previous effort, 2002's Stripped, according to the latest SoundScan data. Stripped failed to open on top, taking second place with more than 330,000 scans. Aguilera's self-titled 1999 debut did bow at #1 after moving 253,000 units.

Christina's climb to Billboard's apex was barely challenged by Lyfe Jennings, who sits in the chart's #2 slot with his sophomore offering, The Phoenix. With first-week sales reported at 136,000, the R&B crooner's latest failed to pose a serious threat to Aguilera's dominant release. And country star Trace Adkins didn't stand a fighting chance against the "Dirrty" girl. His new LP, Dangerous Man, sold 115,000 copies to claim the chart's #3 spot.

The Billboard albums chart's top five is packed with nothing but new releases, with Atlanta R&B quartet Cherish taking #4 after selling 91,000 copies of Unappreciated its first week out. The soundtrack to the Disney Channel movie "Cheetah Girls 2" opens at #5 with more than 87,000 sales.

The 22nd installment in the Now That's What I Called Music! compilation series slips three spots to #6, selling 83,000 copies its sixth week in stores. The previous chart champ, Rick Ross' Port of Miami, slides to #7 with 79,000 scans.

Eminem protégé Obie Trice is back with Second Round's on Me, which racked up close to 74,000 in first-week sales to debut at #8. The "Step Up" soundtrack steps three spots back to #9, selling 64,000 copies. Rounding out the top 10 is Nickelback's All the Right Reasons, which holds the #10 spot for a third week and moved another 53,000 units to reach a 46-week sales total of more than 3.3 million copies.

In addition to the six newcomers who cracked this week's top 10, seven other new releases sneaked onto the Billboard chart. The soundtrack to America's #1 film, "Snakes on a Plane," comes in at #43. With tracks from Cobra Starship, Panic! at the Disco, the All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy and Coheed and Cambria, the disc generated close to 19,000 in retail interest. Dancehall specialist Cham's Ghetto Story follows at #53, selling 15,000-plus units, while the inaugural release from Dave Navarro's the Panic Channel, (ONe), opens at #108 with more than 8,000 sales.

The incomparable Yanni returns to the chart at #124, selling 7,000 copies of his Live: The Concert Event. Arizona-bred punks Change of Pace bow at #155 with Prepare the Masses, which sold just over 5,000 units its first week in stores. And coming in at #180 with 4,000 copies sold is Gargolas Next Generation, a Latin reggaetón compilation featuring Tego Calderón, Mario VI and Valentino.

Check out "Christina Aguilera's Old Soul" for an inside look at Back to Basics.

• Christina Aguilera
• Lyfe Jennings
• Trace Adkins
• Cherish (Rap)
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)

MTV.com LIVE: Lyfe Jennings Photos 09.13.2005

• Lyfe Jennings