Coldplay's <i>Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends</i>
Photo: Capitol

If rapper Lil Wayne was expecting his latest LP, Tha Carter III to spend a second-straight week as the nation's best-selling release, he definitely underestimated the sales prowess of British rockers Coldplay.

While Wayne's latest entered the previous week's chart at #1, with just over a million scans, Tha Carter III just couldn't maintain that sales pace and suffered a 69 percent dip in retail interest in week two, selling 308,500 copies. But that just wasn't enough for him to hold onto Billboard's pole position, as Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends generated first-week scans of more than 721,200, bumping Wayne's opus to the chart's #2 slot. The latest set from Chris Martin and company is now the year's second-best performing debut, as well as the band's second consecutive career #1, following 2005's X&Y, which also opened at #1 but with 737,300 scans.

The last time the Billboard 200 saw back-to-back #1 debuts with sales of more than 700,000 was in 2000, when Britney Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again sold 1.3 million, and Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.8 million the following week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In addition to Coldplay's new one, a total of 16 other new releases enter next week's albums sales chart, with five opening in the top 10. Bowing at #3 with 188,400 sold, it's the soundtrack to the Disney Channel movie "Camp Rock," which features contributions from the Jonas Brothers and others. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded, an expanded, two-disc re-release of the pop star's hit record, enters at #7, with 63,300 sold, while Katy Perry's One of the Boys opens at #9, selling 46,800 units. Lastly, coming in at #10, with 45,700 sold, is the latest from Offspring, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace.

The rest of the top 10 is rounded out by the 28th addition to the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which is #4 after selling another 81,000 units, and Plies' Definition of Real drops to #5, with second-week sales reported at nearly 67,700. Usher's Here I Stand follows at #6, selling 65,000 copies, while Disturbed's Indestructible falls four spots to #8, with 59,300 scans.

Elsewhere on the chart, British metallers Judas Priest's latest, Nostradamus, opens at #11, having sold 42,000 copies during its first week in stores. It marks the highest chart position for an album by the band in the U.S. Rapper Blood Raw's My Life: The True Testimony enters at #30, with 17,400 sold. 2 Pistols' Death Before Dishonor bows at #33, shifting nearly 15,800 copies. Wolf Parade's At Mount Zoomer follows at #46, with 12,900 units snatched up, while R&B chanteuse Chanté Moore's Love the Woman debuts at #110, having scanned 6,400 copies. The Hold Steady's Stay Positive enters the chart at #170, after selling close to 3,900 copies, and pop act Prima J's self-titled debut follows at #172, selling just 34 fewer units.

• Coldplay's Viva La Vida, Track By Track

• The Offspring
• Katy Perry
• Rihanna
• Lil Wayne
• Coldplay

Lil Wayne and Kanye West onstage at the 2008 BET Awards
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Are we really supposed to call them "T-Wayne"? Collaboration kings T-Pain and Lil Wayne — who have revealed plans to forge a supergroup together in the future — made a joint effort to move the crowd during last night's BET Awards in Los Angeles. Pain came out during Weezy F Baby's closing set and helped the New Orleans "Fireman" with his medley finale.

The pair started out with "Got Money" from last week's #1 album, Tha Carter III. In the midst of the mayhem, Pain showed off a T-shirt that read "T-Wayne." Weezy then went into "Lollipop," and the two shouted out the late co-star of the record, Static Major, who died in February. Pain and Wayne sent everyone home right after "A Milli," the most energetically performed number of the trio of cuts.

Of course, there were awards handed out as well. Kanye West got two big wins with Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Best Collaboration. West brought T-Pain onstage with him for the latter, and Pain took his sweet time getting to the podium: He walked in slow motion all the way from his seat, ensuring that everyone could see his flamboyant circus-ringleader outfit, which was silver and black (with a matching top hat to boot) and had a litany of designs on it. UGK also won two awards (Best Group and Best Video, for "Int'l Players Anthem"), Lil Wayne took the Viewers Choice award, Alicia Keys nabbed Best R&B Female Artist and Chris Brown won Best R&B Male, Missy Elliott scored Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and The-Dream won Best New Artist. (Head here for a complete list of winners and nominees.) Actor/comedian D.L. Hughley was the host of the night, and Diddy and Keri Hilson hosted a live afterparty.

But as always, the highlights of the night — both good and less good — were the performances.

No doubt Usher is one of the top showmen in the game, but the famed pharaoh of performing seemed to lip-sync his way through "Love in This Club" as he opened the show. Ush did display some slick dance moves on a conveyer belt, at one point sliding through the legs of three female dancers.

Kanye West brought the audience to its feet when he joined Young Jeezy for "Put On." 'Ye went through a couple of false starts on his verse, beginning to rap "I feel like there's still n---as that still owe me checks/ I feel like there's still [women] that owe me sex" too early in the song. However, West did compensate for the errors with his undeniable presence.

Very sexy was the pairing of Chris Brown and Ciara during "Take You Down." Cici did gyrations that would make most professional strippers retire as she stood over Brown, who lay flat on the ground. The duo had the dance moves of the night when Ciara slowly fell backward from a standing position and Brown caught her with one of his feet. Only the best can do that!

Alicia Keys brought girl power — actually, grown woman power — to the stage during "Teenage Love Affair." Keys started with her hit, then transitioned into classics by top female R&B acts. SWV came out for "Weak"; En Vogue — all four members, y'all — stepped onstage for "Hold On"; and TLC came out for "Waterfalls." It's always emotional to see Chilli and T-Boz sing without Left Eye. No matter how excited you might be to see the two, there's always a sigh in the heart because the spunkiest part of the group is no longer with us.

Ne-Yo shut things down with "Closer," which was the sleeper highlight moment of the night. Ne-Yo showed off his dancing skills with a very versatile repertoire, which include frat stepping, smooth spins and some foot-gliding.

Earlier in the evening, Al Green had everyone singing "Let's Stay Together," and Keyshia Cole, Lil' Kim, Nelly, Fergie and T-Pain and friends also performed.

• Chris Brown, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, More At 2008 BET Awards

• Fergie
• Keri Hilson
• Missy Elliott
• Lil' Kim
• Diddy

Girl Talk's <i>Feed the Animals</i> album cover
Photo: illegal-art.net

On The Record: Girl Talk Feels Free To Move About The Cabin, Makes A Positively Post-Millennial Album

On Tuesday morning, LL Cool J was on American Airlines Flight 33, heading from New York City to Los Angeles.

He was sitting in first class, bulgy and massive, eyes surveying everyone who boarded. He looked pretty tired (it was 7:45 a.m., and he had probably been up all night doing the kinds of things LL Cool J does at night), but he did manage to crack a few smiles for the ladies, and I could've sworn I saw him lick his lips at least once. I cannot be sure of this, however.

That's because I wasn't sitting near him, but rather, I was stuffed back in coach, between a guy who looked like Peter Fonda (perhaps it was Peter Fonda) and a rather annoyed woman hammering away on her laptop. None of this is particularly relevant to this week's column, I just thought I'd bitch about the fact that I never get to fly business class.

Anyway, here's the point. Sometime around 9 a.m., while LL was no doubt breakfasting upon the finest pastries and thickest bacon imaginable, I was sitting some 225 rows behind him, listening to Girl Talk's new album, Feed the Animals, on my iPod (Peter Fonda was reading a book called "The Annotated Turing"). Song seven on the record is called "Like This," and it features, in addition to a whole lot of other things, two very audible samples of LL's "Mama Said Knock You Out," two samples that Girl Talk did not obtain LL's permission to use, which means that they appear in the song illegally, which means that LL is not getting paid for their usage, which would probably make LL very upset if he had any idea that this was happening.

Yet it most certainly was happening, and in a pressurized tube soaring through the air. And while LL was lapping coffee from a bone-china saucer, I went back and listened to the song again, partially because I was upset that I was flying coach, and partially because I was fascinated by the scenario that was unfurling around me: I was, in some small way, participating in the active bilking of LL Cool J — something he was completely unaware of — and all I had to do to make it stop was walk up to him, give him my iPod and go, "Hey, have you heard this?"

It's an entirely post-millennial dilemma, one that's right up there in the minds of today's music journalists with "If you are talking to Paris Hilton on a red carpet, do you acknowledge the fact that you have seen her naked?" and "Do you tell a band that you've downloaded their new album from LimeWire to prep for this interview?" And it's just part of what makes Girl Talk — né Gregg Gillis, a pasty, white biomedical engineer from Pittsburgh — perhaps the most important, and certainly the most, well, post-millennial artist of the post-millennium.

Because while other so-called mash-up artists have either left the genre behind them (Danger Mouse) or all but disappeared from the face of the earth (the Freelance Hellraiser), Gillis — who, it should be noted, does not consider himself a mash-up artist, despite evidence to the contrary — is still at it, sampling with reckless abandon, releasing albums with "pay what you feel" pricing schemes (as Animals was last week) and using the concept of "fair use" to shield himself from any pesky copyright suits. In a genre where artists hide behind secret identities — even his boss at the Illegal Art label goes by the handle "Philo T. Farnsworth," a name lifted from the inventor of the television — Gillis is, without question, the biggest name. In fact, he's pretty much the only name.

That is why Animals, which can be downloaded through Illegal Art's Web site, is so amazing. It's completely fearless in approach and scope, a record that makes no bones about sampling Kanye, Lil Wayne, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Radiohead, Michael Jackson and Metallica, released by a guy not hiding in any way, shape or form. And while it lacks the breakneck, "Holy sh--, did you hear that?!?" pacing of Gillis' last album, 2006's Night Ripper, it's in a lot of ways a better record. It's Gillis making a statement, whether it's in the caliber of the artists he's jacking (clearly, any of the aforementioned acts possess legal teams that could positively destroy him) or in the meanings behind those jackings.

Take, for example,the two Beastie Boys samples used on the record: the booming drums of "So What'cha Want" (which, to be fair, Beck also sampled on his track "E-Pro") and the hook of "Body Movin'." It might be reading too much into things, but the message to me is clear: The Beasties might have started this whole "mash-up" thing with their '89 opus Paul's Boutique, but now the jackers have become the jackees. ... It's Gillis' game now.

There's also his use of M.I.A.'s "Boys," which to me, is about as clear an example of post-millennial one-upmanship as I can think of: The king of no-samples-cleared samples the queen of the concept. Again, the jacker has become the jackee. It's the sound of the glove being tossed. A ballsy and brave effort that very few artists are capable of making. Oh, and it's awesome to dance to.

But where was I? Oh yeah, LL Cool J. I didn't tell him about the Girl Talk album, in part because I am such a fan of Gillis' work, but also because you could probably fill an airplane with people who have more reason to gripe than LL does. He's only been snippetized on Feed the Animals, whereas anyone in Queen, the Police, Faith No More or Dexy's Midnight Runners would have a, shall we say, much larger bone to pick with Gillis (so would Avril Lavigne, Twisted Sister, Temple of the Dog, the Band, Flo Rida, Lil Mama, Young Jeezy and Fergie, for that matter).

I guess by writing this column, I am opening Gillis up to all sorts of bad things. And I hope that doesn't happen. But I felt the need to do this because his new album is so great, the kind of thing that could not have existed 10 years ago, an audio time capsule of the era in which we live. The kind of thing that can inspire post-millennial dilemmas at 37,000 feet.

I just hope LL doesn't read this.

(For more on Feed the Animals, watch Gillis go track-by-track through the album on the Newsroom blog.)

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hit me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• Girl Talk
• LL Cool J
• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

It feels like a million MCs have decided to jump on the Bangladesh-produced Lil Wayne track "A Milli." The track, which Wayne previewed exclusively for MTV News back in March, has gotten almost as many spins for the N.O. native as his #1 single "Lollipop" has.

The record's signature is a sample of a man's voice saying the song's title over glass-shattering bass and heavy drums. The instrumental seemed tailor-made for Wayne's Down South spazzin', leaping from topic to topic effortlessly. "He's a beast, he's a dog ... he's a muthaf---in' problem/ OK, you're a goon, but what's a goon to a goblin?"

Since the record took off as a street anthem, we've heard a remix with Wayne and Corey Gunz (Gunz, along with Lil Mama, Tyga and Hurricane Chris, were all originally supposed to have their versions of the song on Tha Carter III as separate interludes). Jay-Z (Hov's version is called "A Billi"), Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, the Game and even Chris Brown have jacked the track for their freestyles — and that's just a short list of names.

"I just liked the beat," said LL Cool J, who rhymes over the beat on a record he calls "Zodiac Driller." That track appears on Cool J's first ever mixtape, the recently released Return of the G.O.A.T.

"I did the freestyle because the beat was hot in the streets," Fabolous said of his version. "I wasn't struck by anyone else's freestyle. I think Wayne rode the beat on the original, and the concept and format was good."

Lil Wayne, who just a couple of days ago dropped his own new freestyle over the beat, said he's heard everyone's work and doesn't mind at all. After all, Wayne has flipped plenty of people's beats in his day. Of all the freestyles, he had a blanket statement for the MCs: "Good go! Good go, that's it."

And while a lot of the rappers have had admirable performances over the record, plenty of people are saying it's time to move on.

"That beat is just crazy," DJ Green Lantern said Friday (June 20). "It's simple, but it's got a lot of personality to it. Rappers just started jumping on it left and right, and it became a monster. ... I hope Wayne's 'A Milli' remix where he raps about selling a million in one week closes it out. ... Hint, stop rapping on it now. Move on to another song from CIII."

Green Lantern didn't get his wish. Ne-Yo dropped a freestyle over the beat this past weekend. The singer actually raps on the instrumental, talking about the financial success he's had as an artist and songwriter.

[This story was originally published at 7:25 pm E.T. on 6.20.2008]

• Check Out The Million Remixes Of Lil Wayne's 'A Milli'

• Lil Wayne

Photo: Vince Bucci/ Getty Images

• Lil Wayne
• Nas

Nas
Photo: MTV News

Artists: Nas and DJ Green Lantern

Representing: Queens

Mixtape: The N----- Tape

411: "This sh-- is gonna have the streets right [and] have the streets ready for the album." 'Nuff said about Nas' new mixtape, The N----- Tape. Nas and DJ Green Lantern recently forged one of the best street CDs this year. Nas had to go through his vault and give up some rare and unused vocals to the Evil Genius, who created soundscapes around the words for soil-burning songs.

"I was like, 'Let me get some exclusives. I wanna make a movie,' " Green said of the project.

"We went to the studio, and this man's work speaks for itself," Nas said. "He gave me some of the joints. Some of the joints sounded like they were right for the album. I had to snatch them for the album. We really getting it done. It's coming out right."

Sure enough, some of Green's material will find its way onto Nas' untitled official LP on July 15.

"One and a half," Lantern said about how many records will appear on the opus. " 'Black President' is on there. There's another one called 'Like Me.' It was supposed to be for the mixtape. He gave me a cappellas that wasn't out yet. I made a song around it. New beat, had somebody come and make a hook. It's like some pimp sh--. Nas loved it. He put another verse on it and said, 'I need it for my album. Don't put it on the mixtape.' When they did the final cut of the album, ['Like Me'] got cut, but it's on the international release and the iTunes and Amazon.com exclusive."

Joints To Check For

» "Cops Keep Firing." "I took the a cappella and made a verse, then Nas added an extra verse, because he was so inspired," Green Lantern explained.

"I had the rhymes for this last year," Nas added. "But I didn't want to do this kind of record until this man made me see this is the type of record I need to do."

» "Gangsta Rap" remix. "[Nas] said a couple of things in the verse I thought was good to start the tape off with," Green Lantern said. "I made a beat to kinda let his raps breathe so he could be rhyming. I wanted to let the rhymes say what it needed to. The beat wasn't too busy, but the beat was still hard. I wanted it to be a nice opener. Normally, somebody would start the tape with something people never heard before. I said, 'I'm just gonna do it.' That was really for the Nas fans, the rap zombies that are on top of everything."

» "Legendary." "Salaam Remi ... is scoring the [Mike] Tyson documentary," Green said. "Him and Nas have a great relationship, obviously, so maybe that will be on there. From hearing the song, I want to see that documentary. That 's one of the more fiery joints on there."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» Bad Boys - We Run This: The Mixtape
» Big Mike and DJ Thoro - Grand Theft Audio 3
» DJ A-Smooth - The Youngest in Charge
» DJ Rell and Gucci Mane - Wilt Chamberlain: The Mixtape
» G-Unit - Sincerely Yours
» KD a.k.a. Han D Man - Worldwide 33

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Ace Hood - "You Already Know"
» B.G. (featuring Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Trey Songz) - "Ya Heard Me"
» The Boss Hogg Outlawz (featuring Ray J) - "Keep It Playa"
» Corey Gunz (featuring Ryan Leslie) - "Get Right Tonight"
» David Banner (featuring Nas) - "Middle Finger"
» Nipsey Hussle (featuring the Game) - "Bullets" remix
» Young Buck - "Taped Conversation"

Celebrity Faves

The-Dream has a huge record called "I Luv Your Girl" that nobody is getting tired of. The singer's track about pilfering another guy's chick has everybody singing its contagious, dismissive bridge: "F--- thaaaaatttt n---a." Dream thanks Island/ Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid for the inspiration to make the song.

"L.A. told me that my album sucked," Dream joked. "He told me I need to go make another song. He said, 'The whole album sucks. Why did I bother with you?' All those sorts of things. I was like, 'You playing, man.' Nah, he didn't say that."

Dream also said that when he sings the bridge in his high-pitched voice, on the record, he is definitely not referring to Mr. Reid.

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Lil Wayne has a million copies under his belt and is slated to start his Tha Carter III tour this week. One of the album's standout tracks is Weezy's collaboration with Jay-Z, "Mr. Carter." Wayne told us last week that Hov was just a phone call away. Weezy co-managers G. Roberson and Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua used to be execs at Roc-A-Fella records.

"Shout-out to my [other manger] Cortez, my man G. My man Hip Hop," Wayne said. "I asked them. I said, 'That's y'all big homie. I want a record.' And I sent him that one. I thought that was perfect. I already had three verses to it and everything. I sent it, and the rest is history."

An alternate version of "Mr. Carter" has leaked since the release of TCIII featuring some of those unused raps Wayne described.

The Carter III song "Don't Get It" — or, as the streets call it, "Misunderstood" — garnered some talk because of the way Wayne goes after the Reverend Al Sharpton at the end of the record. In no uncertain terms, Birdman Jr. tells the rev he has no respect for him. Sharpton responded through the media, saying he refused to address comments that weren't based on a substantive issue. Weezy has zero concern.

"Obviously, I don't have any thoughts on nobody's response, because I wouldn't have said what I said [if I cared]," Wayne said. "I don't care what nobody thinks or feels about what I said. I think and feel what I said. I believe in it. No one has to side with me. My daughter smiles every time she sees me." ...

Why'd they get him started? Gorilla Zoe told us last week in Atlanta that being able to eat has only made him hungrier. After he released his debut album, Welcome to the Zoe, several months ago, he jumped right back in the studio to record mixtapes and his sophomore LP.

"Really, it means that I've tasted success," Zoe explained of the album's title, Don't Feed the Animals. "It's over now! You know how when you go to the zoo and your parents tell you, 'Don't feed the animals. Don't give them the peanuts, 'cause they gonna want more. Don't feed a dog raw beef — he's gonna wanna taste that blood again.' I've done tasted that money, homie. That's what it means. Get-money time."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

• Mixtape Monday Video: Nas, Lil Wayne & More

• Nas
• Lil Wayne
• Jay-Z

Cassie on the set of her "Official Girl" video
Photo: MTV News

Cassie just wants to be the wifey. Is that too much to ask for a gorgeous model/ singer/ Kanye West video co-star? Apparently so.

"It could go a bunch of different ways," she said earlier this week in L.A. on the set of her video for "Official Girl." Chris Robinson directed and the million-selling Lil Wayne guest-stars on the record, which was produced by Danjahandz. "For me, it meant being with somebody, but not really being with them and wanting their confirmation and wanting them to say it out loud: 'I want to be your official girl.'

"I've had a past experience with it," she continued. "You get through it, but it's sort of challenging when you're in that matrix and trying to figure things out. Then you realize at the end if the person wants to be with you, and it's about how you feel and how you want it to be. So, unfortunately, that situation didn't work out [for me]. But yes, I've been through it, and it happens to a lot of people. So I was happy to be a part of the song."

In the video, Cass says, her choreography is at a whole new level. "I've never seen myself dance like this before," she said.

"It's a series of things," she added about the clip's plot. "You kind of catch me in a crazy-girl stage. It's about the fly chick, she's going into the hotel, feeling out her situation, talking to the guy who she thinks is there, but it's really not. You have to see it. It's hard to explain."

Cassie said she couldn't take any credit for Weezy F. Baby's cameo in the song and video — all the credit goes to Sean Combs.

"Puff surprised me with it," the singer said of Wayne's verse. "He laid the verse. I had no idea. I got on the phone and said, 'Thank you.' It's great. With how he's doing now ... he's platinum today, and he decided on his platinum day to be here with me. It's great. He's one of the best rappers out right now."

Cassie's sophomore LP should arrive by September. It features production by Bryan Michael Cox, 7 Aurelius, Diddy, Mario Winans, Eric Hudson and Kanye West. Wayne is the only confirmed guest star.

• Cassie Aims To Be Weezy's 'Official Girl' At Video Shoot

• Cassie And Lil Wayne On The "Official Girl" Video Set

• Cassie
• Lil Wayne
• Diddy

Lil Wayne
Photo: MTV News

They used to just talk about his songs — now hip-hop's biggest stars are talking about his numbers too.

Lil Wayne's peers are publicly recognizing how great a feat it was for the New Orleans native to move over a million units of his Tha Carter III in the first week.

"Congrats to my homie, Wayne," Kanye West, who produced on the album, posted on his blog Tuesday. "I'm happy to know this guy! Bow in the presence of a true living legend in hip-hop. Lil Wayne the God!"

On Thursday (June 19), while calling in to New York radio station Hot 97, 50 Cent — who was the last artist before Wayne to sell a million copies in first week of release with 2005's The Massacre — labeled Tha Carter III's debut "amazing."

"I think I'm really confused," 50 added. "I think all I need to do is make good music and see what happens. Usher had a #1 record across the board, and he only sold over 400,000. Then Wayne comes and does those numbers. ... I don't understand what the connection is. What audience is going out to buy it?"

While in Atlanta, Ludacris told MTV News that Wayne's success was hard-earned. "Wayne's been in the game a long time," said 'Cris, while sitting in the studio with DJ Drama. "I've done records with him. Apart from everything else that's going on, it's well-deserved. Wayne, congratulations. You worked hard for that's sh--, and you deserve it."

A Luda and Wayne collaboration was originally slated to be on Tha Carter III and may still find a home elsewhere. "I know he has a million songs, but we're still trying to find a placement for this song me and Lil Wayne did," Luda said.

• Lil Wayne Reacts To Tha Carter III's Success

• Ludacris
• 50 Cent
• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne
Photo: MTV News

Lil Wayne, one of the world's best-selling rappers, has known for the past week that he would have the #1 album in the country with his Tha Carter III finally making its way onto record store shelves — it was merely a matter of how high the numbers would ultimately be. After selling some 400,000 copies in its first day, everyone knew Tha Carter III had a great chance of selling more than 900,000 albums, with 1 million in first-week sales within a tattooed arm's reach.

Well, Weezy nation has spoken, and how: According to the latest sales figures from Nielsen SoundScan, Tha Carter III sold 1 million and change, and did so even after most of the album's tracks leaked months ago. The disc has earned the distinction of being the first studio offering since 50 Cent's 2005 LP The Massacre to sell more than 1 million copies in a single week. The only other artist to come close to that total was Kanye West, whose 2007 set Graduation put up opening week sales of 957,000.

Tha Carter III is Weezy's first album to open at #1 on Billboard's weekly albums sales chart. His previous best sales week came in 2005, when Tha Carter II bowed at #2, with 238,500 scans.

So, what does Wayne think about his monumental success? Well, he's pretty humble.

"Thank you, that's it," he told MTV News when asked about the album's first-week sales projections. "[I'm] just very grateful, that's it. Blown away, of course. Surprised, of course. Elated. Every positive word there is.

"I wasn't trippin' about this," he said about his numbers. "I didn't have no expectations. That's not only with music, [that's] period. You shouldn't expect anything. You never know what could happen."

Wayne did have a special message for his fans, however: "What's poppin', MTV? It's Weezy F. Baby, and I just want to thank everybody out there for making Tha Carter III the #1 album in the country. Thank you."

Better than any quote he could give, Wayne responded to his huge sales with a freestyle over the beat from his track "A Milli": "A milli-on sold, first day, I went gold/ How do I celebrate?/ Work on Tha Carter IV/ ... Shout out to every DJ/ Bootleggers, I made history anyway."

Wayne starts his Carter III tour on June 27. He also told MTV News that he and T-Pain are forming a supergroup.

	Who will be the next artist to crack a million sales in their first week of release? Comment below, or upload your response video at fnmtv.com. We'll put the best comments and videos on TV!

While Wayne's first-week sales performance is daunting, to say the least, he wasn't alone on next week's top 200, of course. His was among 22 new releases to impact the chart, including next week's #2, Plies' Definition of Real, which wasn't even a contender for the top spot, selling just 214,500 units its first week at retail. Also cracking the top 10 this week is N.E.R.D.'s Seeing Sounds, which enters at #7 with 80,000 sold; Alanis Morissette's Flavors of Entanglement, which follows at #8 with 70,400 scans; and My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges, opening at #9 with a reported 49,000 in sales.

The remainder of the top 10 is fleshed out by the 28th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series, which falls one chart position to #3 with 132,500 sold. Disturbed's Indestructible slips three spots to #4, selling another 101,800 units. Usher's Here I Stand finishes fifth, with 100,800 sold. Journey's Revelation sits in the #6 slot, with 89,200 copies snatched up, and falling six spots to #10 is Weezer's self-titled red album, which sold 46,000 its second week of commercial release.

Elsewhere on the chart, Wallflowers frontman ( and son of Bob) Jakob Dylan's Seeing Things enters at #24, with 24,100 sold. The soundtrack to Nickelodeon's "iCarly" bows at #28, with 20,400 scans; the set features tracks from Avril Lavigne, the Naked Brothers Band, Good Charlotte and the show's star, Miranda Cosgrove. Coming in at #30, with 19,900 sold, is Total Club Hits, a comp featuring the likes of Missy Elliott, Shawty Lo, T.I., Rihanna and more. Rev Theory's Light It Up follows in the #74 position, scanning 10,200 units. The Fratellis' Here We Stand debuts at #80 with 9,600 sold, while rap outfit TMI Boyz's Grindin' for a Purpose enters at #88, thanks to 8,600 scans.

Meanwhile, Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia opens at #91 after selling 8,500 units. Pete Wentz-discovered pop artist Tyga's No Introduction is at #112, with 6,800 units scanned, bagged and carried away from the nation's record shops. Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman's fourth solo EP, Summer, enters next week's chart at #162, with sales reported at 4,700, and coming in at #196, with 3,800 scans, is rapper Keak Da Sneak's Deified.

[This story was originally published at 9:31 pm E.T. on 06.17.2008]

• Lil Wayne Reacts To Tha Carter III's Success

• Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne
Photo: MTV News

One is hip-hop's king of collaborations. The other is his R&B equivalent. For once, you can believe the rumors: Lil Wayne and T-Pain indeed have plans to form a supergroup.

Weezy confirmed the report with a simple "Yeah" on Monday in Los Angeles, where he was filming his spot in Cassie's new video "Official Girl" before he performed later in the day at a sold-out House of Blues.

Pain has been publicly hinting about the venture, but didn't come right out and say Wayne's name. Weezy said it's true.

"We both have the same energy," he said. "I don't sleep. If you ask anybody, I don't sleep. I think it's the cousin of death. As much as you sleep, you're impersonating death to me. He don't sleep. I play all day. He plays all day and all night. The connection is crazy. He loves to be creative, he loves to work; I love to create, I love to work. He really wants people to respect his rapping; I really want people to respect my harmonizing."

One thing Weezy doesn't have to worry about is getting respect. Tha Carter III is on track to be the top-selling album in the country come Wednesday. It's just a matter of the numbers right now: Will he sell a million copies or end up somewhere in the high 900,000s?

	Do you think Lil Wayne and T-Pain's supergroup will actually happen? Comment below, or upload your response video at fnmtv.com. We'll put the best responses on TV!

As for selling over 400,000 copies in his first day of release, Weezy humbly said, "I'm surprised," but did note that he didn't think about what his numbers would be prior to the tally.

Wayne also announced that on June 27, he'll be starting his tour in support of the LP. The outing shares the same name as his album.

"I just want people to leave the show and feel like they saw something that they gonna remember forever," he said of Tha Carter III tour. "You know how our parents always tell us about some concert they went to [back in the day], but they remember it like yesterday? I want that to be every night, every city for me.

"I'mma stay in my lane and what makes it great for me," he said of the performance. "I can't do no more, or no less."

Further details on Wayne's tour and album with T-Pain were not available at press time.

• Lil Wayne Talks Of Death And Remembrance

• Lil Wayne
• T-Pain

Kanye West, Alicia Keys & More Heat Up Hot 97 Summer Jam In New Jersey

• Kanye West
• Alicia Keys
• Flavor Flav
• Lil Wayne
• T-Pain

Inside The 2007 "GQ" Men Of The Year Issue

• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne
• Daft Punk
• Rihanna
• Robin Thicke

Adrian Grenier, Nelly, Shia LaBeouf, Britney And More Stars Spotted In Vegas

• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Britney Spears
• Boys Like Girls
• Common

2007 VMA: Fall Out Boy And Guests Live From The Fantasy Suites

• Fall Out Boy
• Gym Class Heroes
• Panic at the Disco
• Lil Wayne

50, Kanye, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Eve, Adam Levine Set For 2007 MTV Video Music Awards

• Rihanna
• Fall Out Boy
• Timbaland
• Justin Timberlake
• Foo Fighters

Lil Wayne and Friends concert, New York, NY, 07.22.2007

• Lil Wayne
• Ja Rule
• Juelz Santana
• Birdman
• Kanye West

Lil Wayne And Friends Live In New York

• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne
• Juelz Santana

On The Set Of Ja Rule's "Uh Oh" Video

• Ja Rule
• Lil Wayne

Snoop, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, More Live At Powerhouse 2007

• Snoop Dogg
• Lil Wayne
• Ludacris
• Mims
• Bow Wow

Kanye, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Ciara, More At The 2007 HOT 97 Summer Jam

• Kanye West
• Young Jeezy
• Ciara
• Lil Wayne
• Ludacris