Once again, Usher is the only one making any noise on the Billboard albums chart, as the R&B sensation will maintain his stranglehold at the top of the album heap next week.

Mr. Entertainment's Confessions is losing a bit of steam, selling 34 percent fewer records last week than the week before, but he still managed to best the rest after moving an additional 302,000 copies of his latest effort, according to SoundScan. The hefty sales will put Usher in the top slot for the fourth straight week.

Frankly, Usher didn't face much in the way of competition for the #1 spot. Sales were sluggish, with 47 of the top 50 albums pushing fewer copies than they did the week before. Once again, the latest Now That's What I Call Music! compilation plays runner-up, while the week's biggest gainer, Hoobastank's The Reason, leaps from #18 to #3 on next week's chart.

As far as new blood, the week's biggest debut comes courtesy of Sugarcult, who break into the chart at #46 after selling just under 22,000 copies of their Palm Trees and Power Lines. The "Kill Bill Vol. 2" soundtrack cracks the chart at #58, Joe Satriani's Is There Love in Space? debuts at #80 and Ben Jelen's Give It All Away crashes the chart at #112.

Next week should present a bigger challenge for Usher and shake up the top 10 a bit, as high-profile releases from Prince, Mario Winans, Hanson and Drowning Pool hit shelves this week (see [article id="1486452"]"New Releases: Prince, Mario Winans, Afroman, Drowning Pool, Hanson, Ghostface, The Alarm & More"[/article]).