iTunes’ top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 21, 2009:
Singles:
1. “Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys),” Jay-Z
2. “Forever,” Drake, L’il Wayne, Eminem, Kanye West
3. “Party In the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus
4. “Paparazzi,” Lady GaGa
5. “Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West),” Jay-Z
6. “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas
7. “Whatcha Say,” Jason DeRulo
8. “Down,” Jay Sean
9. “You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift
10. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
Albums:
1. “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z
2. “The Resistance,” Muse
3. “Man on the Moon – The End of Day,” Kid Cudi
4. “I Look to You,” Whitney Houston
5. “Backspacer,” Pearl Jam
6. “So Far Gone,” Drake
7. “The Fame,” Lady GaGa
8. “Only By the Night,” Kings of Leon
9. “Fearless,” Taylor Swift
10. “The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies),” Black Eyed Peas

iTunes’ top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 7, 2009:

Singles:

1. “Party In the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus

2. “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas

3. “Down,” Jay Sean

4. “Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West),” Jay-Z

5. “Whatcha Say,” Jason DeRulo

6. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

7. “Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester),” Cobra Starship

8. “She Wolf,” Shakira

9. “Hotel Room Service,” Pitbull

10. “You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift

Albums:

1. “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z

2. “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2,” Raekwon

3. “Only By the Night,” Kings of Leon

4. “Love Drunk,” Boys Like Girls

5. “The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies),” Black Eyed Peas

6. “Bomb In a Birdcage,” A Fine Frenzy

7. “I Look to You,” Whitney Houston

8. “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King,” Dave Matthews Band

9. “Joy,” Phish

10. “Ready,” Trey Songz

The artist: Jay-Z

The album: The Blueprint 3 (Roc Nation)

The spin: On the The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z boasts he’s gone “from Brooklyn to down in Tribeca right next to DeNiro” and he’s gone from bragging about how many bricks he moved out the back of a rental car to bragging about how good his seats were for the Pacquaio fight. But despite the lifestyle changes, the underlying message remains the same: Jay-Z is still pretty damned impressed with Jay-Z.

Dubbing himself “the new Sinatra”, he raps over a series of glossy, expensive beats full of live instrumentation — strings, trumpets and hand-claps. This is the best production he’s gotten since his comeback from retirement in 2006.

“Blueprint 3” follows in the vein of his first 10 solo albums — all of which, he reminds us, have “gone No. 1”; all morphing elements of his life story (teenage drug dealer “called a camel” to multi-millionaire CEO married to the world’s biggest pop star) into a Charles Dickens story.
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iTunes’ top 10 selling singles and albums of the week ending Sept. 7, 2009:

Singles:

1. “Party In the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus

2. “I Gotta Feeling,” Black Eyed Peas

3. “Down,” Jay Sean

4. “Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West),” Jay-Z

5. “Whatcha Say,” Jason DeRulo

6. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon

7. “Hotel Room Service,” Pitbull

8. “Good Girls Go Bad (feat. Leighton Meester),” Cobra Starship

9. “She Wolf,” Shakira

10. “Fallin’ for You,” Colbie Caillat

Albums:

1. “I Look to You,” Whitney Houston

2. “Ready,” Trey Songz

3. “Only By the Night,” Kings of Leon

4. “Sci-Fi Crimes,” Chevelle

5. “Breakthrough,” Colbie Caillat

6. “Before the Frost… Until the Freeze,” The Black Crowes

7. “Artwork,” The Used

8. “Ellipse,” Imogen Heap

9. “Awake,” Skillet

10. “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z

NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z will hold a Sept. 11 benefit concert in New York City.

The New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund says the rapper is scheduled to make the announcement Monday at Madison Square Garden. He’ll be joined by Gov. David Paterson, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

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