‘Curtain Call’ has a strong beginning

AFTER ceding the top spot on the national sales chart to pop, rock, R&B and country for most of the fall, hip-hop came back with a bang this week as new albums from Eminem and Lil’ Wayne grabbed the No. 1 and 2 positions.

Eminem’s “Curtain Call” hits collection sold 441,000 copies, easily securing No. 1. Lil’ Wayne’s “Tha Carter II” followed in the No. 2 slot with sales of 238,000, the highest first-week figure of the New Orleans rapper’s career. The only other new entry in this week’s Top 10 is hard-rock band Korn’s “See You on the Other Side,” at No. 3 on first-week sales of 221,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“Curtain Call,” gives the Detroit rapper his fourth straight No. 1 debut. The 17-track disc includes his current single “When I’m Gone,” one of the three new cuts that supplement songs from his four studio albums and the “8 Mile” movie soundtrack.

The CD also includes Eminem and Elton John’s 2001 Grammy Awards show performance of “Stan.” There also is a deluxe edition of the album that includes a second disc of bonus material.

Actress-pop star Lindsay Lohan’s second album, “A Little More Personal (Raw),” sold 82,000 to enter the chart at No. 20, making it the only other new addition to the Top 20.

Last week’s sales reflected the holiday surge typical at this time of year. Every album returning to the Top 10 this week posted sales gains of 13% to 50% over the previous week.