Keith Urban Keeps No. 1 Single With "Making Memories of Us"
By: Craig Shelburne
Country starlet Carrie Underwood isn't the only one benefiting from the American Idol finale. With nearly 30 million viewers tuning in, the Oklahoma hopeful was voted the winner on May 25 after joining Rascal Flatts on their No.1 ballad, "Bless the Broken Road." Enough radio stations programmed the collaboration for a No. 50 debut on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, even though the duet has not been officially released as a single.
The trio's original version of the song had already dropped off the country charts, but the massive exposure boosted sales of their album Feels Like Today by 42 percent, with sales of about 65,000 copies in one week. It moves up one notch to land at No. 2 on Billboard's country albums chart. By the end of the month, the album's sales figures should surpass 2 million copies.
However, that sudden surge couldn't knock Toby Keith's Honkytonk University from the top spot, where it debuted last week. Keith Urban slides up a spot to No. 3 with Be Here. Sugarland ascends to No. 4, their highest position yet, with Twice the Speed of Life. Cowboy Troy's Loco Motive falls three spots to No. 5. The latest albums from Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Big & Rich, Larry the Cable Guy and Jo Dee Messina complete the Top 10.
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