Arcade Fire Misses #1 Spot; World Somehow Goes On

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Ten days ago I ventured a prediction (or, really, a wish) that Arcade Fire could hit #1 with their new album Neon Bible. It was all very exciting. Upon the album’s release on March 6th, it shot straight to the top of the iTunes charts (where it remains) and indie rock geeks like myself around the world held their breath. Well, sorry, geeks. The official Billboard charts won’t be posted until Thursday, but HITS Magazine online is reporting (registration required) that the Fire will land at #2, behind the late Notorious B.I.G., whose Greatest Hits sold nearly 100,000 copies to Neon Bible‘s 83,000. Not really even close, but dead rappers win every time, so there’s no point crying into your vintage T-shirts over this. And besides, take solace in this consolation prize: Arcade Fire managed to kick American Idol reject Daughtry down to #3.

[Update, 3/15/07, 1:30pm]
Billboard magazine is reporting that the battle between Biggie and Arcade Fire was a little bit closer: 99,000 to 92,000 copies, with 30% of the latter’s sales coming from digital retailers.