‘Unplugged’ electrifies the national sales chart

ALICIA KEYS completes a hat trick with her new “Unplugged,” her third straight album to debut at No. 1 on the national sales chart.

It sold 196,000 copies in its first week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Her 2001 debut, “Songs in A Minor,” and its 2003 follow-up, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” posted first-week sales of 236,000 and 618,000, respectively.

“Keys and her large supporting cast bring such personality and fire to the disc’s highlights that ‘Unplugged’ often mirrors the vitality and discovery of some of the great live R&B; and soul collections of the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn wrote of the live collection, which includes material from her first two albums and new songs.

“Unplugged” pushes Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons,” which entered the chart at No. 1 last week, back to No. 2 with second-week sales of 170,000. Country singer Gary Allan posted the best first-week sales of his career -- 100,000 copies -- with “Tough All Over,” which entered the chart at No. 3.

Ricky Martin’s first English-language album in five years, “Life,” sold 73,000 copies, enough to put it at No. 6.