Week Ending July 1, 2012. Albums: Keeping Adam Humble

By Paul Grein | Chart Watch – Wed, Jul 4, 2012 11:26 AM EDT

Everything's going Adam Levine's way, right? He has a hit TV show, and has sung lead on three giant hits in the past year, Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" and "Payphone" and Gym Class Heroes' "Stereo Hearts." (Combined sales: 11,812,000). Well, the Billboard charts are working to keep Levine humble.  "Payphone" has so far been unable to rise above #2. And now Maroon 5's latest album Overexposed debuts at #2 behind the latest by fellow L.A. band Linkin Park. But it was close. Extremely close. If Maroon 5's album had sold just 2K more copies, it would have taken the #1 spot. This is the group's second album in a row to just miss debuting at #1. Hands All Over debuted at #2 in September 2010. If it had sold 12K more copies, it would have seized the crown from Zac Brown Band's You Get What You Give.

Levine has been on such a roll lately that he can't get too upset at just missing out on two #1 albums. Even so, most artists don't like to come in second—especially when it's this close. But it's not like Maroon 5 has never had a #1 album. Its 2007 album It Won't Be Soon Before Long debuted in the top spot with sales of 429K.

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