Fantasia’s ‘The Side Effects of You’ album cover

Men controlled the top spots of the US charts this week but women certainly put up a good fight. In fact, a pair of divas – Fantasia and Mariah Carey – gave their counterparts quite a battle, particularly the former, who still controls a lofty position on the Billboard 200 tally.

Fantasia’s Side Effects of You remained in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 this week with over 36K copies sold. With just 127K unites moved in the US during its first 2 weeks on the charts, the record has been the singer’s slowest-selling album to date but the only release by a female R&B act in the Billboard 200 top 10 this week.

Carey, on the other hand, didn’t crack the Billboard Hot 100 with her new single, “#Beautiful”, but the song is on track to score an impressive launch next week. After just 2 days, the track garnered over 31 million audience impressions and debuted on the Billboard Radio Songs lineup at #44.

Furthermore, since digital sales are calculated on a Monday to Sunday basis, downloads of “#Beautiful” will only contribute to its performance on next week’s Hot 100 lineup. Meanwhile, the song continues to command top 10 spot on the US iTunes chart and is estimated to sell over 100K copies by the end of this week.

See the other leading releases in the top 10 of both Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 below:

Billboard 200

1. Kenny Chesney - Life on a Rock – 153K (debut)

2. Michael Buble – To be Loved – 96K (total: 291K)

3. Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience – 68K (total: 1.74 M)

4. Fantasia – Side Effects of You – 36K (total: 127K)

5. Macklemore & Lewis – The Heist – 35K (total: 673K)

6. Blake Shelton - Based On a True Story – 35K (total: 456K)

7. Pink – The Truth About Love – 26K (1.46 M)

8. Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox – 26K (total: 1.28 M)

9. Randy Rogers Band – Trouble – 26K (debut)

10. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions – 25K (total: 888K)

Billboard Hot 100

1. Macklemore & Lewis – “Can’t Hold Us (Ft. Ray Dalton)”

2. Pink – “Just Give Me a Reason (Ft. Nate Ruess)”

3. Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”

4. Rihanna – “Stay (Ft. Mikky Ekko)”

5. Bruno Mars – “When I Was Your Man”

6. Macklemore & Lewis – “Thrift Shop”

7. Icona Pop – “I Love It”

8. Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”

9. Florida Georgia Line – “Cruise”

10. Pitbull – “Feel this Moment (Ft. Christina Aguilera)”

Watch the video for Fantasia’s “Lose to Win” below:

Thoughts?