November 26, 2008

By By Leila Cobo, Miami

With sales approaching the 18,000 unit mark, singer/songwriter Ricardo Arjona notched his best-selling week ever on the Billboard charts, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Arjona?s new studio album, ?5to Piso,? debuted at No. 1 on Billboard?s Top Latin Albums chart, more than doubling in sales the No. 2 album, ?Wisin & Yandel Present La Mente Maestra,? by Wisin & Yandel and DJ Nesty, which in turn debuted last week at No. 1.

Arjona?s ?5to Piso? is his first album for Warner Music Latina after a lifetime on Sony (and later, Sony BMG). The album was pushed with aggressive marketing and pricing campaigns. According to Alberto Uribe, head buyer of Ritmo Latino, it was one of his biggest presales ever, bolstered by special promotions and a discount price of $9.98, nearly half of regular retail price. In addition, first single ?Como Duele? is currently at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart.

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