"Canadian Idol" champion Ryan Malcolm failed in his holiday bid to dethrone Sarah McLachlan from the top of the Canadian album charts.
Malcolm's debut album "Home" entered in at No. 4 with impressive first-week sales of 29,100, but it wasn't enough to unseat McLachlan's "Afterglow" (34,700), which captured the No. 1 spot for a third straight week.
Malcolm shoudn't be too disappointed though -- he beat the debut of "American Idol 2" winner Ruben Studdard, who placed way down at No. 37 with his first album "Soulful."
In addition, he nearly tripled the first-week sales of Kelly Clarkson, who won the first "American Idol" competition. Her album "Thankful" came in No. 8 with sales of 10,500 when it premiered back in April.
Meanwhile, the MuchMusic seasonal collection "MuchDance 2004" (31,900) continued its holiday sales run, placing second to McLachlan, while pop/classical singer Josh Groban's "Closer" (29,150) moved one position closer to the top at No. 3.
The fifth to ninth positions remained the same: Sheryl Crow's "The Very Best of Sheryl Crow" (25,400) placed fifth; "Big Shiny Tunes 8" (24,100) sixth, Rod Stewart's "As Time Goes By...The Great American Songbook: Volume II" (23,400) in seventh; Hilary Duff's "Metamorphosis" (19,800) in eighth; and Nickelback's "The Long Road" (19,400) in ninth.
Evanescence, fresh off a recent appearance on MuchMusic, moved from No. 14 to No. 10 with "Fallen" (18,300).
Other notable debuts included Fefe Dobson's self-titled album at No. 26, The Offspring's "Splinter" at No. 29 and Westside Connection's "Terrorist Threats" at No. 55.
In the U.S., Ruben Studdard (416,500) debuted at the top spot, followed by Alicia Keys' "The Diary Of Alicia Keys" (342,400), the collection "Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 14" (260,800) in third, Toby Keith's "Shockin' Y'All" (245,300) in fourth, and Josh Groban (237,700) in fifth.
Here are the 10 best-selling albums in Canada, according to Nielsen SoundScan:
1. SARAH McLACHLAN -- "AFTERGLOW" (34,700)
2. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- "MUCHDANCE 2004" (31,900)
3. JOSH GROBAN -- "CLOSER" (29,150)
4. RYAN MALCOLM -- "HOME" (29,100)
5. SHERYL CROW -- "THE VERY BEST OF SHERYL CROW" (25,400)
6. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- "BIG SHINY TUNES 8" (24,100)
7. ROD STEWART -- "THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK: VOLUME II" (23,400)
8. HILARY DUFF -- "METAMORPHOSIS" (19,800)
9. NICKELBACK -- "THE LONG ROAD" (19,400)
10. EVANESCENCE -- "FALLEN" (18,300)
