Justin Bieber is Really on Top of Things

My World 2.0, the March 23 release from teen heartthrob Justin Bieber has hit the top of the Billboard 200 Album chart. The teenager’s sophomore release sold 283,000 copies in its first week of release to propel him to the No.1 spot. With the achievement, he becomes the youngest artist (age 16) to reach the top spot since a 13-year-old Stevie Wonder spent a week at the peak position back in August of 1963.

His first CD, My World, debuted at No. 6 last November. This week it rose to a new high by jumping from No. 10 to No. 5 giving Bieber two albums in the top 5 at the same time. He is the first artist to concurrently chart two albums within the top five of the Billboard 200 since October 2004 when Nelly ranked at Nos. 2 and 4 with Suit and Sweat.

Album Review from Andy Kellman, All Music Guide: Within two months of release, My World went platinum and two of its singles hit the Top 20, making Justin Bieber an almost inescapable teen pop phenomenon. This ten-song disc, which follows its seven-song predecessor by just over four months, is intended to be the second half of his debut rather than a true follow-up. It’s a shrewd ploy that benefits his insatiable following -- much of which could be into something else by 2011-2012 -- and, in turn, his sales.

The two releases are certainly of a piece, filled with upbeat R&B-flavored pop songs with a few ballads that might be termed adult contemporary if the singer happened to be of age. Bieber makes all the right, charming moves for a teen, and he covers all the bases. The dance-pop songs are light on the ears yet memorable; the unrequited material sounds deeply felt; the ballads have all the necessary us-against-the-world teen-love dramatics (though the references in “Stuck in the Moment,” featuring Bonnie & Clyde and Sonny & Cher among other doomed couples, make zero sense on a song voiced by a peppy 16-year-old in 2010).

As with My World, everything is age-appropriate. “She says she needs a little company,” sung with the slightest wink in the eye, is as racy as it gets, and even then, Bieber projects an image that is utterly harmless.