Eminem’s ‘Mathers’ Remains at No. 1

Bad publicity? Controversial rapper Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” is the No. 1 album in the country for the third straight week and has sold more than 3.1 million copies since it arrived in stores late last month.

In the last three weeks, Eminem (a.k.a. Slim Shady, a.k.a. Marshall Mathers) has been widely criticized for the violent and lewd content of his lyrics. He’s also been the target of criminal charges and a civil lawsuit stemming from two alleged assaults in Michigan. None of that deterred fans, however, who scooped up 599,000 copies of his new album last week.

The Detroit rapper--who has also enjoyed critical acclaim as the clever, speed-rhyming clown prince of hard-core rap--comes to town this week as part of Dr. Dre’s Up in Smoke tour, which kicks off tonight in Chula Vista and visits the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim on Friday and Sunday.

Teen queen Britney Spears climbs back to No. 2 with her “Oops . . . I Did It Again,” which sold 370,000 copies last week. The singer’s sophomore album received some sales fuel from “Britney Spears in Hawaii,” a nationally televised concert special.

Spears leapfrogs Kid Rock, who drops a notch to No. 3 with his “History of Rock,” which debuted last week. The album, which sold 248,000 copies on the week, collects rarities and early, independently released material.

‘N Sync, which headlined the Rose Bowl last week, sold 165,000 copies to move up to No. 4, while Matchbox Twenty’s “Mad Season” sold 141,000 and rounds out this week’s Top 5. The sales data for the chart are compiled by SoundScan, an upstate New York company that tracks retail music sales nationwide.

There were no debuts this week in the Top 40, but veteran Nashville singer-songwriter Steve Earle’s “Transcendental Blues” opens at No. 66 with 20,000 copies sold. The 15-song collection draws on Earle’s range of musical influences, including rock, country and bluegrass.

Also premiering this week is Belle & Sebastian’s “Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant” at No. 80 with 17,000 sold. The seven-member Glasgow band mixes folk-rock with a burnished, 1960s pop sound.

On the singles chart, Enrique Iglesias and his song “Solo Me Importas Tu” jump 39 notches to the top of the tally, unseating Marc Anthony and “You Sang to Me,” last week’s No. 1 song. Also moving up the chart is Mariah Carey’s latest, “Can’t Take That Away (Maria’s Theme),” which surges from No. 91 to No. 2.