Common scores with his first No. 1

VETERAN Chicago rapper Common must be feeling special: He has the first No. 1 album of his career with “Finding Forever,” which sold 155,000 copies in its first week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It’s the seventh studio album from Common (whose given name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.) and it finds him back in tandem with fellow Chicagoan Kanye West as the primary producer. Common also has been making noise as an actor, and in November, he will share the screen with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the Ridley Scott film “American Gangster.”

Debuting at No. 2 this week is the untitled new release from nu-metal survivors Korn. (Many fans are referring to it unofficially as “8,” since the Bakersfield-bred band has seven prior albums, including its self-titled 1994 debut.) The album sold 123,000 copies. Korn plays the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on Sept. 2.

Last week’s No. 1, the 25th edition of the “Now! That’s What I Call Music” series, dips to No. 3 after a two-week reign at the top, selling 220 copies fewer than Korn.

Jamaica-via-Miami singer Sean Kingston has already earned a No. 1 single with “Beautiful Girls,” and now he has a Top 10 album. The 17-year-old’s self-titled debut enters at No. 6 with 75,000 copies sold. “Beautiful Girls,” meanwhile, is No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs chart, with 235,000 sold for the most recent week.

“Kidz Bop,” the series that presents “regular” kids singing radio hits, is back on the chart this week. The 12th edition of the series sold 71,000 copies and opens at No. 7; it’s the sixth consecutive edition of the series to debut in the Top 10.

The Starting Line, the Philadelphia pop-punk band, enters at No. 30 after selling 20,000 copies of its third album, “Direction.” The band is now on the Vans Warped Tour, which hits the Home Depot Center in Carson on Aug. 25.

Mandisa Lynn Hundley, who uses just her first name on stage, finished ninth during the fifth season on “American Idol.” This week on the chart she finished at No. 43 with her debut, “True Beauty,” which sold 17,000 copies.