Norah Jones' ’Not Too Late’ has debuted at the top of the charts

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Norah Jones' third album Not Too Late (Blue Note) has debuted at the top of the world's biggest music charts, entering its first week at #1 in 15 countries, including the US, UK, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Dubai, France, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland as well as at #1 on Japan's international chart, with more charts coming in later this week. The record is top five in a further eight countries and has achieved gold or platinum status in 21 countries. After breaking Amazon.com's pre-sale record in North America, the record scanned more than 405, 000 units in its first week in the U.S. according to Nielson Soundscan, and hit #1 on the iTunes digital album chart in 20 countries.

The strong showing for Jones' third outing for Blue Note Records becomes the best selling first week release from a female solo artist since last fall's B'Day by Beyonce. The album features thirteen new songs, all written or co-written by Jones. The album was produced by Jones' bassist and songwriting partner Lee Alexander, and was recorded mostly in Jones and Alexander's home studio.

Bruce Lundvall, President and CEO of The Blue Note Label Group said, "Norah proves once again that there's no substitute for originality and true musical artistry. This is a brilliant start for her first self-penned album. I think these first week numbers are a phenomenal result in today's challenging, transitional music market."

The album heads into the coming weeks with significant retail exposure, as well as major television appearances by Jones, kicking off by an appearance tonight on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, " and a "60 Minutes" feature on Sunday, February 11, just prior to the CBS Broadcast of the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Jones will also perform on "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Valentines Day. In the UK, Jones' will be featured on "Live From Abbey Road, " to air on Channel 4 as well as on The Sundance Channel in the US, among other territories.

Also key in supporting the project was vh1, who had an exclusive premiere of the album on vh1.com the week before release and ran Norah's first video Thinking About You in their highest Gung Ho rotation the week before and of release. The network's 360 degree support also included a Live@vh1.com performance, inclusion in their VSPOT Top 20 Countdown as well as promo spots throughout the week of release. vh1's affiliates in the Europe, UK, Latin America and emerging markets also offered online listening events in January.

"Norah Jones is the epitome of a vh1 artist and we've been fans of hers from the beginning", commented Rick Krim, executive vice president, Talent & Music Programming, vh1. "To support her latest effort we put her on our most impactful franchises on-air and online. We think Not Too Late is a perfect record for our adult audience, who are also an enthusiastic group of record buyers."

Jones will kick off the first leg of her North American tour in April. She will break from touring to promote her first starring film role in "My Blueberry Nights, " director Wong Kar Wai's highly anticipated film with a cast that also includes Jude Law, Tim Roth, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman. The movie, to be released in the US by The Weinstein Company, is expected to go to the 2007 Cannes Film festival in May.

She has been busy promoting the album outside of the US as well, which resulted in Not Too Late becoming the #1 best seller on Amazon.com's UK, France, Germany and Japan sites leading up to and through release date. After a series of well-received appearances in Continental Europe (live show for France Inter Radio in Paris and Canal+ TV, SWR3's "Hautnah, " in Germany) the UK (a live concert on BBC TV and BBC Radio 2) and Canada (CHUM TV), Jones will return to international territories later this month for additional performances and promotion in Europe and Japan.

Jones burst upon the pop music world with her auspicious debut, Come Away With Me, released by Blue Note in 2002. The record has gone on to sell nearly 10 million copies in the U.S. and over 20 million worldwide and swept the Grammy Awards in 2003, taking 8 trophies. Her second album, Feels Like Home, debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart, going on to sell over four million units in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide. Both albums were overseen by legendary producer Arif Mardin, who passed away in June 2006.

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