Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the Dixie Chicks - - in particular, the political opinions of their lead singer, Natalie Maines - their newest album, Taking The Long Way - took the top spot on country albums chart and the Billboard 200 overall chart — which are based on sales rather than radio airplay — with 526,000 units sold in its first full week. [Source]

The album has received a very cool (FRIGID) reception on country music radio stations and is not receiving very much airplay at all. But, the new album hit the stores on May 23 and the first week sales on the album were better than Toby Keith’s “White Trash With Money” (330,000) and Tim McGraw’s “Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Reflected” (242,000).

Country radio programmers have been slow to embrace the group since lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience in 2003 on the eve of the war in Iraq that the group was ashamed President Bush was from their home state of Texas.

Back in the U.S., their music was boycotted and the Chicks said they received death threats, leading them to install metal detectors at their shows.

The single “Not Ready To Make Nice” has hugely been in rotation on both MTV and VH1 - and an announcement on the Dixie Chicks own website - VH1’s VSpot Top 20 Countdown has added the video to their countdown (except I don’t see it listed there at the time of this writing).