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LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Jazz chanteuse Norah Jones may be soft-spoken but her album, "Feels Like Home," roared again at cash registers, topping charts for a third week in a row, according to data released by Nielsen SoundScan Wednesday.

The sultry singer's sophomore album sold about 281,000 units in the week ended February 29, bringing her three-week total to 1.7 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album sold over a million copies in its first week of release ended February 15, becoming the first to pass the 1 million mark in a debut week since 'N Sync's "Celebrity" sold nearly 1.9 million copies in July 2001, Nielsen SoundScan said.

Jones' follow-up to her Grammy-winning blockbuster debut "Come Away With Me" was also a big seller in the digital domain, with four tracks from the new disc selling in the top 200 digital tracks, according to Jones' Blue Note label, owned by EMI Group Plc.

New York-born, Texas-raised Jones, 24, daughter of Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar and former music promoter Sue Jones, has been boosting her album through heavy promotion and press appearances.

This weekend the dark-haired singer and pianist, who lends a country sound to some of her music, is set to appear as the musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

Rounding out the top five albums this week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, were "College Drop Out," by rapper Kanye West at No. 2, selling 132,000 units, and "Tough Luv," by rappers Young Gunz, at No. 3, selling 128,000 units.

Ranking fourth was "Fallen," by Evanescence, selling 125,000 units, while "When the Sun Goes Down," by Kenny Chesney, stood at No. 5 with 95,000 units.

Jones' new album also gave a big boost to her earlier "Come Away With Me," which remained in the U.S. top 30.

Overall, U.S. album sales were down 2.2 percent to 11.9 million units in the latest week, making it the first weekly decline in 2004, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

But industry insiders were quick to note there was a tough comparison to the year-ago week, which enjoyed a post-Grammy bounce.

In a departure from previous years, when Grammys were held in the latter half of February, this year's Grammys were held on February 8.

Overall year-to-date album sales are up 10.6 percent, according to Nielsen Soundscan, giving the music industry, which has been hit hard by online piracy and competition from other entertainment like video games in the past three years, some reason for hope for an emerging recovery.

Nielsen SoundScan also noted that digital track online sales topped the 2 million mark in the latest week.

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