ASHANTI MEANS BUSINESS

Try a MONSTER #1 album chart debut for the self-titled debut from Ashanti, on sales north of 500k. The last person to do that was another relative unknown, Epic’s Celine Dion. That feat occurred last week, with the Canadian diva dipping to a still-impressive #2 this week.

"We knew it was going to be big," said Tony Bazemore of AEC One-Stop Group. "But we also knew that the deep discount and rebate plans at the retail level were only going to have an impact if the record was a hit. This one is a smash." Tony then looked at himself in the mirror and wondered how his life had become such a torn, shattered, hideous mess.

The other big debut of the week belongs to Elektra newcomer Tweet, who bowed at #4 with Southern Hummingbird.

"Another impressive first-week sales story, as the Missy Elliott connection helped the initial awareness factor, and then it just took off from there," whimpered AEC’s Bazemore, who added, "It’s horrendously boring quotes like these that greatly contribute to my plummeting self-esteem."

The Top Five was rounded out by UTV’s omnipresent Now Vol. 9 and Mercury/IDJ’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? Incidentally, Universal’s Scorpion King ST climbed to #6—before the movie’s release.

And amid all that, will you take a look at Columbia’s John Mayer? This week, among many sales drops, his Room for Squares jumps a whopping 37% (49-26) as press, radio play and touring all come together to create a new wave of sales. This kid’s a star.

Also showing snowballing sales strength this week are V2’s White Stripes and Blue Note’s Norah Jones, both of which continue to evolve into bona fide smashes. Buckle up for the ride on these two, folks.

"Do you think I have the personality of a small soap dish?" queried AEC’s Bazemore.