ONE-DAY SALES: NORAH, 50 CENT RULE, NEWCOMERS DEBUT

Following #1 Norah Jones’ spectacular post-Grammy sales spike to over 661k and #2 50 Cent’s continued sales strength with over 401k moved last week, it looks like next week’s chart will feature the same top-selling duet.

Did somebody say duet? Maybe a Norah/50Cent collaboration on “Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Come In Da Club”? Maybe a little “Come Away with Me, Wanksta”?

Anyway, those whose job it is to predict these things say Norah should fall off about 30-40% on the coming chart, but it’s really too early to tell. 50 Cent, meanwhile, could easily continue to show his peculiar staying power. Could there be a fight for #1 in the works? Most handicappers give it to Norah in the early going, but we shall see.

Meanwhile, a quartet of new releases hit the street yesterday to warm receptions at retail:

Brooklyn rapper Fabolous’ Street Dreams (Elektra) could do 200k, according to early reports from national accounts.

Racy rapper Lil’ Kim returns with La Bella Mafia (Atlantic), which appears headed for a debut week in excess of 150k.

Female-fronted rockers Evanescence, lately driving the Daredevil soundtrack, should see their debut album, Fallen (Wind-up) sell as much as 150k if minor stock issues are resolved.

And California power-pop outfit The Ataris are off to a solid start for their major-label debut, So Long, Astoria (Columbia), which is on track to log 50-60k when the counting’s done.

That’s all well and good, but we still maintain that if Norah and 50 would get in the studio and cut a new version of “Cold Cold Heart (I Been Shot Nine Times),” we’d see some real chart action.