CHART PREVIEW:
FIREFLIES LIGHTS UP

Yes, they seem quite happy. And yes, okay, they duet beautifully (once again) on “Like We Never Loved At All,” from her new Warner Bros. album, Fireflies. But however close Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are as a couple—and that would apparently be just a tad closer than post-honeymoon Chesney/Zellweger, if you believe the rumors—Hill stands on her own as an artist.

That assertion has been validated in the marketplace over the past seven days, and as the tallying of retail reports continues this morning, it looks like Fireflies will take Hill and her reinvigorated country sensibilities to the top of this week’s chart, as predicted, with a first-week total of just about 300k.

That’ll be more than enough to depose Now 19 (Capitol), but Hill’s is the only album set to make Top 10 waves on tomorrow’s chart. The next-highest debut looks like sing-along compilation Kidz Bop 8 (Razor & Tie), which is headed for 50k-55k in total first-week sales. Behind the Bop will be Teairra Mari (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) at around 45k-50k and Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten (Epic) at 30k-35k.

So, closer to the top of the chart, look for Now 19, Mariah Carey (Island/IDJ) and Coldplay (Capitol) to defend their turf, along with Black Eyed Peas (Interscope) and Gorillaz (Virgin), both of which continue to grow.

Looking ahead, albums hitting the street tomorrow include include Staind’s Chapter V (Flip/Elektra) and Nickel Creek’s Why Should the Fire Die? (Sugar Hill). There. If we talk about next week, maybe you won’t notice how wrong we are about this week. Thank you.