ADELE-LICIOUS

Look for the Grammy front-runner to score a ninth week at #1 with a sales total in six figures and climbing inexorably to 2 million U.S. for the XL/Columbia album 21.

Next week’s debuts will be topped with Wind-up South African post-grunge rockers Seether, whose sixth studio album, Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray, is looking for a pretty impressive 55-65k debut. Their last album, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, debuted at #9 with 57k in Oct. 2007.

Epic’s America’s Got Talent season five winner Michael Grimm, who topped Jackie Evancho in the competition, will score between 20-25k for his self-titled major label debut.

Geffen’s Il Volo, the Italian pop operatic teen trio who will perform on American Idol this Thursday night (5/19), are on target to sell 18-22k of their self-titled debut. They also perform on CBS’ Early Show Saturday (5/21).

Capitol/EMI’s Rome, the collaboration between Danger Mouse and film composer Daniele Luppi, featuring Jack White and Norah Jones as guest vocalists, should do in the same 18-22k range.

Virgin/EMI veteran hybrid singer-songwriter-folk-rocker Ben Harper’s Give Till It’s Gone looks to be between 14-17k, the same total for Capitol/EMI British hip-hop star Tinie Tempah’s Disc-Overy and its hit single, “Written in the Stars,” which this week topped one million downloads in the U.S.

Mercury Charlottesville, VA, pop-rockers Parachute’s sophomore album, The Way It Was, is headed for a similar 14-17k total for the group being handled by Dave Matthews Band’s Red Light Management.

Finally, Warner Bros.’ New Boyz, the California hip-hop/jerkin’ duo of Earl “Ben J’ Benjamin and Dominic “Legacy” Thomas, who scored with the viral hit “You’re a Jerk,” return with their sophomore album, the aptly titled Too Cool To Care, which is looking in the 9-12k area.

The market was down 9% vs. last week, up 7% vs. same week last year and now down only 1% year to date. Black ink is on the horizon.

You may now go back to pondering, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, why a cigar is more than just a cigar.