BANJOS, TRAPEZES AND LOTS OF NUMBERS

Let's sing a song of sales--notably comparing pre-release label forecasts with actual first-week numbers (for a handful of recent, high-profile releases) and with prior-release first weeks (for a batch of big fall albums).

Admit it: Numbers are sexy. That's what we tell the simians who cobble these charts together in our rumpus room, anyhow.

To the comparatives on recent releases first: Mumford & Sons' Babel (Glassnote) and P!nk's The Truth About Love (RCA) exceeded expectations, to put it mildly. The 600k bow of Babel is enough to make the most Americana-averse exec want to hoist a mandolin. And death-defying pop diva P!nk's Truth swung more than 100k higher than its forecast. Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music comp, meanwhile, was just about on target.

The fall slate, meanwhile, will be dominated momentarily by Mumford and Broken Bow's Jason Aldean--whose Night Train looks to be the year's second-biggest bow to date--both of which are distributed by RED. Aldean and Mumford give RED the top two debuts of the year and fourth week at #1. But Big Machine's Taylor Swift will interrupt that victory lap with an album titled ... wait for it ... Red, and looks on track to clear the million mark in her opening week.

If the six fall releases in our chart debut as strongly as predicted, it'll be a lovely 4Q for the labels in question.

FIRST-WEEK COMPARATIVES ON SELECTED RECENT RELEASES
ARTIST	TITLE	LABEL	PRE-	ACTUAL
			RELEASE	FW
			FORECAST	SALES
G.O.O.D. MUSIC	CRUEL SUMMER	G.O.O.D./DEF JAM/IDJ	200k	205k
CARLY RAE JEPSEN	KISS	SCHOOLBOY/ INTERSCOPE	75k	46k
KILLERS	BATTLE BORN	ISLAND/IDJ	125k	113k
P!NK	THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE	RCA	175k	280k
GREEN DAY	UNO	REPRISE	175k	139k
MUMFORD & SONS	BABEL	GLASSNOTE	400k	600k
NO DOUBT	PUSH & SHOVE	INTERSCOPE	125k	115k
MUSE	2ND LAW	WARNER BROS.	150k	102k
FIRST-WEEK PROJECTIONS ON SELECTED FALL ALBUMS
ARTIST	TITLE	LABEL	PRE-	PREVIOUS
			RELEASE	FW
			FORECAST	SALES
JASON ALDEAN	NIGHT TRAIN	BROKEN BOW	400k	196k
TAYLOR SWIFT	RED	BIG MACHINE	900k	1.047m
ONE DIRECTION	TAKE ME HOME	SYCO/COLUMBIA	500k	176k
KE$HA	WARRIOR	KEMOSABE/RCA	150k	152k
RIHANNA	UNAPOLOGETIC	DEF JAM/IDJ	275k	198k
BRUNO MARS	UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX	NEW ELEKTRA	200k	55k