NSYNC SWIMS ON!

Those nutty youngsters in Jive's NSYNC continued to dazzle the music industry with unprecedented sales muscle, pulling week-two over-the-counter numbers that ran north of 800K. "After that first day that blew everybody away, NSYNC has actually settled into a predictable sales pattern," said Jerry Kamiler of Trans World, who actually wanted to say, "Those stinking rug rats sold another buttload of records," but his corporate demeanor prevented him from doing so.

According to Kamiler, the key to selling NSYNC is having NSYNC. "It's a matter of letting us stay completely in stock and maximizing the opportunity that's out there." Jerry really wanted to say, "Let's milk the hell out of those screaming little twerps with mommy's credit card," but his corporate demeanor prevented him from doing so.

Also having a great week is Blackground/Virgin's soundtrack to "Romeo Must Die," which bowed at #2, albeit miles from the top spot.

That project is being driven by the smash from Aaliyah, who also stars in the film. "It sold enormously well in spite of the fact that the film opened in front of the release, which I think confused customers," said Kamiler, who wanted to say, "Why the hell didn't we have product earlier?" but his corporate demeanor prevented him from doing so.

Another solid debut belongs to Ruff Ryders/Interscope's Drag-On, which debuted at #5. "That muthaf#*kah can really throw down," is what Kamiler wanted to say, but his corporate demeanor prevented him from doing so.

This would be a fine time to subscribe to Billboard.