OLYMPIAN INCREASES!!!
And yes, folks, Wind-up's Creed jumped back to #2, with Warner Bros.' Linkin Park at #4 and Def Jam South/IDJ's Ludacris rounding out this week's Top Five.
But look at the numbers: Sales are up this week across the board, and that's a good thing.
"We saw a marked increase over last week's numbers for a majority of titles," said Mike Fuller of Hastings, who must now share his quote with a Canadian retailer following the actions of one of HITS' French Editors.
And Fuller ain't just flexing his foo-foo Spandex outfit. While most titles are packing double-digit percentage increases over last week, check out Flawless/Geffen/Interscope's Puddle of Mudd, which jumped 34%. And what about Interscope's Enrique, who posted a 62% increase, thanks to a new single and a video featuring Anna Kournikova?!
The Russian Kournikova would have shared her video appearance with a Canadian hottie, but only Ann Murray and Gordon Lightfoot could be found.
"The Enrique and Puddle of Mudd albums are really showing huge gains," said Fuller, whose excitement factor falls somewhere between women's curling and a small soap dish. "Expect these to continue to grow well into the spring."
Meanwhile, Mercury/IDJ's O Brother soundtrack jumped 40%, as did Interscope's No Doubt, while Reprise's Enya posted a 52% jump. Speaking of Reprise, the top debut this week belonged to the label's Chris Isaak, who bowed at #24.
Meanwhile, eyes and wallets will be open next Tuesday (2/26), when a number of key titles street. We're talking new ones from Maverick/Reprise's Alanis Morissette, WB's Cher, Capitol's Kylie Minogue and Virgin's Gorillaz remixes.
"Ze Cher, she weel be ze #1," said a French figure skating judge, responding to pressure from the Warner Music Group.
