NOW…AND AGAIN!!!

This week, it’s UTV’s turn to milk the Now cash cow as Volume 9 picks up right where the previous eight left off...at the top of the album chart. Look for the newest compilation to debut at #1 on this week’s Top 50, thanks to the one-stop shopping appeal of hit singles from Shakira, Nelly Furtado, Incubus, Britney Spears and many others.

Also poised to make an impressive debut this week is Def Jam/IDJ’s Jay-Z/R.Kelly project, which is currently basking in a slew of rave reviews with the underpaid, frustrated wanna-be rock stars who currently serve as our nation’s music critics.

Other album chart debuts to watch this week: Epic’s Glenn Lewis and Mailboat’s (hey, it’s his own label) Jimmy Buffet. Also look for first-week action for Virgin’s Blade 2 soundtrack and Columbia’s Darren Hayes.

And, as long as we’re talking about big records, check out the numbers for Blue Note sensation Norah Jones. This one is already huge….and growing by the minute.

The brain surgeons at Top 40 are providing a strong second week for Arista’s Usher, as well as continuing close-out for J’s Alicia Keys. There’s also plenty of pre-impact date action for Interscope’s No Doubt. And you youngsters should look for a great first-week for Columbia’s newcomer Jade Anderson. For you old folks, Jade’s daddy, Jon, was in a band called Yes. That band sold vinyl discs that could be heard by physically placing a needle on top of them.

Meanwhile, those nutty Post Modern tastemakers are going wacky koo-koo over the new single from TVT’s Default, while panting like the fashionable dogs they are over the new one from V2’s Moby called, "We Are All Made Of Stars." That one drops Wednesday.

Our friends at JAMZ are screaming about Def Jam/IDJ’s already-huge Ashanti, which just keeps getting bigger, while the new one from Bad Boy’s P. Diddy is VERY real at the format.

That said, industry weasel eyes are already focused on first-week sales for Celine Dion’s return. That one streets Tuesday.