NELLY’S ONE-TWO PUNCH!
Fo’ Reel/Universal rapper Nelly takes the top two spots on the HITS album chart this week with Suit and Sweat, the first time that’s been done since Guns N’ Roses turned the trick with Use Your Illusion I and II back in Sept., 1991.
The two albums combine for more than 770k in sales. Suit is fueled by the hit single, "My Place," with Jaheim, while Sweat sports "Flap Your Wings" and "Tilt Ya Head Back," the duet with Christina Aguilera.
AOL Music Executive Director Music Industry Relations Jack Isquith was ecstatic, and not just because we lost his phone number: "Nelly completely rocked AOL Music with his concert event last week. AOL members are reacting to him big-time. The concert has already been played over 1.3 million times, and ‘My Place’ has taken over the #1 slot in our Top 11 video countdown. We are seeing a huge response to all things Nelly on AOL."
The rest of the Top 10 includes Curb’s Tim McGraw (#3), Concord’s Ray Charles (#4), UTV’s Now Vol. 16 (#5), Geffen’s Ashlee Simpson (#6), Arista Nashville’s Alan Jackson (#7), Octone/J/RMG’s Maroon 5 (#8), LaFace/ZLG’s Usher (#9) and Blue Note’s Anita Baker (#10).
Aside from Nelly, the top chart newcomer is Sanctuary’s Megadeth (#16), followed by Side One Dummy’s Flogging Molly (#20), Jive/ZLG’s Bowling for Soup (#37), Hip-O’s Tears for Fears (#42), Universal’s Lil’ Wayne (#46) and Maverick’s Prodigy (#48).
The only records to show increases over the previous week are RCA/RMG’s Velvet Revolver (#29-25, +3%), SRC/Universal’s Akon (#42-33, +3%) and Arista/RMG’s Avril Lavigne (#15, +1%).
Next week, look for Reprise’s Green Day to be the big winner among a group that also includes Capitol Nashville’s Keith Urban and Epic’s Chevelle.
