CHICKS KEEP HATCHING

The Dixie Chicks are still chirping at the top of the chart, with a second consecutive week at #1 and 259k in sales, bringing their two week total to more than 775k for the Open Wide/Columbia album, Taking the Long Way.

Walt Disney’s new limited edition High School Musical continues to find its way into pubescent hands, with another 104k in sales and #2 on the chart, now over 2.3 million and counting.

WB’s Red Hot Chili Peppers is back up to #3, with 85k in sales, bringing it close to 800k in its fourth week, followed by RCA’s American Idol Season 5 Encore at #5 and 62k.

Volcano/Zomba’s Tool goes #10-6, while the rest of the Top 10 is rounded out by UTV’s Now 21 (#7), Suretone’s Angels & Airwaves (#8), Arista/RMG’s Carrie Underwood (#9) and Epic’s Shakira (#14-10, +10%).

Custard/Atlantic’s James Blunt was up #29-12 and a whopping 61%, thanks to a live three-song performance on The Today Show and a re-broadcast of his appearance on Ellen.

Other double-digit gainers include Def Jam/IDJ’s Ne-Yo (#43-27, +19%) and Island/IDJ’s Johnny Cash compilation (#48-30, +13%).

Upward chart movers include Universal’s Chamillionaire (#20-13), Grand Hustle/Atlantic’s T.I. (#19-14), Downtown/Atlantic’s Gnarls Barkley (#25-15), Fueled by Ramen’s Panic! at the Disco (#27-16), A&M/Interscope’s Pussycat Dolls (#30-22), RCA’s Kelly Clarkson (#34-28), Geffen’s Mary J. Blige (#37-32), Virgin’s K.T. Tunstall (#38-33) and WB’s Taking Back Sunday (#47-42).

Today’s hot releases include Interscope’s goth-rocking AFI, who appear to be next week’s chart-topper, with a sales total that could exceed 250k, but that's only a very unscientific estimate, so don't bet the house on it. Lench Mob/Virgin’s Ice Cube album, whose marketing and promotion is being coordinated through management company The Firm, looks headed for a six-figure-plus debut, with Bad Boy South/Atlantic’s Yung Joc (100k) and Disney’s Cars soundtrack (50-75k) also representing.