THREE INTO #1 COULD GO
A pair of debuts from LaFace/JLG’s Ciara and Def Jam/IDJ’s Chrisette Michele will be next week’s top chart newcomers, each looking to score in the 70-80k range.
Ciara’s Fantasy Ride, her third album, will benefit from her Saturday Night Live performance this weekend, while Chrisette’s Epiphany, the follow-up to her 2007 debut I Am, should see action after being priced at $2.99 all week at Amazon.
The race for #1 could come down to a three-way race between those two and Disney’s Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, which could emerge as a dark horse with increased Mother’s Day store traffic from dad and the kids.
Other promising debuts include Ferret’s Devil Wears Prada, a Dayton, OH, anti-materialist Christian metal-core outfit (25-30k) and Virgin’s Ben Harper and the Relentless7 (20-25k), followed by Hickory American Idol alum Elliott Yamin, Columbia Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts and UMe’s artist formerly kinown as Cat Stevens, Yusuf, all at 15-20k. E1’s Hatebreed round out the newcomers, with a total in the 12-15k range.
Next week, Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown hits the street on Friday, May 15, followed by Eminem’s Relapse on May 19, if that date isn't moved up.
The market was basically flat vs. last week, down 18% from last year, and now down 13% to date.
Is anybody alive out there? Just asking.
