from hitsdailydouble.com. They seem to think Mario Winans has next weeks number 1 , but I feel an upset brewing


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USHER TO THE FOUR, HOOBASTANK FINDS A "REASON"

LaFace/ZLG Soul Man Says "Yeah" to Another Week on Top, As Island/IDJ’s Hoobastank Crashes the Party

April 20, 2004


Usher continues to be the man.

The LaFace/ZLG soul superstar remains on top of the heap for the fourth consecutive week as his smash Confessions logs another 286k in sales. He should enjoy it, because next week, Bad Boy/Universal’s Mario Winans is on tap to dethrone him, while Columbia/CRG’s Prince unleashes his Musicology.
Capitol’s Now 15 holds steady at #2, with 121k sold, but the big story this week is Island/IDJ’s Calabasas, CA, rockers Hoobastank, who move 13-3 on the strength of their hit single, "The Reason."

Tower Records’ Kevin Hawkins, a big admirer of Donald Trump’s combover, commented: "Historically, the week after Easter sees a severe dropoff in sales, and this year was no different. Pretty much all of the top titles took a pretty hard hit. One of the few bright spots was the Hoobastank record, which just seems to be getting started. A huge multi-format single that’s proving to be one of the most reactive of the year."

The rest of the Top 10 was rounded out by Geffen’s Guns N’ Roses (#4), Columbia/CRG’s Jessica Simpson (#5), Virgin’s Janet Jackson (#6), Blue Note’s Norah Jones (#7), Wind-up’s Evanescence (#8), Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Kanye West (#9) and Columbia/CRG’s Lil’ Flip (#10).

All told, sales were down 20% from last week, and 20% from a similar week last year, though that was Easter weekend. Overall, Q2 numbers are up 5% over last year, while year-to-date 2004 figures are up 8%.

Chart newcomers included Artemis’ Sugarcult (#37) and Maverick’s Kill Bill Vol. 2 soundtrack (#49), while returnees included DreamWorks Nashville’s Tracy Lawrence (#43), S-Curve/EMI’s Joss Stone, Atlantic/Atl G’s T.I. and Blue Note perennial Norah Jones’ debut (#49).

Look for the Shady/Interscope blockbuster D12 World, featuring Eminem’s Detroit crew, to blow out of retail upon its release next Tuesday (4/27) on its way to a chart-topping bow.








1 1 USHER LAFACE/ZLG 285,637 -37%
CONFESSIONS
2 2 NOW 15 CAPITOL 120,991 -56%
VARIOUS
13 3 HOOBASTANK ISLAND/IDJ 74,572 -2%
THE REASON
9 4 GUNS N'ROSES GEFFEN 69,394 -24%
GREATEST HITS
4 5 JESSICA SIMPSON COLUMBIA/CRG 66,703 -39%
IN THIS SKIN
3 6 JANET JACKSON VIRGIN 65,870 -52%
DAMITA JO
6 7 NORAH JONES BLUE NOTE 64,472 -39%
FEELS LIKE HOME
5 8 EVANESCENCE WIND-UP 61,456 -42%
FALLEN
11 9 KANYE WEST ROC-A-FELLA/IDJ 60,991 -29%
COLLEGE DROPOUT
8 10 LIL' FLIP COLUMBIA/CRG 57,798 -37%
U GOTTA FEEL ME
16 11 OUTKAST LAFACE/ZLG 51,726 -31%
SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW
7 12 KENNY CHESNEY BNA 50,264 -49%
WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN
10 13 J-KWON SO SO DEF/ZLG 49,027 -45%
HOOD HOP
20 14 ALICIA KEYS J RECORDS/RMG 44,455 -32%
THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS
15 15 MAROON 5 OCTONE/J RECORDS/RMG 44,282 -42%
SONGS ABOUT JANE
28 16 TWISTA ATLANTIC/ATL G 43,104 -4%
KAMIKAZE
18 17 ERIC CLAPTON REPRISE 41,090 -39%
ME AND MR. JOHNSON
12 18 AEROSMITH COLUMBIA/CRG 38,736 -50%
HONKIN' ON BOBO
14 19 JOSH GROBAN 143/REPRISE 38,127 -50%
CLOSER
27 20 YELLOWCARD CAPITOL 37,247 -18%
OCEAN AVENUE
19 21 SHERYL CROW A&M/INTERSCOPE 36,402 -45%
VERY BEST OF
23 22 MODEST MOUSE EPIC 34,373 -36%
GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE...
48 23 THE PUNISHER WIND-UP 33,406 0%
SOUNDTRACK
24 24 JAY-Z ROC-A-FELLA/IDJ 33,370 -32%
THE BLACK ALBUM
32 25 LUDACRIS DEF JAM SOUTH/IDJ 30,731 -30%
CHICKEN & BEER
26 26 JET ELEKTRA/EEG 30,298 -34%
GET BORN
50 27 G-UNIT G UNIT/INTERSCOPE 30,210 -5%
BEG FOR MERCY
30 28 CARL THOMAS BAD BOY/UNIVERSAL 30,110 -31%
LET'S TALK ABOUT IT
34 29 BEYONCE COLUMBIA/CRG 29,818 -32%
DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE
29 30 BLACK EYED PEAS A&M/INTERSCOPE 29,692 -33%
ELEPHUNK
44 31 KEITH URBAN CAPITOL 29,413 -23%
GOLDEN ROAD
39 32 WILLIAM HUNG KOCH 28,233 -29%
INSPIRATION
22 33 BRITNEY SPEARS JIVE/ZLG 27,628 -52%
IN THE ZONE
35 34 NICKELBACK ROADRUNNER/IDJ 27,313 -37%
LONG ROAD
38 35 BAD BOY'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY... BAD BOY/UNIVERSAL 27,259 -32%
VARIOUS
42 36 GODSMACK REPUBLIC/UNIVERSAL 26,989 -31%
OTHER SIDE
-- 37 SUGARCULT ARTEMIS 26,872 --
PALM TREES AND POWER LINES
25 38 N.E.R.D. VIRGIN 26,662 -43%
FLY OR DIE
33 39 LOSTPROPHETS COLUMBIA/CRG 26,649 -39%
START SOMETHING
17 40 TAMIA ELEKTRA/EEG 26,274 -64%
MORE
31 41 BLINK 182 GEFFEN 25,247 -42%
BLINK 182
21 42 HILARY DUFF BUENA VISTA/HOLLYWOOD 24,526 -62%
METAMORPHOSIS
-- 43 TRACY LAWRENCE DREAMWORKS NASHVILLE 24,316 --
STRONG
-- 44 JOSS STONE S-CURVE/EMI 23,057 --
SOUL SESSIONS
45 45 CHINGY DTP/CAPITOL 21,716 -41%
JACKPOT
41 46 TOBY KEITH DREAMWORKS NASHVILLE 21,686 -45%
SHOCK'N Y'ALL
-- 47 T.I. ATLANTIC/ATL G 21,175 --
TRAP MUZIK
-- 48 KILL BILL VOL.2 MAVERICK 21,129 --
SOUNDTRACK
-- 49 NORAH JONES BLUE NOTE 20,993 --
COME AWAY WITH ME
46 50 NO DOUBT INTERSCOPE 20,172 -44%

I think that Mario Winans will have the highest numbers for a new album next week. Musicology won't be that far behind, though. Usher will still be number 1.

Mario's cd is not even in the top 25 right now at amazon.com

I dunno which it will be, but maybe the really important question is this: two months ago, how many people thought that today we'd be here seriously considering the possibility that Musicology might be #1? I'd have to admit, I didn't anticipate this!! Go Prince!!

Winans? Forget it.
Didn't Prince lately say "beware Norah Jones"? Prince is right now number one at amazon.com, ahead of Norah! Yuppie!

http://www.amazon.com/exe...04-6493741

It seems like there is a lot of hype for this album all around the media (although I stil haven't heard "Musicology" on the radio). I went to buy it kind of early and asked if anyone else bought it yet and they said no but they said a lot of people have been calling about it. The ads seem to push it as the big release of the week. It's $9.99 at both Best Buy and Circuit City. That's a pretty big push. If "N.E.W.S" only had 1/1000 of this promotion!

I strongly believe it will be #1 next week!! It will definitely sell more copies than William Hung's CD!!

don't flame me, but the US chart is done on ship (not sales). ship is determined on trade price (the cost to the actual shop) and exposure / hype / label priority...

with sony gunning for it, the great reviews and exosure / high profile shows prince is appearing on it's going to have a huge ship.

i'd guess it's going to be Top 5.

NME said:

it's not done on shipping anymore it's counted on by actual sales with Soundscan

It seems that every time I turn on VH1 Soul or MTV Hits (digital cable) I see Mario Winans video. I hear the song on the radio a lot too. Based on video and radio airplay, Winans will edge out Prince. But Prince has definitely gotten more press. The timing for the EW cover story is perfect. If he charts at #1, great. But he's definitely gonna land somewhere in the top 10, so it's all good.
This has been such a great Prince year, and we haven't even reached the halfway mark yet. Excellent CD, the tour, the TV performances and interviews, induction into the RRHOF, it's all been incredible. I said it before, and I'll say it again: Thank you, Prince.