May 1 — By Geoff Mayfield
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Prince might be the talk of this week's charts, but the lists confirm that another R&B voice has arrived. Meet Mario Winans.



Although his first album barely got off the ground in 1997, Winans' new "Hurt No More" grabs the Hot Shot Debut awards on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, entering the latter at No. 1.

His earlier release, "Story of My Heart," never appeared on either chart. It has sold fewer than 16,000 copies since its release seven years ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The new Winans set probably sold more than that the first few hours it was in stores, as "Hurt No More" moved 223,000 copies in its opening week. Of course, the singer has been busy since his first album.

Since 1999, he has appeared on two P. Diddy singles, as well as tracks by Mr. Cheeks and by Loon. More recently, his "I Don't Wanna Know," with the unlikely supporting cast of Enya and Diddy, has been a smash, bulleting 3-2 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks after reaching No. 1 on Rhythmic Top 40.

Although Usher loses out to Winans on the R&B chart, which is determined by a core panel of stores, he has no problem locking up a fifth straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (253,000 copies). His reign will end next week, when Eminem's group, D12, checks into the half-million-plus club.

PAINT IT PURPLE

Even without credit for copies distributed at his Columbia, S.C., concert, the new Prince album would stand as his best Nielsen SoundScan week yet.

Aside from TV appearances and visibility rendered by the current tour and his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Prince's Columbia outing is further energized by his biggest hit since 1999.

The title track from the new "Musicology" bullets at No. 46 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold," the lead track from the Arista-distributed "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic," had a higher rank on that chart in its fifth week, but the audience for "Musicology" at stations in that format is larger than "Romance" had in that same time frame.

Video channels bolster visibility for the new set's title song. During the tracking week, "Musicology" played 49 times on VH1, 32 times on MTV, 13 times on MTV2 and nine times on BET. The video for "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" had not yet been seen on video outlets when "Rave" hit stores.

The once-shy Prince also has become a favorite TV booking. Since February, he has appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Tavis Smiley" and two shots on "Today."

On April 28, a half-hour Prince special had a simultaneous cablecast on five Viacom channels, including MTV, BET and VH1.

HAVE MERCY

Last year, top 40 and adult contemporary discovered Christian pop act MercyMe. Consumers noticed, as the group's new "Undone" garners the best Nielsen SoundScan week of its career.

With 56,000 copies sold, the new set becomes its second No. 1 on Top Christian Albums and enters the Billboard 200 at No. 12. Its previous peak on the big chart had been No. 37, reached last year when pop formats discovered "I Can Only Imagine" from the 2001 album "Almost There."

MercyMe's 2002 set, "Spoken For," peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard 200. Its prior best sum had been 43,000, which "Almost There" scored during Christmas week of last year.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENTS

Six independently distributed albums bow on the Billboard 200, led by Hanson at No. 25 on its own 3CG label.

This represents the most indie bows the big chart has seen since the week of Nov. 8, 2003. The last Billboard 200 to greet more titles -- seven of them -- was the week of May 24, 2003.

The new crop includes each of the top five on Top Independent Albums. Behind Hanson on the Billboard 200 are Fear Factory, Black Label Society, Kottonmouth Kings and the multi-act "Rock Against Bush" at Nos. 30, 40, 42 and 54, respectively.

A Vic Latino/David Waxman dance remix album rounds out the pack, entering the indie list at No. 11 and the big chart at No. 153.

BOX SCORE

A boxed set dedicated to the late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia earns the rare distinction of bowing at No. 1 on Top Internet Albums, which tracks the sale of physical albums ordered online.

Only one other boxed set has led this chart since it joined the Billboard pages in 1999. Last year, the three-disc Led Zeppelin set "How the West Was Won" was No. 1 for a week. A three-disc Dave Matthews Band album, "The Central Park Concert," also led the list, but that package carried only a $19.99 list.

At six discs and a suggested price of $74.98, "All Good Things: Jerry Garcia Studio Sessions" is the priciest title to reach No. 1 on this or any other Billboard chart.

The Garcia set also enters the Billboard 200 at No. 175.

DOT, DOT, DOT

A TV blitz that included visits to "American Idol," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "On-Air With Ryan Seacrest" brings dual Greatest Gainer honors to Barry Manilow. His new "2Nights Live" jumps 65-50 on the Billboard 200 (up 48%), while "Ultimate Manilow" races 28-2 on Top Pop Catalog as its sales almost triple (up 185%) ... CMT's Flame Worthy Video Music Awards, which the cable channel first ran April 21 and has repeated several times since, bring Top Country Albums bullets to Keith Urban (No. 2), Montgomery Gentry (30-23), Martina McBride (15-11), Brooks & Dunn (12-9) and Trace Adkins (26-21). Host Dolly Parton, who also performed, re-enters at No. 60 ... The Billboard 200 re-entry at No. 126 by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand coincides with its album exiting Top Independent Albums. The release of the Epic version of its self-titled set got pushed up from May 4 to April 20 because stock from indie Domino was depleted.

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