Between The Bullets

COMPETING WITH HISTORY: If you don't put the numbers in context, it might be alarming to see that album sales for the week ending March 25 are down almost 15% from the same week last year, a deficit of around 2.4 million units. Hm-m-m-m, why does the number 2.4 million ring a bell?
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That total, of course, represents the historic first-week sum rung up a year ago by 'N Sync's No Strings Attached. Three other albums, from Ice Cube, Pantera, and the World Wrestling Federation, also invaded the top 10, contributing an additional 456,000 units of new business. By comparison, the four albums that bow in this issue's top 10, when combined, represent 489,000 units, an uphill battle to say the least.

'N Sync's insurmountable number compounds an unfortunate trend. This is the third week in a row that sales have been down from the comparable 2000 frame. Album sales for the year to date, which a week ago were up by a slim 1.1% margin, now dip into negative terrain, down 1.2% compared with this point of the 2000 campaign.

Come May, music stores will have two more tough mountains to climb when they compete with the million-plus openers scored last year by Britney Spears (1.3 million units) and Eminem (1.76 million). While some name acts dot the spring schedule, no one appears to be a candidate for the million-plus range until June 19, the tentative date of the next 'N Sync album.

In the meantime, look for yet another posthumous 2Pac album to rule next week's chart, with a solid shot at a 400,000-unit week. Tuesday (3) brings a live Bruce Springsteen album from his upcoming HBO concert special, which hits the cable channel the following Saturday (7). Columbia's orders for the two-fer are up to 500,000 units at press time.

Also in the pipeline are new projects from Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Tool, Depeche Mode, Blink-182, Radiohead, and the sixth volume in the multi-act "Now" series, while Wherehouse Music buyer Bob Bell also has high hopes for the upcoming Weezer release, which he projects to be the comeback album of the year. But, while several of these albums are expected to do respectable numbers, none are expected to draw million-plus weeks, which leads another national purchasing executive to predict that music merchants will continue to lag behind 2000's year-to-date numbers for at least the first half of 2001.

DOUBLE UP: The Hot Shot Debut on both The Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums belongs to 112. The quartet snags No. 1 on the latter list and comes within 7,000 units of ruling the big chart, as its new Vol. III (182,000 units) settles behind Shaggy, now in his sixth non-consecutive week at No. 1 (189,000 units). Considering that numerals constitute both the name of the act and its latest album, it only makes sense to gauge 112's success by a simple look at the numbers.

If this column item were an episode of Sesame Street, I'd be tempted to say it was "brought to you by the number two." Based on first-day sales, chart watchers speculated this title would open with 200,000 units, and No. 2 is its rank on The Billboard 200. More significantly, 112 can boast that its second and third album each managed to more than double the first-week sales of its predecessor: The group's self-titled debut set trotted in with 27,000 units in 1996, while its sophomore album opened at 56,000 units in 1997.

The color of soulful music is indeed green this week, as each of 10 highest bows on The Billboard 200 hail from the R&B/Hip-Hop list. Following 112's lead on the big chart: Trick Daddy (No. 4, 117,000 units), Jon B. (No. 6, 99,000 units), the Exit Wounds soundtrack (No. 8, 91,500 units), the soundtrack to The Brothers (No. 32), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony family members L-Burna (No. 43) and Bizzy Bone (No. 44), the Beatnuts (No. 51), Lionel Richie (No. 62), and Yolanda Adams (No. 63). The entries represent career-high peaks for Trick Daddy and Jon B., whose previous plateaus were Nos. 26 and 31, respectively. It's also the best-ever Billboard 200 start in Adams' career; previously, her highest entry rank had been No. 112.

WATCH WHAT HAPPENS: The home video releases of Remember the Titans and Almost Famous have the expected effect on each film's soundtrack. With a 500% increase, the former re-enters The Billboard 200 at No. 77; there were only three weeks during the album's initial chart run when it had a higher rank, peaking at No. 71. Famous garners the Pacesetter trophy with its 49.5% spike as it hurtles 121-100 . . . The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn guest Nelly Furtado bullets with a 12% gain (53-49), but only some of that gain can be attributed to the TV appearance. With "I'm Like a Bird" taking flight at radio, her album has shown gains in all but two of its 14 weeks on the big chart . . . This week's Top Contemporary Christian chart reflects the move of the Gospo Centric and B-Rite labels' Christian market distribution from Word to Provident Music Group. Interscope, however, will continue to be listed as distributing label on Top Gospel Albums and other charts, as—for the time being, anyway—it remains the labels' seller in the general market.