Over The Counter: Tongues Wag Over Vma Kiss

Whether it be Paul Reubens' post-arrest visit to the 1991 Video Music Awards (VMA) or Michael Jackson's 1994 smooch with new bride Lisa Marie Presley, MTV's annual bash usually starts off with a surprise. Many of them have been authored by the woman who owned this year's kiss-and-tell moment, Madonna.

From the speculation that peppered the nightly entertainment shows leading up to the VMAs' Aug. 29 cablecast through the numerous newspapers that ran photos of her locking lips with Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, this was a classic stunt from the woman who has never lost her knack for manipulating media attention.

Consequently, Madonna's "American Life," which may end up being the slowest-selling album of her career, manages its first increase over prior-week sales since it bowed 19 weeks ago. Mind you, the 16% gain isn't enough to bring the title back on The Billboard 200, but her VMA stunt breathed at least some life into her latest album, an oomph she failed to get from her much-seen Gap commercial with Missy Elliott.

Not surprisingly, Madonna's hits album "The Immaculate Collection" registers an even larger increase on Top Pop Catalog (48-26, up 26%). That album, which includes "Like a Virgin"—the song that opened the awards show—has an increase of about 1,000 copies, 300 more than the gain seen by "American Life."

So, even in a week when new albums enter The Billboard 200's top two slots, the MTV bash ends up being the talk of the charts, helping Coldplay earn Greatest Gainer honors on both the big chart (21-10, up 44%) and the catalog list (4-2, up 35%) and delivering increases to at least 10 other albums on this issue's sales charts.

Among the night's bigger Billboard 200 beneficiaries are Beyoncé (9-6) with a gain of more than 10,000 copies; Good Charlotte (31-22), Justin Timberlake (49-38) and the White Stripes (48-39), each with gains of 3,000-plus; Aguilera (37-26), up 2,500; and A.F.I. (85-76), up by almost 2,000 copies.

The hospitalized Johnny Cash, who was recognized by Timberlake when he won a trophy for which Cash had been nominated, re-enters the big chart at No. 91 with a gain of more than 13,000 copies, a burst that also moves him 30-15 on Top Country Albums. Paid downloads of "Hurt," Cash's Nine Inch Nails cover, increase more than five times over the prior week, placing him at No. 9 on Hot Digital Tracks.

Yet for all those sales spikes, Madonna—whose "Immaculate Collection" and "American Life" sell less than 10,000 units between the two of them during the sales week—is the talk of the show.

So, even though her current album might rate a disappointment compared with her own lofty standards—selling 572,500 copies since its April 22 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan—never underestimate her ability to captivate the media. While some pundits have been eager to declare that Madonna is over, smart money says you can never count her out.

LEADING LADIES: While Madonna has tongues wagging, it is Mary J. Blige, the queen of hip-hop soul, and teen princess Hilary Duff who rule The Billboard 200.

For Blige, the opening stanza of 286,000 copies for "Love & Life" is her second-largest Nielsen SoundScan week, topped only by "No More Drama," which rallied 294,000 when it started at No. 2.

This is Blige's second No. 1 on The Billboard 200, her fourth album to score a 200,000-plus week and her sixth No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Her "Drama" would have also led the big chart had it not arrived the same week that news of Aaliyah's death in a plane crash sent that singer's 2001 album hurdling 19-1.

Duff's sophomore album starts with an impressive 204,000 copies, more than double the largest sales week for either the TV or movie soundtracks spawned by her Lizzie McGuire character.

"The Lizzie McGuire Movie" sold 93,000 in one frame during the film's theatrical run. It peaked at No. 6.



BEST YET: The first new album from Warren Zevon since he revealed last year that he is dying of lung cancer delivers his best Billboard 200 rank in 25 years (see Chart Beat, page 57), as well as his biggest Nielsen SoundScan week.

He starts at No. 16 on 48,000 copies. Two other Zevon titles each charted for a single week since Billboard began using SoundScan data in 1991, with the 2000 outing "Life'll Kill Ya" selling almost 7,000 copies when it hit the chart at No. 173.

Meanwhile, two hip-hop acts and a Latin pop star each score far and away the highest Billboard 200 ranks of their careers. Led by its first top 10 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks hit, YoungBloodZ enter at No. 5, with Nappy Roots at No. 12 and Chayanne at No. 87. Their earlier peaks were, respectively, Nos. 92, 24 and 199.



BUY IN: Add buymusic.com to the list of download merchants that are providing sales data to Nielsen SoundScan. The Web site joins the Hot Digital Tracks panel, which includes iTunes, Rhapsody, Liquid Audio, MusicNet and Napster. Additionally, album bundles sold on BuyMusic will count toward SoundScan's album tallies.