Christina Aguilera Ousts Backstreet Boys;
Holds Off Puff Daddy From No. 1 Spot


Well, there's a beautiful act with great choreography atop next week's Billboard album chart, The Billboard 200, and it's not the Backstreet Boys. That's right, former Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera's self-titled debut premieres at No. 1 having sold 253,000 albums in its first week out.
Aguilera had a good week as she also out sold heavyweight producer/rapper Puff Daddy's Forever, the follow-up to the hugely successful No Way Out, which enters the charts at No. 2 after moving 205,000 copies out of stores. Noreaga's Melvin Flynt Da Hustler also debuts in the top 10 sliding in at No. 9.
Top 50 debuts include Sevendust's Home at No. 19; LFO's self-titled debut at No. 21, Filter's cleverly titled (not really) Title of Record featuring the single "Welcome to the Fold" at No. 30; and Lou Bega's Little Bit of Mambo at No. 42.
Other notable debuts include Jock Jams Vol. 5 at No. 51; Clay Walker's Live, Laugh, Love at No. 55; Made Men's Classic Limited Edition at No. 61; Third Day's Time at No. 63; Prince's collection of previously unreleased material, Vault -- Old Friends 4 Sale, at No. 85; Me'Shell Ndegeocello's Bitter at No. 105; and Jimmie's Chicken Shack's Bring Your Own Stereo at No. 153.
-- Brian Eldridge

Christina Aguilera Breaks Backstreet

Who's the leader of club, that's made for you and me...? This week it's Christina Aguilera.
Yes, yet another act bred on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club has topped, as Aguilera's self-titled debut album bows at No. 1 for the week ended August 29, knocking out an entrenched Backstreet Boys and besting the new effort from hip-hop superstar Puff Daddy.
Aguilera is latest Mouseketeer to dominate the charts, following fellow Club alums Britney Spears and 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez to the promised land. The freshly minted teen pop diva sold 252,000 copies of her album, which contains the chart-topping single, "Genie in a Bottle."
She's another example of the tremendous impact preteen- and teen-oriented pop has had on the charts this summer, with acts like the Backstreet Boys (now at No. 3 with sales of 200,000), Spears (at No. 6 with 127,000 out the door) and Ricky Martin (No. 10 with 109,000 new fans) all still selling strongly.
Behind this new pop sound is a fresh batch of superproducers. While you may not recognizes names like Carl Sturken, Evan Rodgers, David Frank and Guy Roche, they represent the secret ingredient for many of these new hitmakers. "I was thrilled to work with so many great producers on this album," Aguilera says.
Meanwhile, Sean "Puffy" Combs' Forever only came in at No. 2--surprising considering his last album was a long-running No. 1, and he is another superproducer known for having his finger on the pulse of music fans. As CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment, Combs has had any number of top hits from his stable of hip-hop acts, but he can't stay at a desk and away from the microphone: "I'm like a little kid in a candy store. I gotta sit around and watch everybody have candy and me not have any candy just because I'm the boss?"
Limp Bizkit's Significant Other is showing it has legs, remaining at No. 4, with sales of 141,000 units. The "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul," Mary J. Blige, slips from her No. 2 debut last week to No. 5, with hearty sales of 127,000 copies.
The other big surprise on the charts this week is the explosion of the Santana record Supernatural, which leaps to No. 7 with sales of 116,000. It looked like a lucky fluke when the veteran act bowed in the Top 10 two weeks ago, but it's now clear the band has a major hit with the guest star-laden disc.
Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause found another 110,000 without a clue for a No. 8 showing, while rapper Noreaga's Mervyn Flynt bows at No. 9.
Other impressive debuts came from Sevendust at No. 19 and LFO at No. 21, while Filter's much-heralded new album came in at No. 30.

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