Beasties Hold Tight; Barenaked Ladies Bust A Move
A bubble gum battle royal is shaping up on the music sales charts
between Florida’s Backstreet Boys and Florida’s
‘N Sync boys. ‘N Sync’s self-titled release
crashes the Top 10 this week, landing right behind the perennial
Top 10 (and self-titled) smash from the Backstreet Boys. |
‘N Sync (that’d be Justin, JC, Lance, Joey and
Chris) are riding the success of their second Top
40 hit, “Tearin’ Up My Heart.” But they still have a ways to go
before catching BSB (Howie D., Kevin, A.J., Nick
and Brian, of course.) That act’s record has
already sold three million copies this year, making it the
third-biggest seller of ’98.
Meanwhile, three boys from New York City boasting a different
flavor — the Beasties — hang on to the No. 1
album in the country for the third week in a row. Hello
Nasty sold 243,000 copies for the week ending August 2,
according to SoundScan. Not one new record debuted in the Top 20
for the week. (Mary J. Blige’s live release,
Tour, came closest, bowing at No. 21.)
One Top 10 act pulled off a rare accomplishment this week:
actually boosting sales over the previous week. In today’s
increasingly crowded marketplace, records often debut with huge
sales and then slowly taper off week-by-week as consumers lose
interest. (For instance since Maxwell‘s
Embrya debuted at No. 3 five weeks ago, the album has
quietly slid to No. 27.) But the Barenaked Ladies,
powered by their single “One Week” and a headlining slot on the
summer H.O.R.D.E. tour, watched album sales for
their Stunt make a chart U-turn. The record debuted at No.
3 one month ago and this week climbs back up from No. 10 to No. 6;
a strong sign that the band may have some lasting power.
From the top, it was Hello Nasty, followed by the
soundtrack to Armageddon (selling 219,000 copies); the
soundtrack to City of Angels (119,000);
JD‘s Life in 1472 (105,000); the
soundtrack to Dr. Dolittle (104,000); the Barenaked
Ladies’ Stunt (103,000); Brandy’s
Never Say Never (92,000); Backstreet Boys
(90,000); ‘N Sync (86,000); and Will
Smith‘s Big Willie Style (78,000).