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1 LU..LLLL A LOOK BEHIND THIS WEEK'S CHART ACTION

LeJ 1 by Silvio Pletroluongo, Mina! Patel. Wade lessen Counter,. Minded..

POP GOES THE COUNTRY: Shania Twain gave biggest going to Celine Dion, who garners the WORK NEVER STOPS: Maintaining her lead at Once a year -round component of country her fans more for their money with two CDs Pacesetter cup as her sales more than double the top of the Hot R &B /Hip -Hop Singles & playlists, religious fare is now largely limit- for the price of one, and her fans rewarded (121 -56, up 111 %). Jumping on board with Tracks chart for a third consecutive week, ed to Christmas material on modern -day her in kind with the second -largest sales their own lim- Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's "Work It" tacks country stations, which likely contributed week of 2002. Opening at 874,000 units, ited editions on another 15 million audience impressions, to the timing livain's UP! falls shy of the 1.3 million that are Puddle of bringing her total to 75.4 million. The single of Travis' re- The Eminem Show had in its first complete Mudd (60 -43, now sets the all -time R &B airplay record, best- lease. Hot sales week, but beats the 809,000 that up 38 %), No ing the 73.8 million impressions Ashanti's Country Sin- Eminem moved in the following week. Doubt (67 -50, "Foolish" posted in the April 20 issue. gles & Tracks With the volley, Twain rewrites Nielsen up 44%), and The largest gain in airplay on R &B /Hip- most recently SoundScan's record books, breaking the high Korn (138- Hop Singles & Tracks is made by 2Pac's saw a title mark for a country female solo act set just 105, up 33 %). "Thugz Mansion," his 13th posthumous ap- from a Chris- six weeks ago when Faith Hill captured The Each of the pearance on the chart. "Thugz" gains 8.7 mil- tian album with 472,000 (Billboard, Nov. four adds lion audience impressions for a total of 21.8 during the 2). UP! also yields the biggest SoundScan videoclips and/ million listeners and climbs 32 -21 on Singles 2001 holiday week for a country act other than Garth or audio tracks & Tracks. 2Pac extends his mark for the most season, when Newsong's "The Christmas Brooks, a distinction Dixie Chicks earned ... Audioslave begins with 162,000 (No. 7). posthumous appearances on the chart, not Shoes" rose to No. 31. less than three months ago when their lat- That's down from the 430,000 -unit start that exactly a record one would strive to beat. The fact that Travis' single claims 260 detec- est began with 780,000 (Billboard, Sept. 14). gave predecessor Rage Against the Machine its tions with spins at 74 monitored stations indi- livain's previous high came during Christ- last No. 1 in 1999 but matches the opener of its BEAUTIFUL MUSIC: Christina Aguilera's'Beau- cates more than a casual interest on the part mas week of 1999, when Come on Over- other root's last chart-topper, Soundgarden's tiful" jumps 15 -9 on Top 40 Tracks in its third of country programmers. Outside the chart's bolstered by a version comprising pop Superunknown in 1994. Mudvayne also rocks chart week, becoming only the second song this top 40, "Crosses" is one of only four titles to mixes -moved 355,000 copies. Remarkably, at No. 17 with 79,000 units; the best week by year to reach the top 10 of that chart in that be heard at more than 70. The others are Jes- the 1997 title was into its third holiday sell- either of its prior albums was 19,500. short amount of time. The other, Eminem's sica Andrews' No. 55 start with "There's More ing season at the time it hit that number. "Lose Yourself," also made it in three weeks and to Me Than You" (79 stations) and a pair of Overall, Come on Over has sold 14.4 million REST OF THE STORY: While Shania Twain has is now spending its sixth week at No. 1. tracks from Shania Twain's UP! at No. 58 and to date, more than any other album since her best week ever, other new entries find key Only one song made the top 10 of Top 40 No. 60 (72 and 71 stations, respectively). SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. artists losing ground from past accomplish- Tracks in less time during the chart's four -year This week, it leaps 12 -6 on Top Pop Catalog ments. Ja Rule -whose last two albums bowed history: Janet SLEIGH BELLS JINGLING: With more than a Albums (up 83 %), the highest- ranked non - at No. 1 on The Billboard 200, the more recent Jackson's dozen stations in the format switching to all - Christmas title on this issue's catalog chart. at 361,000 units in October of last year-opens "All for You," Christmas in the past week (and many more The CD version of UP! includes two discs, at No. 4 with 238,000. Matchbox Twenty, which hit No. expected post- Thanksgiving), the bullet one of country mixes, the other with the same which started with 366,000 when its last 10 in its sec- count on the Adult Contemporary chart songs wrapped in pop mixes, for a $19.98 list. album came out in May 2000 (No. 3), has to ond week. takes a dive, from 12 last issue to seven. Hard to tell settle for 178,000 as it opens at No. 6. Toni "All" eventual- Since the songs taking the biggest hit in that this is a Braxton, who bowed at No. 2 with 199,000 in ly made it to spins were the most -played songs on each of premium - May 2000, does 98,000 (No. 13). Not exactly No. 1, as did the stations that have flipped to yuletide priced album, what Santa was looking for. ü!(tip four of the tunes, the top of the chart is extremely soft. as Wal-Mart The calendar makes the numbers look even ciirititinn aquilerck other nine The first bulleted record is "Landslide" by led low -ballers more dreary than they are, as album units are tracks that Dixie Chicks at No. 14. Eleven of the 13 with a $9.84 down 32% from where they were in the same made the top records ranked above "Landslide" post triple - sale price, week last year. The decline is exaggerated 10 in three weeks (including "Lose Yourself'). digit spin losses. Phil Collins' "Can't Stop while Kmart because Thanksgiving arrived a week earlier in On the Hot 100, `Beautiful" earns Great- Loving You" takes the biggest drop (364 and Target 2001, so this issue's charts are competing with est Gainer /Airplay honors and zooms 39 -22. spins) and falls from No. 1, opening a path Stores also one of last year's biggest- selling frames. Con- It's Aguilera's fastest -climbing solo track for Faith Hill to return to the top with "Cry" dipped under versely, when Easter arrived two weeks earlier since her 1999 maiden chart single, "Genie (minus 100 spins) after a one -week retreat. $10. Not sur- than it did last year, it gave the artificial appear- in a Bottle." Unlike "Genie," which had the Our chart policy regarding holiday songs prisingly, more than 80% of 'Main's first -week ance of an increase over same -week sales. What added push up the chart of a top five -selling remains the same as it was the past two years: sales come from mass merchants. will be meaningful is to compare sales from next single, "Beautiful" has made its quick ascent Only newly released tracks are eligible to chart A fixturing problem prevented Mercury issue's charts with Thanksgiving's 2001 stanza. solely on radio play. on The , Hot R &B/Hip -Hop from packaging lwain's two mixes together Sure to be key in the holiday parade is Now Singles & Tracks, Hot Country Singles & in a cassette package, so the label opted to 11, which starts at No. 2 with 316,000 units. SUNDAY BEST: With Hot Shot Debut honors, Tracks, and all airplay -only charts. offer separate country and pop tapes. That's more than the hits compilation series' last Randy Travis posts his highest opener on Combined, the two taped versions shipped edition did when it opened with 288,000 in the Hot Country Singles & Tracks in nearly five TURN THE PAGE: This issue marks the first fewer than 100,000 units, with the country Billboard dated Aug. 10 but less than the 419,000 years as "Three Wooden Crosses" bows at No. week of the 2003 chart year for all Billboard set accounting for at least 60,000 of those. that kicked off Now 9 in this year's April 6 issue. 52. It is Travis' highest debut since "Out of charts. Some 2002 chart champions will be That one moves 8,000 units on Nielsen Meanwhile, corks will pop at Universal My Bones" arrived at No. 39 in the March 7, honored Dec. 9 at the Billboard Music SoundScan, good for No. 23 on Top & Video Distribution, which owns 1998, issue. A striking parable of redemption, Awards, to be held at the MGM Grand Arena Albums and No. 189 on The Billboard 200. each of the top five on The Billboard 200, the "Crosses" is the lead single from Rise and in Las Vegas and aired on Fox at 8 p.m. ET first such monopoly since BMG Distribution Shine, Travis' second Christian set. It's being (see stories, pages 4 and 20). Complete 2002 SO SPECIAL Special editions account for four swept the top five in the Billboard dated Nov. worked to country stations by the Nashville - artist, title, and label rankings will appear in of the big spikes on The Billboard 200, with the 6, 1999, and the top six a week earlier. based Warner Bros. Christian division. our Year in Music issue, dated Dec. 28.

BILLBOARD DECEMBER7,2002 www.billboard.com 87 www.americanradiohistory.com