BRAZIL SEES THE LIGHT WITH POP STAR PRIESTS (Continued from page 17) fWEENTHE from Rossi's album, he was sur- that speaks of Jesus Christ. stores, alongside film and music idols. prised at how rapidly the album sold. At the end of the service, Rossi In recent weeks, Universal has He attributes the stratospheric sales closes with his greatest hit, "Aeróbi- taken Rossi off the media shelf. He ULLETS to Rossi's personal magnetism. ca Do Senhor" (God's Aerobics). no longer is available for interviews. C "Padre Rossi is very charismatic," Zeca gained popularity in 1997 "Padre Rossi has other things to states Branco, he is Castello "and when Pope John Paul II visited do for his parish," says Castello by Geoff Mayfield like an artist -he has something to Brazil and Zeca hosted a Mass at- Branco. "We all agreed that this is say, and people are touched by him." tended by 30,000 persons at Ipane- the right thing to do now" Each day, Rossi's Masses, which ma Beach, not far from his parish in What Universal did from the be- ALL DOLLED UP: One rapper passes The Billboard 200's torch to take place in his parish church, Copacabana. ginning of the Rossi project was con- another, as Foxy Brown's "Chyna Doll" succeeds Silkk The Shocker at located in the impoverished outskirts Both Rossi and Zeca are members sult closely with the 6- foot -4 priest No. 1, albeit with a smaller opening -week sum. Brown's sophomore set of Sao Paulo, draw 5,000 persons, of the Charismatic Renovation, a and the diocese of Sao Paulo, which starts with 172,500 units, enough to hold off a charge by former No. 1 who attend services more akin to an movement in Brazil's Catholic receives the royalties generated by Britney Spears, who scores the chart's Greatest Gainer. evangelical revival. Church that calls for use of mass sales of Rossi's albums. At No. 3, Silkk sees a 51.6% drop from prior -week sales, a pattern typ- The congregation is invited to media and more personal contact From its release Sept. 1, 1998, the ical of a blockbuster rap set's second -week sales. He opened last issue dance, jump, and sing. During the with Brazil's Catholic faithful as a album broke out of the gates quick- with 240,000 copies, 39% more than Brown's opening salvo. middle of the Mass, Rossi might in- means of stemming the growth of ly, largely by word -of-mouth from Depending on your perspective, you might say that Brown is the first sert a melody into "The Lord's evangelical cults in the country. Catholics who had seen Rossi on TV female rapper to top The Billboard 200. There's a big caveat to that Prayer" or sing an old tune by "The Charismatics," says ABPD's or heard him on Sao Paulo radio even claim, though, as Grammy- nominee queen Lauryn Hill-who spent Brazilian pop legend Roberto Carlos Roberto Souto, "are looking for a before he signed with Universal. four weeks at No. l and has been in the top 10 in all but seven of her 23 more tolerant posture in relation to At the end of September, Univer- chart weeks -certainly raps on some of her own hits, as well as on hits the Catholic Church, which is viewed sal had Rossi appear on a number of by the Fugees. But, since Hill also commands an exquisite singing here as rigid, inflexible, and distant." highly rated TV programs. A subse- voice -as displayed on such tracks as "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" Still, Souto reckons that the re- quent national TV promotional cam- and "Killing Me Softly "-I find the handle "rapper" too confining to Lawyer Decries cording success of the priests will paign further ignited a sales fever to describe her. not spark a longstanding interest in the point that in October alone, ac- This, by the way, marks the second time that Brown has topped the big religious music. cording to Castello Branco, Rossi's chart. She was one of the billed performers on 1997's "The Firm," a rap WOL's Charges "Padre Marcelo Rossi transformed album sold 1.6 million units. summit in which she shared credit with NAS Escobar, AZ, and Nature. that musical segment into a trend, Universal and Rossi are ponder- That one had first -week sales of 147,000 units. because obviously when someone sells ing a follow -up album for release in Against Schulhof 3 million copies, everyone else is the third quarter. In the meantime, O NE TO GROW ON: With Foxy Brown's bow, 97 albums have going to try to hitch a ride," says Universal has just dropped "Salmos" debuted at No. I. since The Billboard 200 switched to SoundScan data This story was prepared by Car- Souto. "But what is happening is a (Psalms), a six -CD spoken -word in May 1991. Since then, industry watchers have become accustomed olyn Horwitz, news editor of phenomenon, not a new musical package of psalms recorded by to seeing albums that bow on top experience unit declines -of lesser BillboardBulletin movement." Rossi. or greater extent, depending on genre -in their second weeks. In Castello Castello fact, it's rare indeed to see an album starting at No. 1 manage any NEW YORK An attorney act- Branco con- Branco says kind of second -week gain. ing on behalf of Michael "Mick- curs, but he 'A lot of A&R guys in that there is in- Back in '91, Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" grew from 326,500 to ey" Schulhof, a former chairman adds that other Brazil terest in 373,000 units in its second week. The following year, Garth Brooks' "The of Sony Music Entertainment labels do not are now going releasing Chase" swelled from 403,000 to 412,500 units. Prior to this year, the only and Sony Pictures Entertain- want to be left to Mass on Sundays' Rossi's albums other album to see a second -week gain after a chart -topping debut was ment, describes allegations of behind the reli- from Universal Barbra Streisand's "Higher Ground," which improved from 207,000 improper conduct brought gious music labels in sever- units to 267,000; that second frame came during Thanksgiving week- against his client by World train. al countries but that there are no end's traffic. Online International (WOL) as "A lot of A &R guys in Brazil are specific plans yet. Against that background, it's impressive to watch teen star Britney "raw garbage." now going to Mass on Sundays," says While Rossi and Zeca have be- Spears post gains after her debut album's chart-topping bow. In fact - The Dutch Internet company Castello Branco. "We are not look- come hot recording artists, they are drum roll -hers has become the first title in the SoundScan era to show is suing Schulhof, who was its ing to build a roster of priests." not the first Catholic priests to unit growth in the second and third week after starting at No. 1. chairman before being termi- But some labels are certainly attain fame as singing stars. A key factor that makes it easier for Spears to set this mark was nated on Jan. 11, for $20 million. angling to jump into the ecclesiasti- Since 1964, Padre Zezinho has re- the relatively low sum that placed her in the top slot. While there have The suit, filed Jan. 29 in New cal music sweepstakes. corded 98 albums in five languages. been several weeks in the last eight years when a No. 1 album had a York State Supreme Court, For instance, Sony Music Brazil is He has cut more than 1,500 songs, smaller tally than the 120,500 units that put her on top two weeks ago, alleges breach of contract and scheduling a March release by Padre with his most popular being "Oraçao hers is the smallest first -week SoundScan sum of the 97 albums that breach of fiduciary duty by the Antonio Maria, whose album con- Pela Familia" (Prayer For The Fam- have debuted at No. 1. She had a 2,000 -unit boost in week two. This executive, including attempts to tains two tracks featuring Carlos. ily). issue, she earns the chart's largest gain with an uptick of more than transfer WOL shares without The musical ascent of the Charis- To celebrate his 35th anniversary 26,000 units, a 21.5% improvement over prior -week sales. proper consent and establishing matic priests has been achieved this year, Zezinho's record label, his own company to compete through the presentation of religious Paulinas- Comep, is issuing a Por- MULTIPLES: Just a few weeks after "Now" -the EMI -distributed hits directly with WOL (Billboard - beliefs coated with commercial sen- tuguese- language CD -ROM and compilation that also drew from the repertoires of Universal and Poly- Bulletin, Feb. 2). sibilities that appeal to a large audi- two -CD set, and four international Gram acts- peaked at No. 10, multi- artist packages remain conspicuous Schulhof is also accused of ence. Indeed, the ideas and concepts Spanish -language releases. The Sao on the sales charts. Last issue, the two titles with the largest unit gains acts "totally inappropriate and of Charismatic priests can be con- Paulo -based label is owned by were the "Varsity Blues" soundtrack and Koch's "World Wrestling Fed- certainly unbecoming of the fused with those of a recording star.