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NEWS : STORIES
When Tori Amos' highly anticipated from the choirgirl hotel album landed in the top 10 during its first week on the Billboard charts, it was a shock to the system for some of the pianist/singer's infamously devoted fans. For
For 19-year-old Amos fan Jennifer Lewis, however, the sultry piano diva's high debut is somewhat disconcerting. "I'm not surprised that she debuted so high on the charts," she explained in an e-mail, "but seeing that so many people bought the album in its first week of release doesn't really click with me. I'm so used to feeling that she attracts a smaller audience who really appreciate her work. I guess I'm not such a big freak after all!" The album, Amos' fifth full-length effort, sold 153,000 copies in the week ending May 10, according to SoundScan, and debuted at #5 on this week's Billboard 200 albums chart, partially on the strength of the album's first single, "Spark" (RealAudio excerpt). Those who weren't shocked by the high debut said they viewed it as an encouraging sign that they are not alone in their devotion to all things Amos, whose last album, Boys For Pele, debuted big at #2. According to Michael Whitehead, webmaster for My Dent In The Tori Amos Net Universe (http://www.aye.net/~mikewhy/toriamos.html), the album's #5 placement isn't unusual for Amos and is indicative of the strength of her fanbase. "Her core following is ultra devoted and they all rush to the store to buy it right away," Whitehead wrote in an e-mail. "Because her core following gets the album right away, in all likelihood, it will fall some in its second week. I doubt it will get any higher unless Tori gets a big radio hit or something." Sitting high atop the charts this week and once again making record-industry history is country crooner Garth Brooks. His six-CD box set, The Limited Series -- titled as such because only 2 million copies were pressed -- has already sold 372,000 copies as of last week, according to SoundScan, and became the only box set to hit #1 since Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band did it with 1986's five-LP set Live/1975-1985. Brooks' set, which is made up of the country superstar's first six albums and six new tracks, is the first box set since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991 to hit the top spot. The chart success of The Limited Series knocked last week's #1, Dave Matthews Band's Before These Crowded Streets, into the #2 slot. With second-week sales of 200,000 copies, 623,000 copies total have thus far been snatched up, more than enough to earn Dave Matthews Band a gold record from the Recording Industry Association of America. In the world of hip-hop, another Master P prodigy, Fiend, debuted at #8 after selling 136,000 copies of There's One in Every Family . Fiend's chart debut brings the total number of Master P/No Limit Records-related projects on the Billboard 200 albums chart to seven. The week's other hip-hop debuts landed further down the charts with the Woo movie soundtrack -- which features songs by MC Lyte and Charli Baltimore -- landing at #52, the Lyricist Lounge Volume One collection -- which features tracks by KRS-One and Mos Def -- debuting at #167 and Mack 10 protégés AllFrumTha I clocking in with their self-titled debut at #168. Last week's big hip-hop debuts all slid down in the charts. Big Punisher's Capital Punishment, for example, sold 91,000 copies but lost ground, moving from # 5 to #11. Westside Connection member WC saw his solo debut move 33,000 copies and tumble from #19 to #37, while hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy held tight, creeping backward from #26 to #28 on sales of 38,000. This week's big movers represent a motley crew of genres. Power-poppers Fastball kicked their way into the top 40 for the first time, landing at #36 after selling 34,000 copies of All The Pain Money Can Buy, 4,000 more than they did last week. Ska-flavored swing revivalists Cherry Poppin' Daddies also are visiting the top 40 for the first time this week, moving 32,000 copies of Zoot Suit Riot and inching up from #41 to #38. Further down the charts but still as feisty as ever is the beloved star of "Matlock," TV legend Andy Griffith. His latest album, Just As I Am, debuted at #199 last week but leapt all the way up to #143 this week, beating out such rock competitors as Prodigy's The Fat Of The Land (#194), Fugazi's End Hits (#154) and the Propellerheads' Decksandrumsandrockandroll (#147). The rest of the best: City of Angels Soundtrack (#3); LeAnn Rimes, Sittin' On Top Of The World (#4); Titanic Soundtrack (#6); Vonda Shepard, Songs From Ally McBeal (#7); Celine Dion, Let's Talk About Love (#9); and Backstreet Boys, Backstreet Boys (#10).
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