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"The first stations that jumped on the record were the core Eminem stations, which are the crossover and Rhythm stations that lean Urban. And they went crazy for it, which we were pretty sure they would.
——Shady Records VP/GM Paul Rosenberg

ONE-DAY SALES: "DEVIL'S NIGHT" GETS ITS DUE

Eminem's Coattails A Fine Ride, Say D-12 Crew; "Hills" Are Alive With The Sound Of Cha-Ching
The Eminem-led Detroit rap posse D-12 (Shady/Interscope) will see their album, "Devil's Night," debut at #1 on next week's album chart, based on projected first-week sales of about 400,000 units, according to one-day sales reports from nationwide accounts.

If you're thinking, "That's what they said about blink-182 last week," you're dead on, bucko.

This latest blockbuster debut comes as both radio and retail feel the heat the always controversial (read: bankable) Eminem has brought to the project. Thanks to a typically thorough onslaught by Interscope's promo team, first single "Purple Hills"—the clean version of the album's "Purple Pills"—is blowing up the nation's airwaves, in turn sparking the early sales combustion.

"The first stations that jumped on the record were the core Eminem stations, which are the crossover and Rhythm stations that lean Urban," said Shady Records VP/GM Paul Rosenberg. "And they went crazy for it, which we were pretty sure they would. One of the reasons we led off with this single was it was something that would feel familiar to [Eminem's] audience."

"This is an Eminem record pure and simple," said AEC's Tony Bazemore. "His fans are going to be out in force, and we’re already seeing big reorders." Interscope put about 1.5 million units on the street for the album's debut, meaning stock shouldn't be a problem.

While the trippy, gag-filled video for "Purple Hills" hasn't yet received any play from the recently Eminem-shy MTV, the promo campaign is in full effect, including a swag-laden ambush on TRL yesterday. "It went well," Rosenberg says. "MTV caught wind of it and taped it and put it on. We let Carson know we were coming about 20 minutes before we left—we hit him on the two-way and said, 'Look out for us.'"

But the video can be seen on BET, where it's Top 10 most requested every day.

Don't look for D-12 to be a one-week phenomenon, either. The album is deep, and observers expect the momentum to build. Rosenberg says the team will follow the pattern of Eminem's records in planning for a follow-up single by letting the streets do the talking. "Tastemaker stations like Power 106 will go with the record that they think is cool, and it'll sort of indicate what the audience is feeling, and then we'll go from there," he says. "The fact that Eminem is on [the album] can’t be denied."

Also hitting the Top 10 next week, according to early numbers, are Volcano's 311, which appear to be headed for sales of over 100k, and Atlantic's STP, which should also log about 100k. Also look out for J Records' Luther Vandross, which should come in at around 80 or 90k.