DUEL OF THE DIVAS

That’s the question on industry observers’ minds, with Tuesday’s release of Janet Jackson’s new Virgin album, "All For You," and next week’s (5/1) Destiny’s Child LP, "Survivor," on Columbia.

Admittedly, it’s one against three—unless you count Janet’s longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis—but both labels have pulled out all the marketing stops for these eagerly awaited albums, with first-week projections soaring above the 500k mark for each.

Motown President/CEO Kedar Massenburg agrees with those pundits who see Destiny’s Child topping Jackson, 475k-375k: "They just seem to have that whole MTV culture locked down. They’re everywhere. Janet’s now a little older and the kids may have to re-relate to her. I don’t feel the heat, but she still should do well. It is Janet, after all."

• Jackson’s album was preceded by the title track single, which made history by being the Most Added at 330 radio stations across the format board its first week, but has cooled down since then. Her last album, ‘97’s "The Velvet Rope," sold 200k its first week on the way to a current total of 3 million O.T.C.
• The new record was made available to radio by satellite and over the Internet and has been accompanied by a massive marketing campaign.
• The new Destiny’s Child album, "Survivor," is the follow-up to the seven-times-Platinum "Writing’s On The Wall," which sold 130k its first week of release in July ’99.
• "Survivor" already contains two hit tracks—"Independent Woman Part I," available on the "Charlie’s Angels" soundtrack as well as "NOW Vol. 6," and the first single, "Survivor," the Most Requested song in the country last week.
• MTV aired a special on the group’s recent trip to the U.K. on Monday (4/23) and premieres its version of "Carmen," starring lead singer Beyonce Knowles May 8. The threesome will appear on "TRL" the day of the new album release (5/1).
• The channel is also conducting a search in the N.Y. tri-state area for the biggest Destiny’s Child fans to attend a live two-hour show at MTV studios this Saturday (4/28). The band will take viewers on a tour of their hometown Houston on the channel’s "Road Home" (4/30) and appear on "Making The Video" (4/30, 5/4).
• They performed on Nickelodeon’s "Kids’ Choice" last weekend.
• The trio was named "Favorite Group of the Year" and "Favorite R&B Group" at the recent Blockbuster Entertainment awards.
• They are MSN’s "Artist of the Month," and host an online chat on Thursday (4/26).
• The ladies will appear for in-stores at Coconuts in N.Y.C.’s Rockefeller Plaza (5/1) and Wal-Mart in Houston (5/4).
• They’re one of Teen People’s 25 Hottest Stars Under-25 list.
• The band is slated for "SNL" (5/5), David Letterman (5/10), Rosie O’Donnell (5/10), a PPV concert from the RodeoHouston (5/5) and "The Today Show" (5/11).