SHEER HAT ATTACK

Even with Olympic fervor starting to decline, this is a country that loves its Country. YEEEEEEEE-HAW!!!!!!

Arista Nashville’s Alan Jackson remains on top for a second straight week, after being dethroned for a week by J.Lo’s remix album (Epic)—which lands at #2 this week. Other than that interruption, Jackson and his hat have held the top perch since Jan. 25. A.Jac and J.Lo are joined in the Top Five by Warner Bros.’ Linkin Park at #3, Def Jam South/IDJ’s Ludacris at #4 and Arista’s Pink at #5.

"Alan Jackson continues to put up big numbers," said George Meyer from The Wiz, after eating an entire box of Wheaties with Sarah Hughes on the front while wearing a red, white and blue cowboy hat. "And Keke Wyatt [MCA] continues to be a strong contender for us."

Meyer isn’t triple-Lutzing on thin ice. Wyatt’s entry into the Top 50 at #22, with a record that came out last November, is bested only by Gospo-Centric’s Kirk Franklin, who bows at #8. Hats off to God on that one.

Pre-Grammy mania helped continue to boost sales for Motown/Universal’s India.Arie.

Next week should see a big shakeup near the top of the chart—finally—as records from Alanis Morrisette (Maverick/Reprise), Kylie Minogue (Capitol), Cher (Warner Bros.) and the X-ecutioners (Loud/Columbia/CRG) debut, while Grammy winners and performers get nice bumps. There will also be a big shake up in your head around the same time, as the Grammy hangover starts to clear.