ONE-DAY SALES:
BRITNEY’S DUE FOR TWO

There’s a ton of new releases out this week, but none of them will threaten to take away former teen queen Britney Spears’ #1 tiara.

Indeed, her Madonna-featuring In the Zone (Jive) should log at least another 300k by the end of this week, according to early reports from national accounts, making it an easy #1 for the second week running.

And speaking of the end of this week, it’s worth noting that, as always, Thanksgiving weekend is one of the biggest retail weekends of the year. Because of that, lots and lots of music retail circulars are hitting the streets as you read this, each advertising unbelievably low, low prices. Megalow, even.

That’s good news, but it does make predicting how records will perform through the rest of the week a bit unpredictable. But if it means records will sell more than expected, we’ll take unpredictable and bravely give you our best guesses anyway.

That said, here’s how a bunch of new releases appear to be shaping up as of now: No Doubt’s The Singles 1992-2003 (Interscope) is beating expectations handily, looking like it will hit 200k for the week. Likewise, Korn’s Take a Look in the Mirror (Epic), in its first full week of release, should threaten the 200k mark.

Meanwhile, Missy Elliott’s This is Not a Test (Gold Mind/Elektra) looks headed for a 170k week. Could it reach 200k with a big post-Turkey weekend?

Nelly’s Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention (Fo Reel/Universal) could reach 150k by the end of the week, while Enrique’s Seven (Interscope) looks like it will be just shy of that mark. Puddle of Mudd’s Life on Display (Flip/Geffen), meanwhile, should come in at around 125k.

A pair of albums look like they’ll finish the week at just over 100k: Counting Crows’ Films About Ghosts (Geffen) and Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz’ Kings of Crunk (TVT). Nelly Furtado’s Folklore (DreamWorks), meanwhile, looks like it’ll do just under 100k.

And finally, the Dixie Chicks’ Top of the World Tour (Columbia) appears headed for 100k (over or under) in its first full week of release.

As we said, all these numbers can and will change—hopefully for the better—depending on how America’s shoppers digest their cranberry sauce. We’re sure we’re not alone in hoping it goes down smooth.