ONE-DAY SALES: SMALL SCREEN COULD ADD UP TO BIGGER NUMBERS FOR WILSON, CROW

All Jacked Up (Epic), the follow-up to Gretchen Wilson’s 2004 breakthrough album, Here for the Party, looks like it will finish the week just south of 225k. While that number is less than everyone was anticipating, it could certainly perk up from a passel of TV appearances this week (there she is on Regis & Kelly as we bang out this drivel). But even if the projection holds, the total should still be enough to give Gretchen’s DualDisc release the top spot on next week’s album chart, assuming the typical second-week attrition on Disturbed and Bon Jovi, who are currently sitting in the #1 and #2 perches.

Three-ways are sexy, and there’s one shaping up among the just-incarcerated Lil’ Kim (Atlantic), diva Toni Braxton (Blackground/Universal) and Three 6 Mafia (Columbia/Sony Urban), who are on a collision course to meet in the vicinity of 125k.

Like Wilson, Sheryl Crow (A&M/Interscope) is currently trending below expectations at 100k, but also like the redneck woman, Lance’s main squeeze could be the beneficiary of a weeklong TV blitz.

The week’s other noteworthy debut is from dancehall star Sean Paul (VP/Atlantic), who’s toasting his way toward 80k-90k.

Looking ahead to next week, expect tonnage from the likes of Nickelback, Twista, Fiona Apple, Franz Ferdinand and the Oprah-appearing Melissa Etheridge (and you know what the Oprah Factor can mean).

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (note subtle reference to the good old days), music sales were down again this week, but only by 1.2%, or 124k pieces, compared to last week. The falloff from a year ago is more significant at 6.2%, or 654k. Total sales for the week were 9.8 million, bringing the year-to-date total to 404.4 million, 37.5 million units lower than a year ago at this point, representing a deficit of 8.5%. There, we’ve said it and we can move on.