HOT, HOT, HEAT!

Hot damn! And we mean hot! A lot of position-jumping upward this week. But the clear truth seems to be that if everything in the world could be a compilation, then the world might be a better place. That’s certainly the message of the chart this week, as Capitol’s version of Now That’s What I Call Music, Vol. 19, comes in at #1, with 428k units sold. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the disc contains hits by many of the artists currently—or at least recently—in the Top 10, including Gwen Stefani and Capitol’s own Coldplay, who manage to maintain the #4 spot this week, with 79k. Also featured on Now is Virgin’s Gorillaz, rapidly becoming one of the big success stories of the summer, jumping from #14 to #7, with 55k sold. And it’s only going to get bigger, since “Feel Good, Inc.” is everywhere these days.

Mariah Carey continues to amaze. Island/IDJ’s diva comes in at #2 this week, up from last week’s #5, with 88k, while Jive/ZLG’s R. Kelly drops from #1 to a still respectable #3, with 84k sold. Columbia’s Bow Wow is at the Top 10 halfway mark, down two places at #5, with 57k. Rounding out the bottom of the list is A&M/Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas, jumping from #8 to #6, with 57k; Columbia/CRG’s Carly Simon making a strong Baby Booming kinda debut at #8, with 54k; Roswell/RMG’s Foo Fighters also jumping—from #11 to #9—with 54k; and American Idol Kelly Clarkson (RCA/RMG) at #10, up from an unlucky #13, with 53k.

Other notable debuts: Sony Urban’s Mary Mary at #14, with 49k; Bad Boy/Atlantic’s B5 at #17, with 46k and the Dukes Of Hazard soundtrack (Columbia SMS) at #38, with 23k (dudes just love that Jessica bod!). Re-entering are Def Jam South/IDJ’s Ludicris at #42, with 21k and Motown/Universal’s Kem at #48, with 19k sold.

Look for strong showings next week from Young Jeezy, Jason Mraz, comedian Dane Cook and Babyface. And remember: It’s a jungle out there. So, as your Italian grandfather might have said (if you happened to be Italian): Keepa cool!