TEEN QUEEN BEATS A COWBOY HAT... BUT JUST BARELY

It wasn’t quite Godzilla versus King Kong, but it was BIG, nevertheless. Yes, it was the battle of the Teen Queen and the Cowboy Hat all week... and it was neck-to-neck until the last minute. But Teen Queendom prevailed, and Hollywood’s Hilary Duff debuts at #1, with 200k sold. The Cowboy Hat didn’t do too shabbily, though, with Arista Nashville’s Brad Paisley debuting at #2, with 197k. Not much more for us to say on that front aside from a hearty “Yee-hah!”

“It’s a great first week showing for Hilary Duff, especially considering it’s a greatest hits package” says Virgin Entertainment Group’s Jerry Suarez. “It shows just how big a star she has become.” Hastings’ George Deahl, meanwhile, liked the Cowboy Hat: “Brad Paisley is really coming into his own,” says the retailer. “The set-up on this record was just phenomenal.”

The other notable debut this week is Volcano/ZLG’s 311 coming in at #5, with 91k. As for the rest: Island/IDJ’s Mariah Carey saw an 8% sales increase this week, rising to #3 from last week’s #4, with 109k. Capitol’s Now That’s What I Call Music 19 compilation drops two spots to #4, with 107k sold. A&M/Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas came in at #6, dropping one position at 82k, despite a 13% sales jump. Flip/Atlantic’s Staind drops from #1 to #7—angry intensity is still no match for Teen Queendom and Cowboy Hats—with 79k. Rounding out the bottom of the Top 10 are Warner Bros.’ Faith Hill at #8, with 73k; RCA/RMG’s Kelly Clarkson, who maintains #9, with 62k; and Def Jam South/IDJ’s Young Jeezy drops to #10, with 62k sold (thank goodness, since we’ve totally run out of Jeezy name jokes...).

One major change this week: Island/IDJ’s Killers saw a phenomenal 77% sales jump with 60k, enough to take them from #25 to #12, thanks to a limited-edition release.

Other notable debuts include Lava/Atlantic’s Click Five (nothing like cute boys in Beatle-do's to spike sales) at #15, with 52k; Victory’s Silverstein at #31, with 29k; and Aly & AJ (more Teen Queendom from Hollywood) hitting #40, at 23k.

Look out next week for a debut from Jim Jones... and that’s all, folks. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to drink some refreshing Kool-Aid...