CHART PREVIEW: WEST LOOKS BEST (AGAIN), WALL STANDS TALL

We don’t know if he’s giving out his phone number like fellow Houston sensation Mike Jones, but as the tallying of retail reports continues this morning, white rapper Paul Wall is coming on just as strong. It looks like his The People’s Champ (Asylum/Warner Bros.) will debut on this week’s album chart at #2 with 160k-170k units sold, just behind big-time rap superstar Kanye West, who appears headed for a third week at #1.

Those also making their way onto the chart this week include a couple of veteran’s veterans, including Trisha Yearwood, whose Jasper County (MCA Nashville) is expected to be the week’s second-highest debut at around 110k-120k, and Paul McCartney, whose Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Capitol) is likely to post 75k-80k in first-week sales.

Also heading toward debuts in the 75k-80k range are Charlie Wilson’s Charlie, Last Name Wilson (Jive) and the Pussycat Dolls’ PCD (Interscope). And trailing just behind that projected outcome is Damian Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock (Tuff Gong/Universal) which looks like 70k-75k at this point.

Other notable debuts this week include Switchfoot’s Nothing is Sound (Columbia) at a projected 65k-70k; Trapt’s Someone in Control (WB) at around 55k-60k; Lonestar’s Coming Home (RLG) at 35k-40k; Bonnie Raitt’s Souls Alike (Capitol) at 35k-40k, David Gray’s Life in Slow Motion (ATO/RMG) at 35k-40k and Sigur Ros’ Takk... (Geffen) at 30k.

Be sure to check the HITS Building Album Chart frequently, wringing your hands in anxiety-driven anticipation until the final version appears tomorrow afternoon, at which point you may point and laugh accordingly.