FEEL THE T-PAIN

Jive/ZLG R&B star T-Pain's Epiphany proves slightly better than Hear Music/Concord legend Paul McCartney's Memory, topping the ex-Beatle for #1 on this week's HITS' Top 50, with a total of 166k to Macca's 163k.

A previous result, showing Paul edging the R&B singer/songwriter, was due to the mistaken inclusion of Canadian sales for the McCartney album.

Jive/ZLG’s R&B star T-Pain nabs the top spot on this week’s HITS chart despite a massive marketing and promotion campaign waged by Starbucks for Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full album.

T-Pain and Macca are two of a total of six newcomers to the Top 10, including Def Jam/IDJ’s Rihanna, WB Nashville’s country stars Big & Rich (#6) and Interscope’s Daddy Yankee (#8) and Marilyn Manson (#9).

Holdovers include last week’s chart-topper, Jive/ZLG’s R. Kelly (#4), A&M/Octone’s Maroon 5 (#5), WB’s Linkin Park (#7) and Universal Republic’s surging Amy Winehouse (#10), riding the momentum of her Rolling Stone and Spin cover stories, her top-selling album at iTunes and #1 at TRL for “Rehab.”

A&M/UMe’s Police greatest hits collection lands just outside the Top 10 at #11, fueled by the band’s current sold-out tour.

Among the other chart newcomers are Suretone/ Interscope’s Chris Cornell (#17), Columbia’s Bruce Springsteen Live in Dublin (#20), the Roadrunner debut of Dream Theater (#23), Bungalo’s Carl Thomas (#24), Capitol’s Poison (#36), Side One Dummy’s Warped Tour 2007 (#390) and Asylum’s Lil Wyte (#49).

Winehouse is the week’s biggest gainer at +28%, followed by LaFace/ZLG’s revitalized Pink (#42, +18%), Big Machine’s Taylor Swift (#19, +10%) and Walt Disney’s Hannah Montana soundtrack (#38, +9%).

Next week, look for charting releases from Showdog Nashville/UMGD’s Toby Keith, Def Jam rapper Fabolous, Atlantic’s Gerald & Eddie Levert, as well as Interscope’s Enrique Iglesias and Queens of the Stone Age.