CHILI PEPPERS GET RED-HOT

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new double-CD Stadium Arcadium, their first studio album since 2002’s By the Way, will debut at the top of next week’s HITS chart, with a total that looks to be over 400k. Already #1 at iTunes, that number could climb, even though the online retailer is selling the two-disc set at $19.90, at least seven to eight bucks higher than their brick and mortar counterparts. The album has also been receiving glowing, four-star reviews from prestigious outlets like Rolling Stone as well as the N.Y. and L.A. Times.

Nick Lachey’s What's Left of Me, his Jive Records heartbreak ode to ex-wife Jessica Simpson, seems to indicate a lot of female sympathizers he never reached with his last solo effort, boasting a first-week that appears in the 150k range, give or take, though Mother's Day week and a #3 iTunes ranking should be very kind to a pop title like this one.

Columbia artists Jagged Edge’s self-titled effort shows the Urban crooners approaching the 130-140k area, while Def Soul/Island vets the Isley Brothers’ Baby Makin’ Music seems to have worked its magic, as Ron’s wife Kandy is now pregnant with child, looking forward to a first-week sales number that appears between 120-130k.

Other debuts include Universal’s Teena Marie (50k give or take) and Warner Bros.’ Paul Simon (40k).

Downtown/Atlantic’s sensational Gnarls Barkley album St. Elsewhere, which debuted at #2 on the U.K. charts this week, is the leading Pop album at iTunes and #2 seller overall, is headed for more than 30k and could go higher.

Interscope U.K. rockers Snow Patrol have a big press buzz and “new Radiohead” whispers as they eye a debut between 25-30k for their latest, Final Straw.

Overall, the market was up between 5.5%-6% this week from last, down almost 10% from the same week last year and now off nearly 2.5% for the year-to-date.