AGUILERA’S BASICS LEADS TO #1

RCA diva Christina Aguilera’s Back to Basics will get the year-end selling period off to a grand start next week, easily grabbing the #1 spot with a total that will soar past 320k and could reach as high as 340k. That’s information based on one-day sales from our network of retailers around the country, so blame them if it’s not accurate.

Columbia R&B and hip-hop collaborator Lyfe Jennings’ The Phoenix will rise with a first-week total of 130-140k, probably good enough for #2.

Shady/Interscope Eminem posse member Obie Trice is up next with Second Round’s on Me, which looks to be in the 80-90k range, meaning it will probably go head to head with Sony Music Group’s resilient Now 22 for the four-spot.

Capitol Nashville country star Trace Adkins proves a Dangerous Man with an estimated 80-90k in sales, while Capitol’s R&B sister act Cherish will ride their smash “Do It To It” to 75-80k in sales for their Unappreciated debut, which won’t go that way for long after a certain Top 10 bow. Disney’s Cheetah Girls look poised for an entry in the 70-80k range.

Next Tuesday, the big release will be OutKast’s LaFace/Zomba Idlewild soundtrack, with the movie slated to hit theatres Aug. 25.

Overall, the market was down a tad over 2% vs. last week, down a little over 8% vs. same week last year and now off between 5-6% year-to-date.