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HITS Daily Double
"Easter week usually delivers and this year was no exception. We saw big numbers from a number of new releases."
—-Kevin Hawkins, Tower Records

FLATTS STILL TOPS!!

Toby Keith Gives Country 1-2 on Chart, as LL Cool, Daniel Powter Bow
It was, for one week at least, the resurrection of the record biz.

All those celebrating Easter by buying Peeps and egg coloring at their local Target had their affect on the latest HITS album chart, as Lyric Street’s Rascal Flatts nail their second consecutive stint at #1, with a still healthy 344k in sales.

That is enough to defeat fellow country star, Show Dog Nashville/Universal’s Toby Keith who lives up to the title of his new album, White Trash with Money, at #2, representing 320k in first-week sales.

Other Top 10 debuts are registered by Def Jam/IDJ’s LL Cool J, whose Todd Smith was just this side of 120k at #6 and Warner Bros.’ newcomer Daniel Powter, who counteracts his American Idol loser’s theme “Bad Day” with a good week, landing at #8, with 91k.

In all there are seven albums selling in six figures, including UTV’s Now 21 at #3 (288k), Walt Disney Records’ remarkable High School Musical at #4 (255k, +48%), Grand Hustle/Atlantic’s T.I. #5 (134k) and Curb’s Tim McGraw hits collection at #7 (114k).

LaFace/ZLG’s Pink (#9) and Custard/Atlantic’s James Blunt round out the elite 10.

Also new on the charts is the Queen compilation on Hollywood (#43), driven by the band’s American Idol appearance last week, Eleven Seven Music’s ADA-distribbed Buckcherry (#44), Capitol’s second Beatles box set of their American releases (#47) and Asylum/WB’s Cam’ron (#48).

Hollywood’s Aly & AJ ride strong radio play for the “Rush” single, now being used as the theme to the new WNBA season, into a re-entry at #40.

Most impressive gains of the week are registered by Blunt (+30%), ACR/Arista Nashville’s Alan Jackson (#11, +64%), Arista/RMG’s Carrie Underwood (#13, +71%), Walt Disney Records’ Disneymania 4 (#25-15, +49%), RCA/RMG’s Kelly Clarkson (#27-18, +39%), A&M/Interscope’s Pussycat Dolls (#36-22, +36%), Dreamworks' All-American Rejects (#38-25, +37%), Universal’s Chamillionaire (#42-31, +31%) and Columbia/CRG’s Teddy Geiger (#48-34, +39%).

Tower's Kevin Hawkins marked the occasion by coming back from the dead to note: “Easter week usually delivers and this year was no exception. We saw big numbers from a number of new releases including Toby Keith, LL Cool J, Daniel Powter, Built to Spill and the new Beatles box set. And although this week is a bit of a lull in new titles, next week promises to be another big one with Godsmack, Taking Back Sunday, Avant and Rihanna all hitting.”