PARACHUTE LANDS ON TOP AT THE iTUNES STORE

Mercury Records group Parachute are coming in for an impressive landing, with their debut Losing Sleep topping the iTunes album chart for three straight days, ahead of Green Day, thanks in part to the site designating “Under Control” as its free Single of the Week, with estimates that a record-breaking 650k people will ultimately download the track.

Mercury Records President David Massey says: "This is a classic artist development story. The band has been building all year for this release. It's refreshing to see the combination of great songs, performance and charisma getting this kind of reaction online. With the exceptional depth of this album, we're confident this is really just the beginning for this great young band."

After this week’s iTunes digital exclusive, the physical version of the album hits retail stores next Tuesday (5/19), while the official first single, “She Is Love,” is currently climbing the Hot AC charts, with the video just added to VH1.

“She Is Love,” now in its third month of digital release with downloads approaching 60k, was featured in Nivea Body’s “Smooth Sensations” TV spots, which you can see here. The band was chosen “Adult Artist to Watch” by Clear Channel’s New! Site in March. To see the “She Is Love” video, click here.

Island Records EVP/GM Mark DiDia has taken a personal interest in the project since he joined the label in February. “This is a band that has more than one great song,” he says. “It’s a great artist development story. It’s not about just putting a song on the radio to see what happens. This is a patient, multi-leveled, multi-pronged approach to breaking an artist. It’s an act that hits the sweet spot for the iTunes audience, and we’re just getting started.”

Added IDJ SVP Sales Jim Roppo: “We believed very strongly from the beginning that the artist and the music would appeal to a certain female demographic targeted by these iTunes Single of the Week campaigns. And because it’s a great song, it’s connecting and resonating to such a degree that people are grabbing the full album at the same time.”

Fans were first exposed to “She Is Love” when Parachute performed the song live at the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square New York City in bone-chilling, sub-zero temperatures at the Nivea Countdown Stage.

The band’s song, “Back Again,” will be heard on the May 19 season finale of 90210 on The CW, while “She Is Love” was featured recently on One Tree Hill. Parachute is set to perform “She Is Love” and “Under Control” on May 30 on the CBS Early Show.

The Charlottesville, VA, band has played over 200 shows along the east coast over the past year, and go back on tour in June. Signed to Red Light Management, the home of Dave Matthews Band, the five-person band includes guitarist/pianist/lead vocalist Will Anderson, saxophone/keyboardist/vocalist Kit French, bassist Alex Hargrave, drummer Johnny Stubblefield and lead guitarist/vocalist Nate McFarland.