MAY CHART BATTLE BREWING?

Could a chart battle be brewing for early next month? Two 5/5 releases look poised to lock horns: The hotly anticipated follow-up from Mercury Nashville's Chris Stapleton and a new set from Def Jam's Logic.

Word of mouth on both records is strong; the current projection on Stapleton is in the neighborhood of 250k, while Logic is in the vicinity of 200k but continues to rise. Given the extraordinary streams on Kendrick Lamar and other major hip-hop titles, the buzzing Logic (whose album features guests turns from Alessia Cara, Killer Mike, Khalid, Chuck D and Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others) could enjoy a big consumption boost. Could the rapper outperform even these rising expectations? Meanwhile, insiders say some big TV looks and other considerations could affect the outcome. Who will prevail? Stay tuned.