There was tons of activity inside the Top Ten of the nation's album chart last week, with four new entries, including a pair of big-time rap records, a pop debut from a movie star-turned-singer and the latest from a bunch of skateboard punk rats.|
Backstreet Boys' Millennium held on to No. 1 for the third straight week, selling 438,000 copies, according to SoundScan. But making the most noise were rappers Ja Rule and Tru. Actually the albums were more like battles between the two hottest rap labels around: Def Jam (home to Ja Rule) and Master P's No Limit (Tru). Ja Rule's Venni Vetti Vecci, which features labelmates DMX and Jay-Z, among others, won that duel, coming in at No. 3. Da Crime Family by the rap supergroup Tru (No Limit's Master P, Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder) came in right behind them at No. 5.
Actress Jennifer Lopez made launching a music career look easy. Thanks to a big promotional push from Sony, as well as a hit single "If You Had My Love," her album On the 6 debuted at No. 8. She was followed by punk wise guys Blink-182 and their latest, Enema of the State. The Warped Tour co-headliners have a rock radio hit on their hands with "What's My Age Again?" as well as a rabid, grassroots following, which explains the band's journey into (for them) rarified chart territory.
If it's nearly summer, that means it's soundtrack season. And while Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace dropped out of the Top Ten, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (featuring Madonna, R.E.M. and Lenny Kravitz) is making a run for it, coming in at No. 14 its first week in stores.Meanwhile, the soundtrack to Notting Hill (Shania Twain, Boyzone, 98 Degrees) zoomed from No. 196 to No. 22 in just two weeks time.
From the top, it was Backstreet Boys' Millennium, followed by Ricky Martin (selling 312,000 copies); Vetti Vecci Vecci (184,000); Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time (149,000); Da Crime Family(139,000); TLC's Fan Mail (113,000); Shania Twain's Come On Over (112,000); On the 6 (111,000); Enema of the State (110,000) and Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause (92,000).
ERIC BOEHLERT(June 9, 1999)