ONE-DAY SALES:
LITTLE SISTER MAKES GOOD

There’s been a new Simpsons on TV for awhile, and while we’ve seen what it’s done for big sister Jessica, it appears the momentum for lil’ sister Ashlee’s debut album has grown even bigger than Homer’s swollen beer gut.

Call it Simpsonmania. Or don’t—it won’t change the facts none.

And the facts is that Ashlee’s Autobiography (Geffen) is a certified monster (we mean that in the best way, of course). Indeed, it’s much, much bigger than anyone had a right to believe it would be: After one day on sale, Autobiography is on track to sell well over 300k, according to early reports from national accounts.

That’s up from initial predictions of around 100k, which would have been great for a new artist. Now, however, the big question is whether Simpson can blow past 350k before the week’s out.

The answer to that question depends on how quickly certain stock issues arising from the unpredictably huge demand for the album can be solved. At this point, the feeling among insiders is that any stock problems will be solved quickly. Regardless, however, no one will be complaining about 300k-plus.

The massive early success of Autobiography, driven by Simpson’s MTV reality show documenting her artistic flowering and hit single “Pieces of Me,” of course guarantees that she’ll be #1 on next week’s chart by a mile. But who’ll be #2?

From fresh-faced Pop sisters, we segue to gnarly classic rock bros, as Van Halen makes its triumphant return with Best of Both Worlds (Warner Strategic Marketing), which is on track to sell about 150k in its first week. The two-disc greatest-hits package features three new Sammy Hagar-sung tracks, and greatest-hits releases many times trend up significantly during the week, so don’t be surprised if this one comes in even higher.

That means VH has a good shot at #2, if this week’s #1, Jimmy Buffett’s License to Chill (Mailboat/RCA Nashville/RLG) sees the usual 40-50% second-week drop. Hey, what decade is this?

Another release of note hitting the street yesterday was The Hives’ Tyrannosaurus Hives (Interscope), which is, unfortunately, shaping up to be a major disappointment. The band’s second album for Interscope, which spent heavily to sign them, was initially expected to move upwards of 100k in its first week, but early reports indicate it will now struggle to sell 30k.

Next week, watch Universal Music Enterprises’ Now 16 and SRC/IDJ’s Terror Squad to duke it out.