MAXWELL’S THE ONE

Columbia R&B star Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night, his first new release in eight years, since 2001’s Now, has an excellent shot at debuting at #1 next week on the HITS’ Top 50, with a total that looks like it will reach between 275-300k.

Whether it’s enough to leapfrog over the continuing Jackson sales phenomenon is another question entirely, one we probably won’t know the answer to until sometime tomorrow, but as always, keep checking back here and we’ll let you know.

The week’s other top debut should be Walt Disney’s Hannah Montana 3 soundtrack to the TV show, which look to be in the 120-130k area which, again depending on Jackson sales, should put it around the Top 5.

Indie darlings All Time Low on Hopeless, are looking at a more-than-impressive 70-75k in first-week sales.

The market was up 12% vs. last week, down (even with all the MJ sales), 8% vs. same week last year and now down 14% year to date.

Smile while your heart is aching, folks.