KISS Battles For No. 1 On Billboard 200 By Keith Caulfield, L.A. - BillboardBiz.com
Next week's Billboard 200 chart will either house a first-ever No. 1 album from iconic band Kiss, or pop singer Michael Buble may crash the group's rockin' party with his new set, "Crazy Love."
Industry sources suggest that Kiss' new Wal-Mart exclusive album, "Sonic Boom," may shift somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 copies in its first week. If the set sells that much, it will also mark the group's best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.
Up against Kiss is Buble, who is releasing his new album on Oct. 9 to capitalize on his appearance that day on the "Oprah Winfrey Show.” Buble's last set -- 2007's "Call Me Irresponsible" -- debuted at No. 2 (with 212,000 copies) before moving to No. 1 the following week.
It's hard to believe that Kiss has never reached the top in its long career. All told, the act has notched seven top 10 albums. Its highest charting set is 1998's "Psycho-Circus," which debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 110,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group's other high-charting sets include 1975's "Alive!" (No. 9), 1977's "Love Gun" (No. 4) and 1992's "Revenge" (No. 6).
This week's No. 1 album, Barbra Streisand’s "Love Is the Answer,” looks like it will slide to either No. 5 or No. 6, depending on how the week shakes out.
Other new albums that are on course to debut high on the Billboard 200 next week include Toby Keith's "American Ride," which may sell between 65,000 and 75,000 copies. That should be enough to engineer a No. 3 debut.
Right behind Keith is the Backstreet Boys' new studio set, "This Is Us," which could shift between 50,000 and 60,000 copies.
Nielsen SoundScan's sales tracking week, as reflected in Billboard's sales charts, runs from Monday through Sunday of each week. Next week's album charts will be revealed on Oct. 14 and will reflect data through the week ending Oct. 11.
