GRANTED: Amy Grant debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart with her new CD, “Simple Things” (Word/Curb). It’s her 22nd album to appear on this chart, and in her 26-year career, it’s the first time she’s had two consecutive albums debut at No. 1.
Prior to “Simple Things,” Grant debuted at No. 1 the week of June 8, 2002 with “Legacy – Hymns & Faith.”
On the secular side, Grant’s “Simple Things” appears under the A&M/Interscope banner. The CD enters The Billboard 200 at No. 23, just two rungs lower than the No. 21 opening of “Legacy” in 2002.
WAIT NO MORE: They are both veteran artists born in the U.K. who go by one name and who have been absent from the Adult Top 40 chart for some time. Sting and Seal have new songs debuting this week.
Sting opens at No. 37 with “Send Your Love” (A&M/Interscope). It’s his first chart entry since “After the Rain Has Fallen” peaked at No. 19 in April 2001.
Seal has been away for a longer stretch of time. He’s new at No. 40 with “Waiting for You” (Warner Bros.), his first appearance on this chart since “Human Beings” went to No. 32 in December 1998.
TURNOVER: Any hopes Beyoncé and Jay-Z had of having the longest-running No. 1 song of 2003 on Billboard’s Hot 100 have been dashed, as “Crazy in Love” dips to No. 2 after an eight-week reign. “Crazy” needed to stay on top for a ninth week to equal the run of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.”
The new No. 1 song is “Shake Ya Tailfeather” (Bad Boy) by Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee. It is the eighth song to advance to No. 1 in 2003. That means we’ve had a more rapid turnover at the top this year than last, when there were only seven No. 1s for the entire year.
The turnover rate is slower than 2001, however. There were 14 chart-toppers that year, with the eighth No. 1 arriving the week of July 7.
SENIORITY: Tyrone Davis, the Isley Brothers and Johnnie Taylor continue their current runs on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. All three acts made their first appearances on this chart in the 1960s. They are joined this week by an act that predates them all. The Manhattans, named after the drink and not the city, return after an absence of 18 years.
“Even Now” (Beemark) is a new entry at No. 83. It’s the first album by the veteran group to chart since “Too Hot To Stop It” reached No. 44 in 1985.
The Manhattans’ first chart entry, “Dedicated to You,” debuted the week of March 26, 1966, giving the group a chart span of 37 years, five months and two weeks.
