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TOP OF THE POPS Nelly retains his No. 1 spot
By selling an additional 235,000 copies of his debut ''Country Grammar,'' St. Louis' Nelly stays at No. 1 on this week 's Billboard album chart, followed by pop princess Britney Spears, whose ''Oops...I Did It Again'' is at No. 2 for the 14th consecutive time. But making a small but significant move on the chart is Eminem. ''The Marshall Mathers LP,'' which has already sold more than 5 million copies, moves from No. 4 to No. 3 on the strength of his latest single ''The Way I Am.'' While this ''please understand me'' ditty is only at No. 87 on the Hot 100, it's the second most played clip on MTV.

Eminem's rise means a one place fall for the hit packed compilation ''NOW... 4,'' which drops to, well, No. 4. Creed's ''Human Clay'' molds itself into the No. 5 spot. And 'N Sync say bye bye bye to the top five and backslide to No. 6. The rest of the top 10 finds two guitar heavy groups doing a switcheroo: 3 Doors Down from No. 8 to No. 7 and Papa Roach from No. 7 to No. 8; scrappy ol' timer Sting at No. 9; and the ''Nutty II'' soundtrack, featuring Janet Jackson's No. 1 single ''Doesn't Really Matter,'' holding at No. 10.

One of the most successful debuts this week was the companion to the troubled Source Hip Hop Music Awards, which will air Aug. 29 on UPN. The Def Jam release, which entered the charts at No. 19, features tracks by DMX, Jay-Z, B.G., and more. Still, there's little movement on the charts this week due to a drought in spanking new records hitting stores. ''There just aren't any new releases out there,'' explains Paul Penrose, an urban music specialist at Valley Media in California. But expect Wyclef Jean's ''The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book'' to shake up the top 10 next week. If not, expect us to pull our hair out.


Posted Aug 24, 2000 | Order Article Reprints