| Saturday 13 November 1999 |
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Carey's "Rainbow" overcome by Rage
Mariah Carey's promotional juggernaut couldn't stand up to Rage Against the Machine's panting fans in opening week sales for two high-profile albums. Rage's The Battle for Los Angeles lands at No. 1 in Billboard after selling 430,000 copies last week, the highest debut since Limp Bizkit's Significant Other entered 20 weeks ago with 635,000 copies.
Despite media saturation that included TV performances and in-store appearances, Carey's Rainbow places second with 323,000 copies, according to SoundScan. Is the pop diva facing a midriff crisis? Not at all, says Billboard director of charts Geoff Mayfield, noting Rainbow is the highest 1999 debut for a female artist.
"This is by far the biggest first week she's ever had," he says. And it could get bigger. "Mariah tends to have her larger sales weeks as you get closer to Christmas."
Carey's #1s, a collection of hits, arrived a year ago with first-week sales of 210,000. Rage's last album, 1996's Evil Empire, sold 249,000 copies its first week. Mayfield isn't surprised by the current ranking or the wide gulf that separates the rap-metal pioneers from the bare-bellied warbler. Rage may be all the rage, but for how long? The band could tumble down the chart while Carey bobs in the top 10 for months.
"The average rock fan smells a street date," Mayfield says. "There's a great urgency to get the record right away. With rare exceptions like Ricky Martin, you don't see the same urgency in pop fans that you see in rock and rap."
Carey far outscores the weekly highs of other women in 1999. The last female artist to reach No. 1 was Eve, with sales of 213,000 eight weeks ago. Britney Spears' fattest one-week tally this year was 273,000. Christina Aguilera entered at No. 1 with 253,000.
Four other debuts hit the top 10 this week: rapper Lil Wayne at No. 3, WWF: The Music, Volume 4 at No. 4, Counting Crows at No. 8 and the Foo Fighters at No. 10. Santana, No. 1 for the past three weeks, falls to No. 4 despite a slight sales gain. Rosie O'Donnell's A Rosie Christmas, featuring holiday duets with 'N Sync, Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Cher and Elmo, arrives at No. 29; Jewel's Joy: A Holiday Collection enters at No. 50. (USA Today)
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