ROBERT HILBURN : THE KING OF HEARTS VS. THE QUEEN OF TARTS

Pop music’s most celebrated newlywed and its reigning material girl are the front-runners in this year’s race for the most popular album and single artists.

Bruce Springsteen, whose wedding to actress Julianne Phillips landed him on the cover of People magazine this week for the second time in a year, is the leader in the album category with “Born in the U.S.A,” according to a look at the Billboard magazine sales charts for the past five months.

Meanwhile, Madonna--who graces the cover of this week’s Time magazine because of her success on record and in the “Desperately Seeking Susan” film--dominates the singles action with three hits: “Crazy for You,” “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl.”

Because record companies do not routinely release sales figures the way film studios do, the weekly charts in trade publications like Billboard provide the best independent measure of record appeal.

Under a formula that gives 10 points for every week at No. 1 on the weekly chart, nine for every week at No. 2 and so forth, “Born in the U.S.A.” has registered 183 points versus 149 for the second-place LP, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” Similarly, “Crazy for You” has chalked up 68 points to edge the “We Are the World” charity single by a point.

But those figures don’t tell the entire story. Any survey of this year’s pop success based on sales charts has to carry an asterisk because of the extraordinary sales rush registered by the “We Are the World” album and single.

The “We Are the World” records sold far more during their peak weeks on the charts than the competitors, giving the album and single a much bigger sales impact than their chart performance would suggest. The LP is at the 3.3-million mark, the single above 5 million, according to CBS Records.

The album is already on its way out of the Top 10 and is unlikely to match the more than 6.5 million in sales registered by “Born in the U.S.A.,” which has been in the national Top 10 since last summer. The single, however, far exceeds the sales of the Madonna records, the biggest of which (“Like a Virgin”) is just under 2 million.

“We Are the World”--with its all-star lineup of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder, et al.--has generated $33 million to be used chiefly to aid famine victims in Africa.

Unlike 1983 and 1984, when key albums--notably Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Prince’s “Purple Rain”--spent months at No. 1, only one LP has held the top spot on the charts longer than three weeks: Phil Collins’ “No Jacket Required,” which spent six weeks at No. 1. Prince, however, is the only artist to reach the top with two albums. His new “Around the World in a Day” is No. 1 this week.

Here are this year’s most popular albums through the June 1 issue of Billboard. The number of points registered is also noted. An asterisk indicates that the record is still in the national Top 10.

1--Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”--183 points.*

2--Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”--149.*

3--Phil Collins’ “No Jacket Required”--108.*

4--John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” and Wham!’s “Make It Big”--tied with 97. (Wham! only)*

6--”Beverly Hills Cop” sound track--93.*

7--Tina Turner’s “Private Dancer”--69.

8--Prince’s “Purple Rain”--59.

9--Foreigner’s “Agent Provocateur”--54.

10--USA for Africa’s “We Are the World”--49.*

Though nine singles have reached the top of the charts, only two held on to the top spot for more than three weeks: “Like a Virgin” and “We Are the World,” both of which spent four weeks at No. 1. Two artists, Madonna and Wham!, have reached the top of the charts with two different singles. Madonna also hit No. 1 with “Crazy for You,” while Wham! scored with both “Careless Whisper” and its current “Everything She Wants.”

Here are the most successful singles, according to Billboard:

1--Madonna’s “Crazy for You”--68 points.

2--USA for Africa’s “We Are the World”--67.

3--Wham!’s “Careless Whisper”--66.

4--REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling”--63.

5--Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”--58.

6--Philip Bailey’s “Easy Lover” and Phil Collins’ “One More Night”--tied with 50.

8--Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl”--tied with 46.

10--Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”--43.*

IN THE STORES: New albums include Robert Plant’s “Shakin’ ‘n Stirred,” Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms,” Amy Grant’s “Unguarded,” Natalie Cole’s “Dangerous,” New Order’s “Low Life,” Tom Fogerty’s “Precious Gems,” Translator’s “Playground” and Marvin Gaye’s “Dream of a Lifetime”. . . . On the way: Bob Dylan’s “Empire Burlesque,” R.E.M.’s “Fables of the Reconstruction,” Bryan Ferry’s “Boys and Girls,” Style Council’s “Internationalists,” John Anderson’s “Tokyo, Oklahoma” and Kid Creole’s “In Praise of Older Women.”

LIVE ACTION: Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s June 14 and 15 dates at the Hollywood Palladium have been moved to the Greek Theatre. Tickets for the Palladium shows can be exchanged, starting Monday, at the Greek or the Pacific Amphitheatre. . . . Rick Springfield will be at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Aug. 22; tickets go on sale Monday. . . . The Smiths have added a second Palladium show on June 28; tickets go on sale Sunday. . . . Africa’s Touri Kunda will be at the Palace on June 16. . . . Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is booked June 12 at the Palomino.