‘All for You’ Poised to Top Charts

Janet Jackson’s “All for You” is the nation’s best-selling single for the fourth straight week, but the real reason for Jackson and Virgin Records to celebrate is that it looks as if the singer’s new album will easily top the chart next week.

Based on first-day sales Tuesday, retailers said Wednesday that Jackson’s new album, also titled “All for You,” got off to a big lead over its main challenger, country star Tim McGraw’s “Set This Circus Down.”

Jackson’s album is “leading the pack . . . significantly” over McGraw at the Musicland/Sam Goody chain, says marketing director Scott Levin. (See Janet Jackson interview, Page 53).

Though each artist’s last album sold around 3 million, Jackson is benefiting in part from the success of the single, a sexy pop confection that has received massive airplay in recent weeks.

The Jackson sales total, which retailers predict will top 400,000, should also have no trouble topping this week’s No. 1 seller, “Now That’s What I Call Music! 6.” The hits collection sold almost 249,000 copies last week, according to SoundScan. That gives the album a three-week total of 1.3 million.

But Jackson’s reign at No. 1 may be short, because the new Destiny’s Child album, “Survivor,” will be released Tuesday and is expected to be huge. The female vocal group’s last album, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” has sold almost 6 million copies since its release in late 1999.

Sam Milicia, vice president of music purchasing for the Handleman Co., a distributor that supplies music to Wal-Mart, Kmart and other major chains, said he expects Destiny’s Child to significantly outsell both Jackson and McGraw.

Two albums entered the chart in the Top 10 this week: Brooks & Dunn’s “Steers & Stripes,” No. 4 with sales of 81,000, and Sunshine Anderson’s “Your Woman,” No. 5 with sales of about 75,000 copies. Anderson is managed by fellow singer Macy Gray.

The remaining spots in this week’s Top 5 are claimed by Tupac Shakur (No. 2) and Shaggy (No. 3).