‘Hotshot’ Lives Up to Its Name Again

Shaggy and the Beatles may sound like the title of a lost “Scooby Doo” episode, butit’s actually the ongoing description of the top of the nation’s album chart.

Shaggy’s “Hotshot” held on to the No. 1 spot for the third straight week and maintained a strong lead over the second-place Beatles’ hits collection, “1.” Both posted solid increases over last week’s sales figures, Shaggy’s album selling 294,000, up from 246,000 the previous week, while the Beatles went up to 201,000 from 152,000, according to SoundScan.

In fact, sales for every album in the Top 10 increased except for Jennifer Lopez’s “J.Lo,” which fell one notch to No. 5 this week on sales of 130,000 copies, down from 134,000 a week earlier.

Though it was pretty much business as usual inside the Top 10, the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack continued its surprising upward climb, moving up four positions this week to No. 15, as sales increased to 81,000 from 66,000 the previous week.

Can this compilation of traditional folk and bluegrass music crack the Top 10?

“I think it’s got a good shot,” says Wherehouse Entertainment senior pop buyer Bob Bell. “The soundtrack album has really taken on a life of its own, beyond the audience for the movie. It’s appealing to the same sort of eclectic-minded consumers that bought ‘Buena Vista Social Club.’ This is to folk and bluegrass what that record was to world music.”

Additionally, it may be helping folk and bluegrass music in general.

“It’s not like what the Ken Burns ‘Jazz’ series has done for jazz, but we are seeing increased sales for other folk and bluegrass artists,” says Tower Records Southwest territory director Bob Feterl. “The movie has definitely had an effect on folk and bluegrass sales.”

Retailers also are excited about the release on Tuesday of new albums by the Dave Matthews Band and Silkk the Shocker.

“Dave Matthews should have an absolutely huge opening week,” Bell says. “They’ve got just about the strongest fan base of any rock band out there. Absolutely it will debut at No. 1.”

The other slots in this week’s Top 10 are held by the “Save the Last Dance” soundtrack, Dido, Sade, Lenny Kravitz, Ja Rule, Crazy Town and Ludacris. The highest debut was rap group Iconz’ “Street Money, Vol. 1,” which debuts at No. 64, with sales of 29,000.

The nation’s best-selling single once again is “Stutter,” by rapper Joe featuring Mystikal. It’s been No. 1 for four weeks in a row. Shaggy, however, is closing in here, too, his single “It Wasn’t Me,” moving up two spots into the No. 2 slot this week.