Pretty Ricky sitting pretty in top spot

THE Super Bowl isn’t the only major happening in South Florida: The new No. 1 album in the country belongs to Pretty Ricky, a Miami-bred rap and R&B; quartet that has gone from being a decade-long local sensation to an unfolding national success story.

Pretty Ricky are the four Smith brothers, who go by some especially vivid stage names -- Slick ‘Em, Baby Diamond Blue and Spectacular Blue are rappers, Pleasure sings -- and specialize in lusty groove songs such as “Grind With Me” and “Your Body.” “Late Night Special,” their sophomore release, sold 132,000 copies its first week in stores to debut at the top of this week’s Nielsen SoundScan chart of U.S. album sales. The CD is being propelled by the hit “On the Hotline.”

The Shins, the Portland, Ore., indie band that cut through to the mainstream in dramatic fashion after their songs practically had their own supporting character role in the 2004 film “Garden State,” debut at No. 2 this week with “Wincing the Night Away.” The CD sold 118,000 copies. The strong showing by the release from the small Sub Pop Records was spurred in part by a flurry of television appearances, including MTV, “Saturday Night Live” and “The Late Show With David Letterman.” The Shins’ CD also finished No. 1 on the Billboard chart of the week’s digital album sales.

The 49th annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS from Staples Center on Feb. 11, but the show is already making a stir on the charts; the “2007 Grammy Nominees” CD debuts at No. 4 with 77,000 copies sold. It features 20 tracks, among them “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, “Dani California” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Not Ready to Make Nice” by the Dixie Chicks and “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter.

It’s been 28 years since John Mellencamp debuted on the Billboard album charts with “John Cougar,” but the Hoosier hero (who long ago dropped the big-cat nickname) is back in strong fashion this week. His “Freedom’s Road” opens at No. 5 with 56,000 copies sold.