CHART BEAT BONUS
MORE MOORE, LATTIMORE: Chante’s got a man, and Kenny’s got a woman. And it’s all working out very well for both of them. “Things That Lovers Do” (Arista), the duets album by husband-and-wife Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore enters Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at No. 3, the highest debut and peak for both artists.
“Things” includes cover versions of duets made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (“You’re All I Need to Get By”), Billy Preston and Syreeta (“With You I’m Born Again”), and another husband-and-wife team, Ashford & Simpson (“Is It Still Good to You”).
Moore and Lattimore had seven previous chart entries between them, all of which were released before they tied the knot. Here’s a summary of how those earlier albums fared on the R&B chart:
Chante Moore:
? “Precious,” No. 20 (1993)
? “A Love Supreme,” No. 11 (1994)
? “This Moment Is Mine,” No. 7 (1999)
? “Exposed,” No. 10 (2000)
Kenny Lattimore:
? “Kenny Lattimore,” No. 19 (1997)
? “From the Soul of Man,” No. 15 (1998)
? “Weekend,” No. 24 (2001)
On The Billboard 200, “Things” enters at No. 31. That’s the highest position to date for Lattimore, and it ties the No. 31 peak of Moore’s “This Moment Is Mine.”
‘CAN’ DO: Nas has the highest-debuting single of 2003 on Billboard’s Hot 100, as “I Can” (Ill Will/Columbia) enters the chart at No. 46. Just counting songs where Nas is the lead artist, “I Can” is the second-highest debut of his career on this tally, runner-up to “Street Dreams,” which opened at No. 39 the week of Nov. 9, 1996.
As a featured artist, Nas debuted (and peaked) at No. 35 in March 1997 on “Head Over Heels” by Allure. In November 1999, he debuted at No. 36 with a Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott song, “Hot Boyz.”
‘BIG’ MAN ON CHART: Vince Gill has his highest-ranking album of this millennium on The Billboard 200. “Next Big Thing” (MCA) is new at No. 14, Gill’s highest position since 1998, when “The Key” peaked at No. 11.
A YEAR WITHOUT WOMEN: Unless a solo female artist works her way to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in the next four weeks, it will be an entire year since an individual woman has captured pole position. Terri Clark looked like a contender with “I Just Wanna Be Mad” (Mercury), but the song lost airplay and slips 2-3 this week. “The Baby” (Warner Bros.) by Blake Shelton remains No. 1 and “19 Somethin'” (Mercury) by Mark Wills rebounds to No. 2.
The last solo female artist to reach No. 1 on the country tally was Martina McBride, whose “Blessed” ruled for two weeks, beginning the week of March 30, 2002.
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