DIXIE CHICKS TICKETS SOAR

Multiple Grammy Award winners the Dixie Chicks have broken the record for the most tickets sold in one day—moving nearly 800,000, valued in the neighborhood of $48 million, insiders close to the band said.

On Saturday (4/1), the group made available nearly 1 million tickets for their upcoming tour, which kicks off May 1 in Greenville, South Carolina.

The previous record was held by the Backstreet Boys, who sold 750,000 tickets worth about $30 million to their 1999 tour. Interestingly, the Chicks are managed by Simon Renshaw at the Firm, the company that once handled the Backstreet Boys.

The Dixie Chicks' tour begins May 1 at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, and ends Aug. 4 in Nashville.

Joan Osbourne will open the first leg, while fellow Firm artist Michelle Branch will handle the second.

The Chicks are booked by Rob Light at CAA and Renshaw.

In other Dixie Chicks news, the country trio has added another 1 million units in sales for their most recent release, Home, and another 1 million for their 1998 album, Wide Open Spaces, according to the RIAA's gold and platinum certifications for February.

The new certifications make the Dixie Chicks the best-selling female group in history and one of the top 10 best-selling country acts of all time.