CHART PREVIEW: HIGH JACKED

Looks like Gretchen Wilson’s here for another party. As the siftin' an' a-whiskin' of retail reports continues this morning, the self-described Redneck Woman’s sophomore release, All Jacked Up (Epic) still appears headed for a first-week total of between 250k and 260k, pretty much making it a lock for #1 on this week’s chart. Yeeeeee-hawww!!! Corn licker and aluminum siding all around!

Lest anyone think the entire world revolves around gun racks and yard cars, however, a trio of hip-hop and R&B stars is also headed for this week’s chart, each vying with the other for second-highest-debut honors, as well as a possible #2 position.

Lil’ Kim’s The Naked Truth (Atlantic), Toni Braxton’s Libra (Blackground/Universal) and Three 6 Mafia’s The Most Known Unknown (Columbia/Sony Urban) are each headed for first-week totals in the neighborhood of 125k, meaning it’s still anyone’s guess who’ll come out on top. Aren’t we helpful?

The likelihood of any of the above three scoring the #2 chart position is, of course, directly linked to the second-week performance of last week’s #1 and #2, Disturbed and Bon Jovi. Figuring the usual 50% or so post-debut decline, the two rockers are expected to come in at around 116k and 100k, respectively.

Also looking at a Top 10 debut this week is cycling groupie and soon-to-be Mrs. Lance Armstrong Sheryl Crow, whose latest release, Wildflower (A&M/ Interscope) appears headed for 100k for the week.

And rounding out the week’s pack of noteworthy debuts is Sean Paul’s The Trinity (VP/Atlantic), which looks like it’ll snag 80k-90k in first-week sales for the dancehall/ hip-hop/reggae star.

As always, keep poking the refresh button on the HITS Building Album Chart every 10 seconds or so until it’s final tomorrow afternoon to see how far off the mark we are this week. Thank you.