Lopez Knocks Beatles Out of Sight

Wed., Jan. 31, 2001 2:45 PM PST by David Jenison

This has been Jennifer Lopez's week.

First, her new romantic comedy, The Wedding Planner, debuted on top of the box office, grossing $13.5 million over the weekend. Now, her new album, J.Lo, has opened at number one on the album charts, according to sales figures released Wednesday.

That makes Lopez the first female to accomplish such a twofer.

Additionally, the first single off J.Lo, "Love Don't Cost a Thing," is a top five radio hit. And, in case you can't get enough of her, Lopez' last film, the visually stunning and underrated The Cell, just came out on video and DVD. She's also been tapped to present an award at the Oscars on March 25.

Lopez, who has been pounding the pavement to hype her new releases, was able to end the Beatles' seven-week run atop the album charts. J.Lo sold 272,000 copies for the week ended January 28. The new disc looks like it will duplicate the sales success of her first release, 1999's On the 6, which was a multiplatinum smash.

Meanwhile, Shaggy's Hotshot, which has nipped at the Beatles' heels for the past three weeks, finished as runner-up to Lopez. Hotshot held tight in the number-two spot with 214,000 in sales, according to SoundScan numbers. The soundtrack to Save the Last Dance, the film The Wedding Planner beat out at the box office, remained at number three with 184,000 copies sold. The Beatles' 1 fell to number four, moving 173,000 copies. Despite tumbling, it has sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. since its release in November and helped the Fab Four rake in $80 million last year, more than any other performer, according to Britain's Heat magazine.

Two new teen-pop acts scored the only other top 10 showings. O-Town, the subject of the ABC documentary series Making the Band, landed at number five, selling 144,000 copies of its aptly titled debut album, O-Town. The band's current single, "Liquid Dreams," has been a huge radio hit. O-Town is the latest creation by boy-band puppetmaster Lou Pearlman, the man behind 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.

Dream, a girl group under the direction of Lopez's worse half, Sean "Puffy" Combs, followed at number six with It Was All a Dream. The quartet--sort of a middle-class suburb version of Destiny's Child--sold 105,000 copies as their single, "He Loves U Not," continues to tear up pop radio. Dream is also at the center of a nightmarish custody battle. The Los Angeles-based talent agency Fontaine & Daughters Production has sued Combs, his Bad Boy Entertainment and Dream, claiming Bad Boy has failed to credit Fontaine with discovering the girl group.

The remainder of the top 10 was several familiar faces: Now That's What I Call Music! 5 at seven, Creed's Human Clay at eight, Dido's No Angel at nine, and Ja Rule's Rule 3:36 at 10.

Among the other top debuts last week, the Southern rock collection Goin' South, featuring such hits the Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," charted at number 28.

Speaking of the South, Dolly Parton's Little Sparrow, with bluegrass-tinged covers of Collective Soul's "Shine" and Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You," opened at 117.

Other notable debuts included Don't Let Go, a double-live album recorded 25 years ago by the Grateful Dead's late leader Jerry Garcia, entered the charts at number 137. The eclectic Snatch soundtrack opened at 143. Finally, Godhead, the first band signed to Marilyn Manson's Posthuman Records, saw its sophomore release, 2000 Years of Human Error, break at 153.