Fans Clamor to Buy Whitney Houston Albums Whitney Houston’s sudden death on February 11 led to her return to the popularity charts. Houston’s Greatest Hits album re-enters the Billboard 200 at Number 6. In addition, three of her Number One singles are back on the Hot 100 list. “I Will Always Love You” re-enters at Number 7, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” places at Number 35 and “Greatest Love of All” comes in at Number 41. Grammy Win Boosts Adele’s Record Sales Adele’s six Grammy wins and her return to performing after a three-month break were responsible for increased sales of her albums 19 and 21. 21 spends its 20th week at Number One and 19 jumps 10 positions to Number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart. According to Billboard , 21 is expected to sell another 500,000 to 600,000 copies in the week ending February 19. That will be enough to keep it in the Billboard 200 ’s top spot for a 21st week and make it the longest-running Number One album by a female artist in the chart’s history. Madonna Scores Another Top 10 Hit In other chart news, Madonna earns her 38th Top 10 hit this week with “Give Me All Your Luvin’.” The debut single from her upcoming MDNA album features Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. Madonna holds the record for most Top 10 songs in the Hot 100’s 53-year history. Rounding out the list of artists with the most Top 10 hits are the Beatles (34), Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder (28), Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Elton John (27), Elvis Presley (25), and Whitney Houston and the Rolling Stones (23). Other Billboard News This week’s Top 10 album debuts on the Billboard 200 chart include Van Halen’s “A Different Kind of Truth” at Number 2, “Now That’s What I Call Music 41” by various artists at Number 3, “Scars & Stories” by The Fray at Number 4, “Kisses on the Bottom” by Paul McCartney at Number 5 and “Home” by Dierks Bentley at Number 7. Navy SEAL Movie Sountrack Features Country Stars On February 21, Capitol Records will release the soundtrack to the Navy SEAL action-thriller Act of Valor . The album features 10 tracks by superstar Country acts, including Lady Antebellum, Sugarland, Keith Urban, Wynonna Judd, Trace Adkins and Jake Owen, among others. Act of Valor hits theaters nationwide on February 24. New Album Releases / February 21: “Some Nights” by Fun “Voice of Ages” by The Chieftains “How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?” by Sinead O’Connor “Electric Sea” by Buckethead “Careless World” by Tyga “Safe House” the original motion picture soundtrack Musical Events/Festivals/Benefits: On February 21, Mick Jagger, Keb Mo, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, and others will perform a special blues concert at the White House. The event, which celebrates Black History Month, will be filmed for the PBS television special, “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues.” The show is scheduled to air on February 27. The 2012 Country Radio Seminar (CRS) will take place February 22-24 in Nashville. The three-day event attracts Country radio programmers and personalities throughout the U.S. A highlight of the annual seminar is the New Faces of Country Music Show, which will be held on February 24. This year’s New Faces talent includes Thompson Square, the Eli Young Band, Hunter Hayes, David Nail and Sunny Sweeney. Star Birthdays: Legendary Motown singer Smokey Robinson will turn 72 on February 19. In 1955, Robinson formed the Detroit-based vocal group The Miracles. The group made its first appearance on the rhythm-and-blues chart in 1960 with the Number One song, “Shop Around.” Robinson left The Miracles in 1972 to pursue a solo career. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and two years later, received the Grammy Living Legend Award. Smokey was presented with a Kennedy Center Honor in December 2006. That same year, he recorded Timeless Love , which includes his renditions of 13 jazz, big band and pop standards. Smokey’s latest album, Time Flies When You’re Having Fun , was released in 2009. Guests on the collection include Joss Stone, India Arie and Carlos Santana. R&B singer Rihanna celebrates her 24th birthday on February 20. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Barbados, she was signed to Def Jam Records after auditioning for the label’s president Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Rihanna describes her music as “mostly Caribbean beats mixed with R&B.” Her debut album, Music of the Sun , was released in 2005. Its first single, “Pon De Replay,” reached Number One on the Billboard dance chart. Rihanna’s second album, A Girl Like Me , spawned the hits “S.O.S.,” “Unfaithful” and “We Ride.” Her 2007 album, Good Girl Gone Bad, produced many hits, including “Umbrella,” “Shut Up and Drive,” “Hate That I Love You,” “Don’t Stop The Music,” “Take A Bow,” “Disturbia” and “Rehab.” In 2009, Rihanna recorded her fourth album, Rated R . Its first two singles, “Russian Roulette” and “Hard,” reached the Top 10. Last year, Rihanna won the Best Dance Recording Grammy Award for “Only Girl (In The World).” Also in 2011, she received the Best International Female Solo Artist trophy at the BRIT Awards. Rihanna earned the highest-first week sales of her career with her fifth album, Loud . The set sold 207,000 copies its first week of release in November 2010. Last year, Rihanna spent 10 weeks at Number One on the Hot 100 chart with “We Found Love,” the lead single from her latest album, Talk That Talk . The track features Scottish singer Calvin Harris. Singer Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys will turn 37 on February 20. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Brian was 18 when he flew to Orlando, Florida to audition for the pop vocal group. The Backstreet Boys’ 1997 debut album sold more than 14 million copies in the U.S
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Fans Buy Up Whitney Houston Albums; Grammy Win Boosts Adele’s Record Sales