John Mayer’s Battle Studies is the Genghis Khan of the chart wars this week, with 286,000 copies sold—making it his first no. 1 Billboard spot since 2003’s Heavier Things. (Despite the fact that 2007’s Continuum beat it numbers-wise at 300K, it bowed at no. 2—damn you, Justin Timberlake!).

Andrea Bocelli’s deck-the-halls-with-opera opus My Christmas hung tight at no. 2, while Norah Jones’ The Fall snagged the third spot with 180,000 copies (her previous effort, 2007’s Not Too Late, moved 405,000).

Surprisingly, 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct landed fifth behind Christian soft-rockers Casting Crowns’ fifth release, Until the Whole World Hears, selling only 160,000. for Fitty, that’s a nearly half-a-million-unit fall from the 691,000-copy debut of 2007’s Curtis.

And—squeeeee!—15-year-old mall-pop pin-up Justin Bieber moved a respectable 137,000 copies of his debut EP My World; not bad for a kid who can’t even get licensed to drive yet. Two film soundtracks, Michael Jackson’s This Is it and one for a little indie flick called New Moon, held strong at 96,000 and 93,000 respectively. but pity the American Idol champ Kris Allen, whose 80,000-units no. 11 finish, while not tragic, easily falls in the lowest first-week sales for the show’s top finishers.

Who did Allen beat? Rock supergroup Them crooked Vultures, who tabbed a healthy 70,000—besting U.K. diva Leona Lewis, no less, who may not be so “Happy” with her no. 13 bow. a true legend, Beatle Paul McCartney, snagged the no. 16 spot with his Live in New York City release.

Tune in next week, music fans, when the battle gets pitched for real: the face-off between Rihanna, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Shakira and stealth chart-bomber Susan Boyle (she’s projected to hit up to a whopping 600,000 unit sales) is but a week—and eighteen tons of turkey leftovers—away.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

For all those “New Moon” fanatics who will be hitting up tonight’s midnight screenings, your long wait is officially winding down. If you plan on catching a show tonight in L.a. you might want to keep your eyes akimbo for one of the stars of the film. Tinsel Korey, who plays Emily Young, dropped this news to her West Coast followers, “So excited! Midnight tonight. You might see me pop up at a random theatre in L.a. look for the motorcycle and chucks ”. of course, some of the “Twilight” saga’s fans are new to the scene and will be checking out the movie a little later in the weekend, like “Cory in the House” actress Madison Pettis, who tweeted, “Watched Twilight (part 1) on dvd last night–LOVED IT!! Can’t wait to go see New Moon on Saturday!!”

We know one person who won’t be able to make it out to theaters this weekend is poor Jordin Sparks (pictured)! the “American Idol” songstress spread the word today via her Twitter that she, “Was struck w/ acute appendicitis…took out that appendix last night. Recovering today & the next week or so.” While Jordin takes it easy (get well soon!), it looks like Justin Bieber is feeling more than sprightly post-sickness, tweeting, “About to go on @itsonalexa on MTV!! Why do I always go on mtv the day after I’m sick. Haha. this is gonna be fun. she wants me. Haha. Jk”

Read below for more of today’s best celebrity tweets, from “The Fourth Kind”s Milla Jovovich having a down and dirty day with zombies to Elizabeth Banks’ McDonalds run! make sure you follow us on Twitter @hollywoodcrush to get all the latest news in entertainment!

@kevwilliamson To Starbucks. I need blood.
-Kevin Williamson, Writer (”The Vampire Diaries,” “Scream”)

@drewseeley its official, we’re shooting 6 more episodes of I Kissed a Vampire! What you think is gonna happen? Stay tuned…
-Drew Seeley, Singer, Actor (”I Kissed a Vampire,” “Another Cinderella Story”)

@millajovovichI hve an interesting life! Yesterday a glamorous shoot 4 tiffany diamonds, today knee deep in zombie guts! Lol! I love it!
-Milla Jovovich, Actress (”The Fourth Kind,” “Resident Evil”)

@siamusic wow.i must be bored.i am having an argument via email with an ebay seller who described bouncy balls unrealistically.
-Sia, Singer

@allisonmunn ATL airport is bananas. I want to scream at the next person who coughs on me but I know Santa is watching
-Allison Munn, Actress (”What I like about You”, “One Tree Hill”)

@druiddude why are frosted flakes the best thing everrrrr??!!?? huh? answer me that!
-Kevin McHale, Actor (”Glee”)

@ElizabethBanks what’s up w/ gas stations NOT having a bathroom? now I have to buy something at McDonald’s just so I can go? Damn you, tiny bladder.
- Elizabeth Banks, Actress (”Scrubs,” “The Uninvited”)

@frankiemuniz this is my 1111 tweet. Had to call it out because I’m superstitious… make a wish…
-Frankie Muniz, Actor (”Malcolm in the Middle,” “Agent Cody Banks”)

@pink bout to love my booty onto that treadmill…. i love to run. i love to run. i love to run.
-Pink, Singer

@whitneyEVEport just went on my shopping website whitneyeve.com and noticed my favorite dress is still for sale from the spring collection, THE WRAP DRESS!!
-Whitney Port, Reality Star (”The City”)

Eleven-year-old Sarah Horbacewicz was just another sixth grade student at Tenafly Middle School, until recently. she got her break as Time for Kids (TFK) magazine’s Kid Reporter.

Last year, Horbacewicz and one other student in her fifth grade class at Stillman School applied for the TFK reporter talent search, after a recommendation from their teacher. she was also up against thousands of children – under the age of 13 – nationwide. TFK chose a group of 12 talented students all across the nation for the 2009-2010 school year as their TFK reporters.

To apply, applicants had to include two reports and a video about themselves. for Horbacewicz’s first story, she wrote about “Walk to School Wednesdays,” which encourages everyone to walk to school to promote a more “green” and healthy lifestyle. her second story was based on a hometown hero, where she wrote about the organizers of Camp Haze – a camp for children who have lost their parents to an illness or in a tragedy such as 9/11.

Horbacewicz said, “I feel really proud of myself…for doing all that.” her first encounter with celebrities was back in September when she interviewed teen pop singer Justin Bieber, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, band Honor Society and comedian will Ferrell on Arthur Ashe Kid’s Day at the U.S. Open.

Horbacewicz said she thinks up interview questions herself before getting them approved by TFK editors and asking them publicly.

She spoke about her first time meeting the celebrities and how she prepared.

“The night before, we looked up information and researched Justin Bieber – because I didn’t really know him yet – and reviewed my interview questions,” Horbacewicz said. “I was kind of nervous because we had to tape record it [the interview] and stuff, even though we researched the night before and I knew my questions.”

Horbacewicz collects her thoughts in order to remain professional.

“I try to calm myself down so they don’t know I’m nervous before I interview them,” she giggled.

Though she’s already racking up her list of pop icons and celebrities, Horbacewicz is becoming a local celebrity in her own right. but first she had to prove it to those she knew.

“After I became one [a TFK reporter], no one believed me until I wore the TFK badge and shirt and then they finally believed me,” she said. “And then I also got a free subscription to TFK and my Social Studies teacher printed out my story and showed them [peers] my story with will Ferrell and Justin Bieber. I felt famous because people kept coming up to me and said, ‘Wow!’”

Horbacewicz’s next assignment is to interview Jeff Corwin, who explores animal life and the outdoors. she said she’s really excited because now she can read his book and interview him about it. she also commented that he inspires her because she “wants to be green.”

Her all-time dream assignment would be landing an interview with her idol Miley Cyrus.

Reporting is definitely in Horbacewicz’s career horizon. but for now, she’s just a kid who likes to draw, paint, play sports and snowboard with a glamorous side job.

E-mail: kimj@northjersey.com or 201-894-6723

His “Battle Studies” might not have received the acclaim of predecessor “Continuum,” but it will not disappoint in its effort to top the charts.

Hits Daily Double projections, based on one day sales, forecast the Mayer album debuting atop the charts with about 275,000-300,000 units moved. The figure will give Mayer’s album a clear advantage over crowded competition from new albums and holdovers.

Among new albums, Norah Jones’ “The Fall” will duke it out with 50 Cent’s “Before I Self Destruct” for the next position (both should be in the 140-160,000 range, although 50’s sales are harder to forecast due to the early iTunes release last week). Casting Crowns’ “Until the Whole World Hears” should land in similar territory.

Parlaying single “One Time”’s performance momentum into a solid album performance, teen star Justin Bieber’s “My World” is looking good for 110-120,000.

Not everyone, however, had a good week. “American Idol”’s Kris Allen will debut with the worst opening sales week of any winner in the show’s eight season history; his self-titled release is tracking for just 85-90,000. a disappointment made prematurely obvious by the soft sales for lead single “Live Like We’re Dying,” the figure makes Allen an easy target for runner-up Adam Lambert, whose debut album drops next week. Lambert’s album, similarly, would be considered a bomb if it did not reach 100,000 first week sales.

New rock supergroup “Them crooked Vultures” will be close behind with 75-80,000 for their self-titled release, a strong figure for a modern supergroup even accounting for the impressive Foo Fighters/Queens of the Stone Age/Led Zeppelin lineage of the members.

Joining Allen on the disappointing front, however, is Leona Lewis. Her “Echo,” sans a mega-hit single like “Bleeding Love” or the fairly successful “Better in Time,” will debut with just 60-65,000.

It similarly might be too late for album buyers to apologize to OneRepublic; the Ryan Tedder-fronted band’s “Waking Up” will land in 40-45,000 territory.

This Entertainment News story was published by Brian Cantor on Thursday, November 19th, 2009. you can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

John Mayer and Justin Bieber – Wireimage

The music industry is breathing a little easier now that the lucrative fourth quarter has arrived to pick up its continuing slump. the first batch of major releases made its way to shelves this week and it looks like singer/songwriter John Mayer will come out on top.

Music industry publication HITS Daily Double is predicting sales of around 275-300,000 units sold for Mayer’s new disc Battle Studies according to one day sales from major retailers. the prediction places him well ahead of Norah Jones‘ new set, The Fall, which will more than likely slide in at No. 2 with over 150,000 records sold.

The other big chart story comes courtesy of Usher protege and teen pop sensation Justin Bieber. his debut album, My World, is on pace to sell over a whopping 100,000 copies. This number will trump American Idol champ Kris Allen’s predicted debut of 85,000 units.

Look for the chart battles to get even tougher when new albums from pop princess Rihanna and American Idol glam-rocker Adam Lambert hit stores next week.

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