There`s just no stopping the British duo Milli Vanilli, who scored their second straight chart double on the U.S. charts by having both the No. 1 pop single (”Blame It on the Rain”) and No. 1 album (”Girl You Know It`s True”) in the same week.
But they soon will have to contend with America`s piano man, Billy Joel, who also made strong showings on both lists this week.
On the pop singles chart, Joel`s ”We Didn`t Start the Fire” jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, and appears unstoppable for No. 1 honors next week. (”Fire” already is the leader in record sales, but ”Rain” remained the overall champ because it had a wide edge in radio airplay.) And on the LP list, Joel`s
”Storm Front” moved from No. 3 to No. 2 to set up a fierce fight for the top next week.
The two acts also are battling it out on the international scene: ”Storm Front” already is No. 1 in Australia and ”Girl You Know It`s True” is the champ in Canada. Milli Vanilli also has another album, ”All or Nothing,” in the top spot in the Netherlands.
Back in the U.S., a few chart fireworks also were scored by Britisher Phil Collins and his ”Another Day in Paradise,” which moved up to No. 1 on the adult contemporary list to end the five-week run of Linda Ronstadt`s
”Don`t Know Much” (now No. 3). ”Paradise” also zipped from No. 10 to No. 6 on the main pop list and remains in contention for future No. 1 honors. Other songs to watch: Janet Jackson`s ”Rhythm Nation” (up from No. 22 to No. 17); Cher`s ”Just Like Jesse James” (from No. 29 to No. 19); and Jody Watley`s ”Everything” (from No. 29 to No. 24).
Here are predictions for next week`s singles` chart: 1. ”We Didn`t Start the Fire,” 2. ”Blame It on the Rain,” 3. ”Angelia,” 4. ”Another Day in Paradise,” 5. ”(It`s Just) The Way That You Love Me,” 6. ”Don`t Know Much,” 7. ”Back to Life,” 8. ”Love Shack,” 9. ”With Every Beat of My Heart,” 10. ”Don`t Close Your Eyes.”
This week, there are two pick hits: ”Downtown Train,” the strongest effort in some time for veteran rocker Rod Stewart (it`s already No. 40 in just its second chart week); and Poco`s classy ballad ”Nothin` to Hide,”
which was written and produced by Richard Marx.
