THE CHART

CHILI RECEPTION

The Red Hot Chili Peppers seemed shoo-ins to debut on top, especially with some mass merchants adopting the mantra “give it away, give it away now” as a retail price war heated up. And By the Way’s first-week figure of 282,000 was nothing to offer a peppery sneeze at. But Nelly was redder and hotter, adding 340,000 to his tally. Counting Crows also benefited from price-cutting skirmishes, selling 138,000 pieces of the No. 5 Hard Candy. At No. 6, freshman rapper Styles’ A Gangster and a Gentleman features song titles that would make Richard Gere blanch, selling 135,000. Styles is one of many chart acts who will never share a bill with gent Josh Groban, who owes this week’s chart leap to Oprah.

POP ALBUMS

LAST WEEK WEEKS ON CHART

1 1 NELLY Nellyville, Universal 3 2 — RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS By the Way, Warner Bros. 1 3 2 EMINEM The Eminem Show, Aftermath/Interscope 8 4 5 AVRIL LAVIGNE Let Go, Arista 6 5 — COUNTING CROWS Hard Candy, Geffen 1 6 — STYLES A Gangster and a Gentleman, Ruff Ryders/Interscope 1 7 3 VARIOUS ARTISTS Irv Gotti Presents The Inc, Murder Inc./Def Jam 2 8 25 JOSH GROBAN Josh Groban, Reprise/Warner Bros. 31 9 6 ASHANTI Ashanti, Murder Inc./Def Jam 15 10 4 AEROSMITH O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Columbia 2 11 9 PINK Missundaztood, Arista 34 12 10 VARIOUS ARTISTS Totally Hits 2002, Warner Bros. 6 13 — E-40 Grit & Grind, Jive 1 14 12 VARIOUS ARTISTS Disney’s Lilo & Stitch soundtrack, Walt Disney 5 15 7 KORN Untouchables, Immortal/Epic 5

(C)2002 BPI COMMUNICATIONS INC./SOUNDSCAN INC. USED WITH PERMISSION FROM BILLBOARD, JULY 25, 2002.