Stevie Nicks
Photo: MTV News

For a person who's proud to own neither a computer nor a cell phone, one doesn't expect to hear the name "Timbaland" at the top of Stevie Nicks' list of potential collaborators. When we asked legendary Fleetwood Mac frontwoman about rumors that she was interested in working with Timbaland, she exclaimed, "Oh, I would love to!" But as far as what their work together might sound like, she replied, "Well, I don't really know, so that's why it's exciting."

While this might be news to some of her fans, Nicks — who is currently on tour with Fleetwood Mac and released the concert DVD "Live in Chicago" on Tuesday — said she's long been a fan of R&B, "I learned to sing to R&B artists, not rock and roll or country artists," she said. "That was my first love, strangely enough. I am really very, very R&B, for my own music. When I'm listening just for my own fun, when I'm dancing around my apartment, I'm pretty much listening to R&B," she continued, noting that she's a fan of both contemporary and classic artists in the genre.

That love came into play more than two decades ago, when she collaborated with Prince. The story began on the first night of her honeymoon with Kim Anderson, to whom she was briefly married. "I'm driving to my honeymoon night in Santa Barbara from L.A., and 'Little Red Corvette' comes on," she recalled. "We're like oh my God, it's Prince! So I start singing all these words, and I'm like, 'Pull over, we have to get a cassette player! And we have to record this!' I'm writing in the car — here we are, newlyweds, and we get to our hotel and we're setting up the tape recorder and I've made up my whole new melody to [the song]. So I haven't really ripped off the song, because I'm admitting that I have done this. So we go into a studio in Los Angeles a couple weeks later and I track down Prince's phone number — and because I'm Stevie Nicks, I can get it.

"I call him, and I never thought he was going to answer, or that it would be him, or that I would ever find him — and he answers. I said, 'Prince, this is Stevie Nicks, and I wrote a song to your song 'Little Red Corvette,' and we're at Sunset Sound right now, and I was wondering — first of all, I wanted to tell you that I'm giving you 50 percent of [the royalties] it if it ever goes anywhere, but are you in town? If you are, how would you feel about coming down and playing on it?' Never in a million years did I think this man would be like, 'I'll be right there.' He was there in 20 minutes and he played [she mimes instrumental parts of the song] on 'Stand Back,' and he was there an hour and a half, and then he left."

But that was far from the end of their musical relationship. "Prince and I became really good friends," she said, "and he actually gave me a cassette, and said, 'There's a song on it, and I would like you to write.' I take it home and put it on, and I'm listening to this like amazing song ... and it's 'Purple Rain'! And I'm like, I can't write a song to this! It [wasn't] 'Purple Rain' yet, but it [was] the track that became 'Purple Rain.' "

Times have changed since in the past 25 years, but Nicks is still writing new music, and thinking of new collaborators, like Timbaland. When asked what he might think of her interest in working with him, Nicks laughed and said, "Of course, he'll hear about this and go 'Oh my God, why in the world?' "

Tim, it's your move.

• Fleetwood Mac
• Timbaland
• Prince

Kelly Clarkson
Photo: RCA Records

She tugged at the nation's heartstrings on "American Idol," and now Kelly Clarkson is holding the pop-buying public by their purse strings with the best-selling album on next week's Billboard albums chart.

Fueled by the hit single "A Moment Like This," Thankful, Clarkson's debut LP, will bow at #1 with more than 297,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday. The album title is an understatement. The first-season "American Idol" winner and all those in her camp have got to be more than grateful that the nearly 300,000 copies sold were able to stave off this year's chart champion, 50 Cent. (See our feature, "Kelly Clarkson: Crowd Surfing Anti-Diva," for more on the American idol.)

The rapper's New Breed CD/DVD hybrid fell shy of the talent-pageant princess' album by more than 50,000 copies. The disc, featuring three previously unreleased 50 tracks, a live performance in Detroit, videos, and a big-house interview with the incarcerated Tony Yayo, sold more than 246,000 copies to place in the #2 spot.

The Queens, New York, rapper's debut album, Get Rich Or Die Tryin', will drop two spots to #5, selling more than 206,000 copies. Despite the dip to the album's lowest chart position in its 11-week run, 50 has the distinction of being the only artist in the last decade to place two albums in the top 5 in the same week.

He's not the only artist to pull off such a feat since SoundScan began clocking record sales in 1991, however. Garth Brooks had a pair of top 5'ers in 1992, with his Christmas album Beyond the Season and The Chase. A year before, both Bruce Springsteen and Guns N' Roses did it: the Boss with Human Touch and Lucky Town, and GN'R with both volumes of Use Your Illusion. (Asterisk alert: While the Springsteen and GN'R LPs were released simultaneously, that's not the case for Garth Brooks and 50 Cent, the true kings of the top 5.)

Fleetwood Mac's first new studio album in eight years, Say You Will, will claim the #3 spot with more than 217,000 copies sold in its opening week; while country singer Darryl Worley's third album, Have You Forgotten? — whose war-effort-inspired title is at once sympathetic and rallying — will bow in at #4, with more than 213,000 copies sold.

Parrotheads nationwide showed their support for their big kahuna Jimmy Buffett by scooping up his greatest-hits collection, Meet Me in Margaritaville, which also includes 11 previously-unreleased tracks, en mass. More than 127,000 copies of the two-disc set flew off shelves in its first week, with more than a month to prepare for that Memorial Day bash, too.

The record industry had a good week overall. All the albums in next week's top 10 increased their weekly sales from the week prior (it helps when half of them are chart debuts), and the total weekly sales of all top 200 albums was more than 6 million, a significant jump from the 4.3 million cumulative total the week before.

The remainder of the top 10 will include Linkin Park's Meteora, dropping four spots to #6 (192,000); Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 12, sinking three spots to #7 (192,000); Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, down a notch to #8 (142,000); and The Very Best of Cher at #10 (121,000).

Pete Yorn will have the only other top 20 chart debut with his second album, Day I Forgot, at #18.

After their voluntary fall from Christian retail outlets, Evanescence finally fell out of the top 10, down from #10 to #12. The descent comes seven weeks after Fallen first dropped last month. Nevertheless, the album sold 23,000 more copies than the week before, to accumulate for a total of more than 670,000 copies.

Godsmack's Faceless will vacate the top slot it held last week to drop down to #13.

Other notable chart debuts include country crossover Jessica Andrews' Now at #34; jam band Widespread Panic's Ball at #61; reggae royalty Ziggy Marley's Dragonfly at #138; and soul crooner/son of actor Alan, Thicke's Beautiful World at #152.

• Kelly Clarkson
• 50 Cent
• Linkin Park
• Darryl Worley
• Evanescence

50 fever is still burning, and Interscope is cashing in with "The New Breed," a DVD that features 50 Cent discussing his near-fatal shooting and his music allies and rivals. The home video also has concert footage and the unseen clip for "Heat," while a bonus CD is included with three unreleased tracks.

We're all Thankful that "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson finally got an album title and will release her debut LP. The first single is "Miss Independent," co-written by Christina Aguilera, and Clarkson teams up with "Idol" colleague Tamyra Gray on a song that could've been inspired by Simon Cowell's barbs — "You Thought Wrong."

Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will features Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham on such final-sounding duets as "Say Goodbye" and "Goodbye Baby," while drummer-turned-singer Pete Yorn delivers the earnest Day I Forgot.

TV dad Alan Thicke's son Robin finally releases his A Beautiful World (formerly Cherry Blue Skies) under his last name only. In the Justin Timberlake vein of blue-eyed soul, Thicke delivers pop/funk songs like "When I Get You Alone," 'I'ma Be Alright" and the title tracks, both yestermonth's and current.

Out Tuesday, April 15:

• Aes - May to December (Voicebox)
• Ammo - Respect My Gangsta (Orchard)
• Jessica Andrews - Now (DreamWorks)
• Duster Bennett - Bright Lights Big City (remastered, Sanctuary)
• Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights (Diehard)
• Aurora Borealis - Time Unveiled (Diehard)
• Black Ice - Enemies (Orchard)
• Boz Boorer - My Wild Life (Raucous)
• Boys - Boys Only (Captain Oi!)
• Briggs - Numbers (Disaster)
• Bug - Pressure (Tigerbeat6)
• Don Campbell - Any Day Now (V.P.)
• Catch Up - Catch Up (Crippled Dick)
• Ward Churchill - Pacifism as Pathology in the American Left (Alternative Tentacles)
• Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (RCA)
  Buy Now: Thankful (RCA)
• Ravi Coltrane - Mad 6 (Sony)
• Compulsive Gamblers - Live and Deadly: Memphis to Chicago (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
• The Conversation - Last in Line (Orchard)
• Cramps - Fiends of Dope Island (Vengeance)
• Daemon - Eye Foe an Eye (Diehard)
• Daemon - Second Coming (Diehard)
• Daemon - Seven Deadly Sins (Diehard)
• Deadline /Brass Knuckle Boys - Any Fate But Submission (split EP, Haunted Town)
• Deadly Snakes - Ode to Joy (In the Red)
• Duran Duran - Essential (EMI)
• E.Town Concrete - Renaissance (Razor & Tie)
• FFH - Ready to Fly (BMG)
• Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will (two CDs, Warner Bros.)
• Fleshies - Sicilian (Alternative Tentacles)
• Four Minute Mile - The Plastic Chapter (Orchard)
• Freeform - Condensed (Finest Filets 1997-2002) (EFA)
• Galactic - Vintage Reserve (Volcano)
• Gentle Giant - The Missing Face (Voiceprint)
• Lisa Germano - Lullaby for Liquid Pig (BMG)
• Billy Gilman - Music Through Heartsongs (Sony)
• Roy Haynes - Love Letters (Sony)
• Eddie Henderson - So What (Sony)
• Hot Hot Heat - Scenes One Through Thirteen (Ohev)
  Read: "Hot Hot Heat Achieve Coolness By Writing Good Muzak"
• Horrors - Vent (In the Red)
• Hypofixx - From Man to Machine (Orchard)
• King Johnson - Hot Fish Laundry Mat (Landslide)
• Judge Dread - Rub a Dub (Captain Oi!)
• Junior P - Jah Works (reissue, Orchard)
• Koldborn - First Enslavement (Diehard)
• Land of Nod - Reality Channel: Introduction to the Land of Nod (Orange Sky)
• Last Rough Cause/Society’s Rejects - Skins N Punks (Step 1)
• Lazily Spun - Lazily Spun (Camera Obscura)
• Left Alone - Left Alone (One Shot)
• Los Creepers - Punk Rock Since 96 (One Shot)
• Los Kung-Fu Monkeys - Rebuilding the World (One Shot)
• Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly (Private Music)
• Matchbox - Rockabilly Dynamos 1 (Raucous)
• Matchbox - Rockabilly Dynamos 2 (Raucous)
• Mates of State - My Solo Project (reissue, Polyvinyl)
• Mellowdrone - A Demonstration of Intellectual Property (EP, BMG)
• Meteors - Meteors Live 1&2 (Raucous)
• LDS - Drop It (Orchard)
• Lory D - Sounds Never Seen (Rephlex)
• Lou Mosley - Finally (Jen Star)
• Ov7 - Punto (Sony)
• Palace Guard - Palace Guard (Gear Fab)
• Peter and the Test Tube Babies - Live and Loud (Step 1)
• Plus Minus - Holding Pattern (EP, Teenbeat)
• Dee Dee Ramone/Terrorgruppe - Split (Wanker)
• Red Snapper - Red Snapper (Lo)
• Reign of Terror - Conquer and Divide (Lion)
• Rob-E & Security - Fundamental Breakz (Orchard)
• Rydell - Always Remember Everything (Headhunter)
• Sanchez - He’s Got the Power (V.P)
• Schizm - Where is Pour Savior (One Shot)
• Vick Silva - Roots Man Dance (Rhombus)
• Alan Silvestri - "Identity" score (Varese)
• Slaughter and Dogs - Dog Day Afternoon: Live in the USA (TKO)
• Snap-Her - Division 1 (One Shot)
• Solis - Solace (Orchard)
• Spades - Friday Night (People Like You)
• Sunride - Great Infiltration (People Like You)
• Swirlies - Cats of the Wild 2 (Bubble Core)
• Systematic - Pleasure to Burn (Elektra)
• Nobukazo Takemura - Songbook (Bubble Core)
• Via Tania - Under a Different Sky (Chocolate Industries)
• Teenage Rage - It’s Not Over Until We Say Goodbye (One Shot)
• Thicke - A Beautiful World (Interscope)
  Read: "Robin Thicke: Mixing The Beatles, Zeppelin And Hendrix With Jay-Z"
  Buy Now: A Beautiful World (Interscope)
• Third - Worthless (Orchard)
• Thirty Called Arson - You’re Only a Rebel From the Waist Down (Pluto)
• Thorium - Unleashing the Demons (Diehard)
• Tierra - Tierra Box Set (box set, Thump)
• Victor-E - The Meditations (Orchard)
• Wailers - Live (Image Entertainment)
• Whatever It Takes - Whatever It Takes (Mogul Electro)
• Whirlwind Heat - Do Rabbits Wonder (V2)
• Widespread Panic - Ball (Sanctuary)
• Darryl Worley - Have You Forgotten? (DreamWorks)
• Pete Yorn - Day I Forgot (Sony)
  Buy Now: Day I Forgot (Sony)
• Young Savages - Untamed (Raucous)
• Various artists - "Chasing Papi" soundtrack (Sony)
• Various artists - Freestyle Party (Thump)
• Various artists - "Holes" soundtrack (Disney)
• Various artists - Lonesome On’ry and Mean: Tribute to Waylon Jennings (BMG)
• Various artists - "Malibu's Most Wanted" soundtrack (Universal)
• Various artists - New York Electroclash Compilation (Mogul Electro)
• Various artists - Shudder to Think Tribute (Ignition)
• Various artists - They Can’t Take That Away From Me (Delta)
• Various artists -Underground Screams (Asian Man)
• DVD: 50 Cent - The New Breed (with bonus CD, Interscope)

April 22:

• Evan Dando - Baby I'm Bored (Bar None)
• Flaming Lips - Fight Test (EP, Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: Fight Test (EP, Warner Bros.)
• Madonna - American Life (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Madonna To Follow Spiritual Muse For New Album"
  Buy Now: American Life (Warner Bros.)

April 29:

• Kelly Price - Priceless (Universal)
  Buy Now: Priceless (Universal)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell (Touch & Go)
• Various artists - American Idol Season 2: All-Time Classic American Love Songs (RCA)

May 13:

• Macy Gray - The Trouble With Being Myself (Epic)
• Third Eye Blind - Out of the Vein (Elektra)
  Read: "Third Eye Blind Recruit Fred Durst, Andrew W.K. For Third Album"
  Buy Now: Out of the Vein (Elektra)

June 10:

• Metallica - St. Anger (Elektra)
  Read: "Metallica To Give Rock And Roll A Good Thrashing"

June 17:

• Limp Bizkit - The Search for Teddy Swoes (Interscope)
  Read: "Snoop Dogg, Bubba Sparxxx May Appear On Limp Bizkit Album"

• 50 Cent
• Kelly Clarkson
• Fleetwood Mac
• Robin Thicke
• Pete Yorn

Faith Hill
Photo: Warner Bros.

Faith Hill will likely be shedding tears of joy over Cry when next week's Billboard albums chart is published.

The country singer's fifth album and first in three years, Cry will make its chart debut at #1 with more than 472,000 copies sold, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (October 23).

LL Cool J will flex his musical muscles at #2 with 10. With a chiseled new physique and a ladies-loving single, "Luv U Better," the 17-year veteran of verse sold more than 154,000 copies of his follow-up to 2000's The G.O.A.T. in its first week in stores.

The two newcomers will oust the Elvis Presley set Elvis 30 #1 Hits from the top slot where the King once reigned for four consecutive weeks. The more-than-a-million seller will drop a deuce to #3. Bon Jovi, meanwhile, got more than a gentle nudge from Hill and LL. The Garden State group's latest, Bounce, will plummet 11 spots to #13 after selling more than 61,000 copies, less than half as many as it did the week before.

Romance rules the back end of the top 10, with soulster Gerald Levert's The G Spot and R&B crooner Dave Hollister's Things in the Game Done Changed setting a smooth mood at #9 and #10, respectively.

Rounding out next week's top 10 are the Rolling Stones' Forty Licks, which will step back to #4; Avril Lavigne extending her 20-week stay in the upper echelon with Let Go's #5 placement; the Dixie Chicks cracking the 2 million mark with former top dog Home remaining at #6; The Eminem Show, the only LP to rival Lavigne's top-10 residency, at #7; and Nelly's Nellyville, dropping three places to #8.

A gracious greeting is allotted to nümetallers Taproot, whose second album, Welcome, will make a surprising chart debut at #17, thanks to the radio and video prominence of "Poem," while the band makes the rounds on the road.

Other notable debuts on next week's chart include the double CD The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac at #12; singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman's Let It Rain at #25; Shine by orchestral dance-pop quartet Bond at #61; Dirty South rappers Da Headbussaz's Dat's How It Happened To 'M at #98; The Best of INXS at #144; and the soundtrack to the movie "Jackass," opening this week, at #195.

• Faith Hill
• LL Cool J
• Elvis Presley
• Dave Hollister
• Dixie Chicks

When super producer and Grammy Award nominee Dallas Austin isn't busy working with TLC, these days he's stretching his versatile skills with such acts as the Spice Girls and Stevie Nicks.

Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow collaborated recently to cast a pair of "enchanting" tunes for the upcoming soundtrack for the film "Practical Magic," due in stores on October 6.

Crow produced the two Nicks songs, a new track entitled "If You Ever Did Believe," and a new version of an old Fleetwood Mac number, "Crystal," according to "Billboard."

As we previously reported (see "Sheryl Crow To Star With Dwight Yoakam In 'Minus Man'"), Crow will release her third album, "Riverwide," on September 15, and in the meantime has agreed to make her big-screen acting debut in a film with country singer Dwight Yoakam.

Nicks, who has just finished a summer tour, plans to return to a studio to start work on a new solo album, her first since 1994's "Street Angel."

• Sheryl Crow
• Fleetwood Mac
• Stevie Nicks

A 38-year-old man hanged himself with jumper cables outside a Stevie Nicks concert in Concord, California, on Saturday night following an encounter with his estranged wife.

• Fleetwood Mac
• Stevie Nicks