TURN IT UP TUESDAY: What’s New In Stores This Week (October 21)

Looking for some not-so-“Mediocre” numbers.

Rappers, rockers, reindeer lovers: they’re all in the mix this week as Q4 keeps chugging along at a faster pace. Here’s what albums and singles are in stores for the week of October 21:

• No longer a Trouble Man and putting in his Paperwork is T.I., who has been hot on Rhythmic and Urban radio with hit singles like “About The Money” and “No Mediocre”, the former featuring Young Thug and the latter featuring Iggy Azalea. This is the rapper’s first album in two years and first since making the leap from Atlantic to Columbia Records. Look for it to be a contender for #1 next week. (iTunes)
• Metal monsters Slipknot haven’t released a new studio album since 2008, but that changes this week when .5: The Gray Chapter debuts in stores. A single from it, “The Devil In I”, is shooting towards the #1 spot on the Active Rock airwaves, currently positioned at #2. Given the extended gap of time and high-ranking pre-release singles, this may also be in reach of the top. (iTunes)
• After finishing their last era with a minor chart single called “Sober”, country quartet Little Big Town go for some “Day Drinking” on their latest set, Pain Killer. “Day” is currently top ten at Country radio and it appears that they’re due for another successful era. It should make a run at the top five on the Billboard 200, though it’ll fall short of #1. (iTunes)
• The 24-year-old rapper named Logic has been noted on the underground circuit and blogosphere for several years now with a series of Young Sinatra mixtapes. This week, his first full-length album, Under Pressure, is out. Likely to be the surprise of the week, you may see the set bowing in the top five when all is said and done. (iTunes)
• Ho, ho, hold on one moment — we have some sensational stocking stuffers sizzling on the scene, including Anthony Hamilton‘s Home For The Holidays (iTunes), Earth, Wind & Fire‘s Holiday (iTunes) and Pentatonix‘s That’s Christmas To Me (iTunes).
• Other releases out this week include: Andrea Bocelli‘s Opera, The Ultimate Collection (iTunes), Annie Lennox‘s Nostalgia (iTunes), Aretha Franklin‘s Sings The Great Diva Classics (iTunes), Billy Idol‘s Kings & Queens Of The Underground (iTunes), Boyz II Men‘s Collide (iTunes), Bush‘s Man On The Run (iTunes), Gavin DeGraw‘s Finest Hour: The Best Of Gavin DeGraw (iTunes), Jacquie Lee‘s Broken Ones (EP) (iTunes), Jerry Garcia‘s GarciaLive Volume 5: December 31st 1975, Keystone Berkeley (iTunes), Jessie Ware‘s Tough Love (iTunes), Kiesza‘s Sound Of A Woman (iTunes), Neil Diamond‘s Melody Road (iTunes), Primus‘s Primus & The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble (iTunes), Susan Boyle‘s Hope (iTunes) and Vérité‘s Echo (EP) (iTunes).

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:

• “Baby Don’t Lie”, the new single from singer Gwen Stefani. (iTunes)
• “Lips Are Movin”, a movin’ musical moment from Meghan Trainor. (iTunes)
• “Nobody”, a single from YouTube’s Ricky Dillon. (iTunes)
• “Outside”, a collaboration from Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. (iTunes)
• “Welcome To New York”, a digital single from Taylor Swift. (iTunes)

A country chanteuse turned pop princess has a pretty huge album coming out on Monday… gee, I wonder who it could be? That swiftly approaching record, along with the rest of the new releases, are coming up in a full preview on Sunday night.

TURN IT UP TUESDAY: What’s New In Stores This Week (Dec. 18)

Looking to smoke the competition.

It’s the week before Christmas. Are your favorites gearing up for a big sales week? Here’s what’s new in stores this week on December 18:

• Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head is the latest release from rapper T.I., which includes the R&B hit “Ball”, featuring Lil Wayne. He’s been gaining plenty of exposure on a VH1 reality show, but will it translate into first week sales? Look for this one to at least make the top ten on the Album Chart, but it will struggle to sneak into the top five. After all, his album sales sharply dropped with his last release, No Mercy.
• A digital release of 12-12-12: The Concert For Sandy Relief is out on Wednesday, featuring live performances from Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and more. A CD release is expected in January. It should vie for the #1 spot with over 50,000 pre-orders for the album.
• Another rapper, Chief Keef, puts out Finally Rich, led off by the single “I Don’t Like”. This should definitely enter in the top twenty.
• Initially released as a free album two summers ago, The-Dream returns with 1977, which includes a few additional tracks tacked onto the original tracklisting.
• The soundtracks from Django Unchained, Les Misérables, and Not Fade Away are all out this week, with the middle album carrying a Friday release date.
• The 35th anniversary edition of Eric Clapton‘s Slowhand is out, including a super deluxe edition with a bonus DVD and vinyl LP. The album features core 70’s hits for Clapton like “Lay Down Sally” and “Wonderful Tonight.”
• Synthetica: Deluxe is a rerelease of Metric‘s album from earlier this year, featuring five new tracks.

Other assorted music DVDs and books out this week include:

• The movie Pitch Perfect, about dueling a cappella groups.
• Rihanna‘s Loud Tour: Live At The O2 DVD, filmed back in 2011 in London.
• We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston DVD, a special concert which aired about a month ago.

Lastly, the new digital-only singles that you can buy this week:

• Singer Dido, notable for hits like “Thank You” and “White Flag”, returns with “Let Us Move On”, featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar.
• Josh Groban, who goes for a poppier sound on “Brave”, the first single from All That Echoes.
• Rapper Kid Cudi releases a new track, “King Wizard”.
• Country star turned tabloid darling LeAnn Rimes releases “Borrowed”, currently at Country radio.

Enjoy all the new music out this week! Turn It Up Tuesday will return on January 8 due to Christmas and New Year’s Day.