Will Smith and Meredith Brooks go head to head for this week’s Number 1

Will Smith and Meredith Brooks battle fiercely for this week’s Number 1. Will Smith comes out as the strongest contender, earning Men In Black a fourth week above the list. The song is on its way to become one of the biggest hits of the year. Meredith Brooks makes a strong second though and could easily dethrone Will Smith next week.

Wes scores his first Top 10-entry with Alane. The song was last week’s highest debut. Wes is a fairly unknown Cameroonian musician who is suddenly breaking through with his catchy hit Alane. His music career has started years earlier with the album "Sun of Ancestors". He toured the world to promote his music, which earned him a record deal. In 1996, Wes signed with Sony Music France to release his first proper album “Welenga” and, subsequently, its first single Alane. The song is becoming a massive hit in Europe, topping the charts in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. On this list, Wes climbs to Number 7 this week.

Lil Kim scores the highest debut of the week.  Lil Kim broke through with the duet No Time alongside P. Diddy and Crush On You, which were both highly successful hits in America. Her first studio album “Hard Core” proves that Lil Kim is a force to be reckoned with and is one of the fastest-selling albums by a female rapper of all time. For her newest single Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix) Lil Kim is aided by Angie Martinez, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Da Brat and Missy Elliott. The American female rappers are the strongest in the game and collaborate on a massive hit. The only rapper amongst these ladies to have entered this list before is Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, whom as a member of the girl group TLC scored the Number 1-hit Creep in February 1995. The women’s rapper formation debuts at Number 17 this week.

The Backstreet Boys earn a Gold Certification for Everybody (Backstreet's Back). The hit is becoming one of the boys’ biggest hits to date, outperforming their previous entries. The song was seen as the boys’ comeback single after a few months of silence. The hit was met with massive acclaim and topped the charts worldwide. On this list, Everybody (Backstreet's Back) became their third single to peak at Number 2.