KEYS TAKES BACK #1 FROM JUNO

The J Records diva’s As I Am continues its roll through the new year, by leapfrogging Rhino’s Juno soundtrack to regain #1 on the HITS Album chart with 63k in sales.

And Recording Academy boss Neil Portnow has extra reason to be happy as Hip-O/UMe’s 2008 Grammy Nominees compilation debuts at #3, one of four newcomers to the Top 10, with a not-bad-at-all 52k.

Jive/ZLG’s Bullet for My Valentine, which is going through RED, enters at #4, Universal Motown prog-rockers Mars Volta’s Bedlam in Goliath debuts at #6 and Disney’s Hannah Montana 2 cottage industry continues apace with the Non-Stop Dance Party remix album landing at #7, fueled in part by last week’s box-office-topping 3D movie.

Holdovers in the Top 10 include Geffen icon Mary J. Blige’s Growing Pains (#5), Geffen’s Keyshia Cole, up an impressive 20% at #8, Disney’s Hannah Montana 2, up 23% at #9, and Big Machine Grammy New Artist nominee Taylor Swift at #10.

Other newcomers include pop songstress Sarah Brightman's Manhattan album, Symphony, her highest U.S. chart debut ever, the self-declared “Upper West Side Soweto” sound of XL/Beggars’ blogosphere faves Vampire Weekend, another entry in manager Ian Montone’s tres hip stable (White Stripes, M.I.A., The Shins), at #20 and Lost Highway/IDJ’s Shelby Lynne with her much-touted Dusty Springfield tribute Just a Little Lovin’, bowing at #44.

The week’s big gainer is Capitol’s J. Holiday (#43-26, +44%), followed by Epic’s surging Sara Bareilles (#21-16, 42%). Other winners include Eleven Seven’s Buckcherry (#48-41, +35%), Def Jam/IDJ’s The-Dream (#41-33, +29%), Gospocentric’s Kirk Franklin (#45-39, +25%) and Interscope’s Soulja Boy Tell’Em (#36-30, +20%).

Next week, look for Brushfire/Universal Republic’s Jack Johnson to dominate the chart, with other debuts from A&M’s Sheryl Crow, Virgin’s Lenny Kravitz and Hear Music/Concord’s Kenny G.

With both the Grammy and Valentine’s Day sales spikes on tap, things are finally looking up, at least for the time being.