Scotty McCreery, Jack's Mannequin Aiming for Top Billboard 200 Debuts

Scotty McCreery at Billboard Studios, October 2011.

As reported on Wednesday, "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery is on track to top next week's Billboard 200 albums chart with his first album, "Clear As Day." Industry sources suggest the set will bow with perhaps 170,000 copies -- or more -- by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The young singer, who turns 18 on Sunday, will likely become the first "Idol" winner since 2003 to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with their first release. And he'll be the first male country singer that "Idol" has spawned to top the chart, period.

On Nielsen SoundScan's Building chart below -- a precursor to the final Billboard 200 ranking -- reflecting the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan's tracking week (which ends Sunday) as reported by six major merchants, McCreery is in the lead as expected, while Adele's "21" is sitting pretty in the runner-up position.

Tony Bennett's "Duets II" is at No. 3, while this week's No. 1-debuting set, J. Cole's "Cole World: the Sideline Story," is at No. 4. Lady Antebellum's "Own the Night" and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" are the final two holdovers on the Building chart, coming in at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.

Further down the Building tally, Jack's Mannequin's "People and Things" is in the No. 7 slot, which is a good sign the act may notch its second top 10 album next week.

Country singer Rodney Atkins sees his new "Take a Back Road" hold the No. 8 spot. If the title sells well over the weekend -- as many country releases tend to -- Atkins could notch his second top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week.

Finally, Feist's "Metals" and Mayday Parade's self-titled albums are at Nos. 9 and 10, respectively, but don't assume that a top 10 bow next week on the Billboard 200 is guaranteed.

The final Billboard 200 chart won't be unveiled until the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 12. But until then, we have a preview of what the top 10 might look like, courtesy of SoundScan's Building Chart.

Nielsen SoundScan Building Chart
Rank	LW BB 200	Artist	Title
1	NEW	Scotty McCreery	"Clear As Day"
2	3	Adele	"21"
3	4	Tony Bennett	"Duets II"
4	1	J.Cole	"Cole World: the Sideline Story"
5	6	Lady Antebellum	"Own the Night"
6	7	Lil Wayne	"Tha Carter IV"
7	NEW	Jack's Mannequin	"People and Things"
8	NEW	Rodney Atkins	"Take a Back Road"
9	NEW	Feist	"Metals"
10	NEW	Mayday Parade	"Mayday Parade"
The Building Chart reflects the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan's tracking week (which ends Sunday) as reported by six major merchants: iTunes, Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Starbucks, Target and Anderson Merchandisers. Billboard estimates that they make up about 85% of all U.S. album sales.