New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) - LATE NIGHT SPECIAL, the new album from Blue Star Entertainment International/Atlantic recording group Pretty Ricky, has made a triumphant debut in the No 1 spot on both the Billboard 200 and 'Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums' charts. With total sales of over 132,000, the album's explosive first week in stores gives the Florida-based foursome the biggest-selling chart debut of 2007 thus far.
'On The Hotline,' the first single/video from LATE NIGHT SPECIAL, leaps to No 6 at Urban radio and to No 8 at Rhythmic Top 40, where it enjoys the most increased airplay this week. In addition, the album's second single, 'Push It Baby,' is set to impact at multi-format outlets in February.
Pretty Ricky - rappers Slick 'Em, Baby Blue, and Spectacular, and singer Pleasure - kicked off the release of LATE NIGHT SPECIAL last week with a stellar performance on BET's 106 & Park, where the 'On The Hotline' companion video spent several days at No 1 on the daily countdown. Now in 'Heavy' rotation, the clip was BET's most-played video of the week. What's more, Pretty Ricky closed out the week with an additional pair of BET appearances, guesting on the January 27th installments of the network's Hosted Saturday and Top 25 Countdown.
Pretty Ricky has also been highly visible on MTV, including a visit to MTV's Total Request Live, where the 'On The Hotline' video quickly entered the countdown's top 10. The clip has just been added to the MTV playlist, while also blowing up in 'Simmerin'' rotation at MTV Jams.
Pretty Ricky will also make their late night television debut February 20th when the group will perform 'On The Hotline' and 'Push It' on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live.
'On The Hotline' is a massive ringtone hit, currently standing at No 5 on Nielsen Ringscan's 'Top 200 Mastertones' chart. Pretty Ricky is also hugely popular online, with nearly 400,000 friends registered on their MySpace page, placing them in the top 3 of MySpace's 'Top Artists.' At YouTube, the group's recently launched 'Pretty Ricky TV' - which features a variety of exclusive videos - has already hit the top of the site's rankings as the month's No 1 Most Subscribed Channel, as well as reaching the top 10 of YouTube's all-time Most Viewed Musicians pages.
Over at their own www.prettyricky.com Pretty Ricky has just begun an exclusive sweepstakes where fans can win a trip for two to New York City to see the superstar quartet perform live in concert. Concert winners will also get to travel to the show in a limo, and meet the members of Pretty Ricky backstage.
Pretty Ricky will reveal tour plans for 2007 shortly. In late-2006, Pretty Ricky introduced fans to LATE NIGHT SPECIAL with show-stealing performances on the 'Scream Tour 5: Ruff & Ready, Young & Sexy.' The BET-sponsored trek saw Pretty Ricky commanding arena stages across America with some of R&B and hip-hop's hottest new stars, including Omarion, Ne-Yo, Mario, and Yung Joc.
In other news, Pretty Ricky will be featured on the March cover of Black Beat magazine, which hits newsstands on February 13th.
Written and produced almost entirely by Pretty Ricky and the exclusive production team Music Royale Productions, LATE NIGHT SPECIAL seems destined to surpass the group's 2005 blockbuster debut album, BLUESTARS. Cuts like 'Push It,' 'On the Hotline,' and the super-sexy ballads 'Love Like Honey' & 'Make It Like It Was' are guaranteed to become fan favorites, marking a huge leap forward while still bearing that signature Pretty Ricky sound.
The group exploded onto the Florida music scene in late 2004, when 'Grind With Me' became the most requested song in the history of Miami radio station Power 96. Subsequently signed to Atlantic by Chairman/CEO Craig Kallman, the group quickly exploded into a national sensation.
Under the tutelage of their father, Joe 'Bluestar' Smith, Pretty Ricky has been performing throughout Florida and the southeast since 1997, earning acclaim for their unique charismatic style and sensational stage presence. In 2002, Pretty Ricky hit radio success with their song 'Flossin',' which began buzzing on Power 96. The brothers continued grinding and hustling - writing songs, building relationships with fans, and performing every chance they get. During this time they opened for a wide array of heavyweights, including Lil Jon, Trick Daddy, Trina, Run DMC, and fellow Miami comrade Pitbull.
For more information, please visit the newly launched www.prettyricky.com and www.myspace.com/prettyricky.
