'Prince' Soundtracks Do Royal Sales

12/14/1998 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Lisa Zhito

(12/14/98, 1 a.m. PST) - The three soundtracks associated with DreamWorks' Prince Of Egypt animated film have been selling more than a king's ransom since their release on Nov. 17.

Label sources say the Prince Of Egypt: Soundtrack will go platinum, for sales of 1 million copies, in the next few days; the film's two "inspired by" releases, Prince Of Egypt: Nashville and Prince Of Egypt: Inspirational, will go gold, with sales of 500,000. What makes this feat so remarkable is that the film hasn't even opened yet; that event takes place, worldwide, on Dec. 18.

Label officials are planning to make the sales achievements official on Dec. 17. Incidentally, none of these soundtrack sales are included in the unique P.O.E. gift package currently selling at a fevered pace at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. Although the package includes a soundtrack CD as well as movie tickets and commemorative items, the CD in question is a "collector's edition" compilation featuring selections from all three releases, rather than one of the three official soundtracks. On Dec. 10, DreamWorks announced more than 300,000 movie tickets had been sold through these packages.

The Prince Of Egypt: Soundtrack features the Mariah Carey/ Whitney Houston duet "When You Believe" and Boyz II Men's "I Will Get There." Nashville features such artists as Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, and Wynonna (the latter's P.O.E. contribution "Freedom" is currently climbing the country charts). Inspirational features the Boyz II Men track as well as contemporary Christian/ gospel stars like Kirk Franklin, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, and DC Talk.

Features on Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, and Kirk Franklin are available now on myLAUNCH. A DC Talk feature is coming soon.

-- Lisa Zhito, Nashville