Jackson Challenging Abdul for No. 1

Abdul vs. Jackson: the battle of dance-music divas is hotter than ever. Though Paula Abdul continues to lead both Billboard pop charts with her album, “Forever Your Girl” and her single, ‘Opposites Attract,” she’s appears likely to surrender both No. 1 positions to rival Janet Jackson in the next two weeks. Jackson’s “Escapade” single rocketed up six notches to No. 3 and could be No. 1 next week. Her single is likely to propel her “Rhythm Nation” album into the top spot. But don’t be surprised if Milli Vanilli’s album, “Girl You Know it’s True,” (No. 2) sneaks back into No.1 in the next few weeks.

* Country singer Ricky Van Shelton, whose “RVS III”--already a country chart hit--is making a big splash on the pop album charts, jumping from No. 71 to No. 54. Maybe he’s finally ready to challenge Randy Travis.

POP LP CHART

Rank Rank2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “Forever Your Girl” 1 1 83 Paula Abdul (Virgin) 2. “Girl You Know It’s True” 2 2 48 Milli Vanilli (Arista) 3. “Rhythm Nation 1814” 4 4 20 Janet Jackson (A&M;) 4. “ ... But Seriously” 4 3 12 Phil Collins (Atlantic) 5. “Cosmic Thing” 5 6 31 The B-52’s (Reprise) * “RVS III” 71 137 3 Ricky Van Shelton (Columbia)