Celtic artists reign on 2007 world-music charts

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The Irish ladies of Celtic Woman dominate the Top World Music Albums chart this year, taking the top three spots with "A New Journey," "A Christmas Celebration" and "Celtic Woman."

World music fans just couldn't seem to get enough of the Celts. In addition to Celtic Woman's three Manhattan/BLG releases, a compilation called "Celtic Favorites" (Madacy Special Products/Madacy) came in at No. 6, and Hayley Westenra's "Celtic Treasure" (Decca/Universal Classics Group) rounded out the album recap at No. 15.

Not directly affiliated with Celtic music but similar in nature, Loreena McKennitt's "An Ancient Muse" (Quinlan Road/Verve/VG) and the Starlite Singers' "Irish Favorites" (Madacy Special Products/Madacy) also had successful years, coming in at Nos. 4 and 11, respectively, on the album tally.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela got a major boost as a result of their exposure on MTV as part of the channel's "52 in 52" campaign. The Mexican guitar duo rank at No. 3 on the Top World Music Artists recap and at No. 5 on the Top World Music Albums chart with their self-titled set, released by ATO.

Starbucks provided a big boost to two artists: Brazilian singer CeU, whose record "CeU" (Urban Jungle/Hear/Starbucks) lands at No. 7 on the Top World Music Albums chart, and Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo, whose "Djin Djin" (Starbucks/Razor & Tie) comes in at No. 8.

Both artists also came in high on the Top World Music Artists chart, with CeU at No. 4 and Kidjo at No. 5.

Reuters/Billboard