The kids are all right

THE kids have taken over the national pop album sales chart, where the top three positions this week are held by CDs aimed at the preteen set.

The soundtrack from the Disney Channel original movie “High School Musical” graduated from No. 6 to No. 1 on the new list after selling 101,000 copies last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The ninth volume of the “Kidz Bop” series, which features pint-size singers interpreting recent hit songs, made its debut at No. 2 on the strength of first-week sales of 98,000.

Jack Johnson’s set of songs from the animated movie “Curious George” sold 89,000 copies and dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 this week.

The only other album to debut in the top 25 was “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” by the English rock band the Arctic Monkeys. The collection, which recently became the fastest-selling debut in British history, sold 34,000 copies here last week as the much-watched, critically acclaimed young group prepared to start a tour of the U.S. in mid-March.

Last week’s No. 1 album, Jaheim’s “Ghetto Classics,” dropped to No. 10 as its sales slipped from 152,000 to 59,000.

Older folks are poised to challenge the youngsters next week. R&B; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words,” rock band Hawthorne Heights’ “If Only You Were Lonely” and a live album by Kid Rock came out this week and are expected to be strong sellers.