the battle has begun...

Apparently.  But I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

Seems Barnes and Noble online is offering for pre-sale both Carrie's and Bo's single.  And both of them are versions of Inside Your Heaven, with Carrie performing Independence Day on the flip and Bo performing Vehicle.  Neither of these recordings is currently available at amazon.com, however.

According to B&N, the date of Carrie's release is June 14, as we've been told, with Bo's scheduled for release one week later, June 21.

And even more interesting, Bo's version is currently the top-seller at Barnes and Noble, snatching the #1 spot from, of all artists, Simon Cowell's baby, Il Divo.  Carrie's version is currently coming in at #16.

I'm less curious about the placements than I am about the CDs themselves, considering producers made a point of informing us that Angels Brought Me Here was the planned flip for Carrie and that Bo's flip (or single) would be the not-fit-to-be-performed-by-William-Hung Long, Long Road.  And that neither is available at amazon.  And I'm even more perplexed that they would have Carrie performing Independence Day on the single, when that is her track on the compilation CD.

Guess we'll find out if all of this is accurate, or if somebody at B&N jumped the gun in the offering.

Nevertheless, both are now up for pre-sale at at least one of the major online outlets.

Whip out those credit cards folks, the kids are going head-to-head again.  And possibly lyric-for-lyric.

UPDATE:  After thinking about it, it wouldn't be the first time that producers put on the winner's CD the same track that is on the compilation CD.  They did it with Fantasia last year and Chain of Fools.  But, last year, both Fantasia and Diana's CD contained three tracks.  It is conceivable that Angels (hopefully) and Road (hopefully not) will also be included.

UPDATE #2:  Since writing this entry, Carrie's sales have skyrocketed.  Way to go people!  Of course, I'm going to take full credit.  (Just kidding, Rach.)  She is now at #4.  Gee, that was fast.  I'll keep an eye out.  Just keep checking back.