Bad Boy Records’ red-hot girl group Danity Kane, stars of the hit MTV series “Making the Band 3,” have exploded at retail outlets nationwide with their debut album, Danity Kane. The multi-talented quintet is the music industry’s newest Cinderella story, as Danity Kane is now neck and neck with veterans OutKast and Christina Aguilera for the top spot on next week’s national album chart. Danity Kane’s first-week sales triumph is unprecedented for a new artist with little radio or video airplay.

Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs commented: “Many people wrote off these girls as just a ‘made-for-TV’ group, but I believed in their talent from the beginning. The fans have spoken, and with their love and support, Danity Kane’s dream is coming true. Sometimes word of mouth is better than radio and video play. This is the best kind of success, one that comes straight from the people.”

An out-of-the-box phenomenon at retail, Danity Kane, which hit stores just two days ago, sold nearly 90,000 units in its first day of release, selling out at most stores across the country.

“The formula works like this: Diddy, Bad Boy Records, talented and beautiful artists, and the marketing strategy,” said Steve Lerner, Circuit City’s Senior National Buyer/Music. “It’s the culmination of many factors, and Danity Kane actually brings back the excitement of what the music business is all about – Artist Development!”

“Danity ‘Co-Kane’… people are fiendin’ for it!” commented Violet Brown, Director of Urban Music for Trans World Entertainment. “It is great to have a new title of this magnitude!”

Danity Kane is already the #1 album on iTunes, with an average fan ranking of 4-and-a-half stars (out of 5). More than 300 fans have reviewed the album. The album’s Jim Jonsin-produced first single, “Show Stopper,” is #3 on iTunes, just behind singles from Justin Timberlake and Fergie, and debuted at #5 on SoundScan’s Digital Song Chart, selling more than 55,000 units. Danity Kane is the #5 most searched artist on Yahoo! and ranks at #2 on MySpace with 12.5 million streams. The group has three additional songs on the iTunes Top 100 chart-“Sleep on It,” “Ride For You,” and “One Shot.”