It’s been a might effort, Michael Jackson cannot get to number 1 on the charts. His second posthumous album, “Xscape,” has been blunted at the top of the charts by The Black Keys. Released earlier this week, “Xscape” is number 3 on iTunes and number 2 on amazon.com. And so it goes.

Hey– it’s not too shabby to be number 2. “Xscape” has been marketed within an inch of its life, so whatever it’s doing on the charts is good news for the core fans. And who knows? Maybe Sunday’s hologram performance on the Billboard awards will ignite sales and drive “Xscape” to the top spot. Anything is possible.

Meantime, the Jackson estate was hit by its second civil lawsuit filed by an ex Neverland boy in his 30s. First Wade Robson, now Jimmy Safechuck claims that he was molested by Michael Jackson.

The story of the lawsuit has less resonance because it was written by Jackson’s lifetime archenemy, Diane Dimond. She’s determined to stalk Jackson into the next lifetime.

Both Robson and Safechuck and their families have previously sworn that nothing untoward happened with Jackson. But now they’re in their 30s and keep reading about how well the Jackson estate is doing. Dollars signs have popped up in their eyes.

Will more Neverland boys file suits? That’s really key because if they do, he cases will be taken more seriously. Some of those boys include Jonathan Spence, and actors Emmanuel Lewis and Macaulay Culkin. I’ve no doubt Diane Dimond and Jackson’s losing 2005 prosecutor, Ron Zonen, are camped out in their respective garages.

Look for the hologram on Sunday, May 18th on ABC at the Billboard Awards. There’s now a chance that Justin Bieber will be involved. I am so glad I’m out of the country.

Here in Cannes, some producers are peddling a documentary about Jackson’s 2007 photo shoots for miscellaneous magazines. The fight for scraps is on!

Next up is a book by Jackson’s final bodyguards about his last three years. I’ll tell you about that shortly. They claim Michael was obsessed with Bobby Brown’s hit “My Prerogative” and was considering covering it. Like “A Horse with No Name.” If only Jackson had lived, he could have put out a Karaoke album.

Nicole Kidman is finally taking a break. After making several movies back to back, Kidman will give herself time off this summer. At the Cannes black tie premiere of “Grace of Monaco,” I asked the Oscar winner what her plans were.

“We’re going on tour with Keith,” she said, with a big smile. Kidman and daughters Sunday and Faith will hit the road with dad-husband Keith Urban as he fills arenas around the US and Australia.

Nicole wowed the red carpet Wednesday night wearing a beaded blue Armani gown that couldn’t have been sexier for a mom of four. She was a real trooper all day, too, doing the “Grace” press conference with a real sense of humor, then hitting the premiere of the film– the first time she’d seen it, followed by the opening night gala dinner and after party.

She even danced with French actor Lambert Wilson during the Cannes opening ceremony from her seat in the audience at the Palais. Of course Nicole got a huge ovation.

Besides co-star Tim Roth and Cannes jurors like Willem Dafoe and Gael Garcia Bernal, other celebs on Cannes opening night included a dazzling Jane Fonda, Zoe Saldana, and Djimon Honsou.

Nicole and I talked about all four of her kids– not just Sunday and Faith, but her older kids, Connor and Bella. She’s very proud of them. “Isabella is living in London and loving it,” she told me. She was also very proud of Connor attending the recent White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington DC.

Even though it was a beautiful night in Cannes, there’s always something that goes awry. This time it was an impromptu cab strike. Taxi drivers tried to block off access to the Palais right as formally attired guests were trying to get in to “Grace of Monaco.” The French take it in stride!

Fonda, meantime, told me she’s only here for a couple of days before heading to a film shoot in Switzerland with Oscar winning director Paolo Sorrentino (“The Great Beauty”). “I have some amazing scenes with Harvey Keitel,” is all she let on about the film that also stars Michael Caine and Rachel Weisz.