POP LP CHART : ‘Repeat Offender’ Marx the Spot

Some call Richard Marx the new Barry Manilow. Others call him the new Kenny Loggins. What he is, though, is the biggest middle-of-the-road male pop singer to come along in the last few years. His “Repeat Offender� album (No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart) features “Right Here Waiting,� which is the new No. 1 pop single. Since there are so few young MOR male pop singers, Marx has this wide-open market all to himself. The fastest-rising album is Gloria Estefan’s “Cuts Both Ways�--No. 18--which includes a single “Don’t Wanna Lose You� that rocketed to No. 9 and should be No. 1 on the pop chart in the next few weeks. Other hot albums: Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin�’ (No. 23) and 2 Live Crew’s “As Nasty as They Wanna Be� (No. 47).

* The Beasties, the world’s most popular white rappers, are proving that their first smash album, “Licensed to Ill,� was no fluke. Though fans loved “Ill,� many critics treated it like a dread disease. Fans were expected to like the new one, which debuted at a lofty No. 42.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “Batman� 1 1 6 Prince’s sound track (Warner) 2. “Hangin’ Tough� 3 3 51 New Kids on the Block (Columbia 3. “Repeat Offender� 4 8 13 Richard Marx (EMI) 4. “The Raw and the Cooked� 2 2 23 Fine Young Cannibals (I.R.S/MCA) 5. “Full Moon Fever� 6 5 14 Tom Petty (MCA) * “Paul’s Boutique� ... ... 1 Beastie Boys (Capitol)