What's happening with the single of "One Step Closer" by the American Juniors, the five-member group (with a few runners-up) created on Fox's American Juniors? The answer is very different depending upon whether you live north or south of the 49th parallel.

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In the U.S., perhaps as a result of the show's cancellation at the end of August, the single has dropped for two straight weeks on the Nielsen SoundScan U.S. Singles Sales chart. After reaching a high of #6 in its second week, "One Step Closer" has fallen back to #8 last week and to #12 this week, indicating a rough road ahead for the debut American Juniors compilation CD, Kids in America, which was released September 9.

By contrast, in Canada "One Step Closer" has soared in its third week on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian Singles chart to #2, a jump of 10 slots, placing it behind only Clay Aiken's smash "Bridge Over Troubled Water" / "This Is The Night." We have no explanation for the single's markedly greater success north of the border, since Canada has been watching Canadian Idol, which is now down to its final two, not American Juniors.