Sugarland photo by Jennifer Tzar, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

“Do it, do it, one time.”

Sugarland might sing that line in the current Top 5 hit “Stuck Like Glue,” but the “one time” reference is already out of date — if you want to interpret the “it” they’re singing about as debuting at No. 1 on the country albums charts.

The duo’s new release, The Incredible Machine, sold more than 202,000 copies last week following its Oct. 19 release, launching it to No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart as well as the all-genre Billboard 200. It’s actually the third time Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have had a No. 1 debut. They also turned that trick with Love On The Inside and last year’s concert album Live On The Inside.

“We are thrilled to be No. 1 this week,” Jennifer says. “We are grateful for all the fans that bought the album. This is an incredible start on a record that feels big and close to our hearts!”

To top the pop chart, Sugarland piled up more sales receipts in-store and online than Kings Of Leon, Elton John’s new collaboration with Leon Russell, Rod Stewart and Lil Wayne. Somehow that’s appropriate since Jennifer and Kristian were inspired on Machine by ‘80s pop and rock music by the likes of Blondie, the Pretenders and the Cure.

“We’re excited that so many people bought the album this week,” Kristian says. “We have been playing many of these songs on tour all year and are happy that fans get to finally have the music in their hands and ears.”

It’s a foregone conclusion that The Incredible Machine will get just one week at the top. Taylor Swift’s Speak Now is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and the country albums chart next week.

Meanwhile, look for Sugarland today on E!’s “Chelsea Lately” and tomorrow on “Ellen.” Jennifer and Kristian will also be performing Nov. 10 on the 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards, where they’re up for Vocal Duo of the Year. The next day, Jennifer’s set to host when ABC shoots a Nov. 29 special, CMA Country Christmas. If that’s not enough they’ll also appear Thanksgiving Day on CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute.

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Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

You need a confidence builder? You might follow Jennifer Nettles’ path and get a permanent crib sheet.

That might well be the motivation for one of the Sugarland singer’s three tattoos. She has the word “believe” inked onto her wrist, a spot that she’s bound to see frequently. She also has a flower embedded on her hip and a winged heart — very similar to the cover art for Love On The Inside — on her right arm.

“People tattoo for different reasons,” she told The Colorado Springs Gazette. “I use a tattoo as a marker of time, to be reminded of a time in my life. It is something special and personal. There’s a lyric in my song ‘Take Me as I Am’: ‘We all live with the scars we choose.’ Some scars are given to us and some we choose.”

Jennifer is taking her scars — both the physical ones and the emotional ones — onstage with her these days as Sugarland rolls through its Incredible Machine Tour. The concert schedule leads into the Incredible Machine album, set for release this fall.

“Kristian [Bush] and I wrote all the material and it’s an evolution; it’s growth artistically,” she said. “I have musical ADD or something, and I get bored doing the same thing over and over. I love different sounds, different influences. We are speaking to the human condition, and I think music is leaning that way. Music is so much more than what you wear and your hair.”

Or your tattoos, for that matter. You can catch Sugarland’s Incredible Machine Tour this weekend in the Northeast. They play Mansfield, Mass., on Friday; Holmdel, N.J., on Saturday; and Hartford on Sunday.

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Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

It’s a pretty good thing to be a member of Sugarland these days. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have won the Country Music Association’s Vocal Duo of the Year honor two times in a row, picked up a Grammy award and last week had their Twice The Speed Of Life album certified triple platinum.

Despite all those obvious indicators of their success, it was something that tied back to Kristian’s childhood that convinced him they’d turned a corner with their music careers.

“The moment I felt we’d made it was when we got to walk in to the set of ‘Sesame Street’ and sing with the Muppets,” he told Knoxville magazine. “You have to pinch yourself when you’re singing next to Oscar’s trashcan. It’s a beautiful thing, talking to a puppet. You can’t help yourself.”

Sugarland has a chance to win the CMA’s Vocal Duo award a third straight time on Wednesday, when the 43rd annual ceremony has them competing alongside Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Big & Rich and Joey+Rory. Sugarland is also up for Album of the Year with Love On The Inside.

Nevertheless, the Muppet-loving Kristian still has an unusual goal that overrides everything else on his career wish list.

“I want to write a James Bond theme song,” he said. “It’s like ‘Saturday Night Live’ — not everybody gets to do it. But I’ve been telling everyone I know just so maybe one day I’ll be considered.”

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Sugarland photo by Kate Powers, courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Oct. 5, 2009 — Sugarland’s current Live On The Inside album features remakes of songs by Pearl Jam, Beyonce and Kings Of Leon, but they covered another great band during a tour in the spring.

“We went to Abbey Road [studios],” Kristian Bush told The Toledo Blade. “Jennifer [Nettles] and I sat in there and re-recorded ‘Come Together’ to mark the 40th anniversary of the [Abbey Road] album. We were doing it in the same studio on the same mikes as the Beatles. I was just like, ‘Wow.’”

The duo’s recordings of its own songs have helped Sugarland become one of the top acts in the country music business since the release of its first single, “Baby Girl,” five years ago. Sugarland sessions have yielded a bunch of hits — “Everyday America,” “All I Want To Do” and “Stay,” among them — but the moments on stage are still the ones that mean the most.

“We love playing,” Kristian said. “For us, it’s a shared art. The one time you record a song, it’s stamped in time forever. It’s magical to make a recording. It introduces people to us, but coming to the show is what matters the most. We believe when we perform that people must believe what you’re saying and that it matters what you’re saying.”

They’ve convinced not only the fan base, but also the music industry. The studio album Love On The Inside is nominated for Album of the Year in the 43rd annual Country Music Association Awards. Jennifer and Kristian are also up for Vocal Duo, an honor they won each of the last two years.

Sugarland releases its first Christmas album, Gold And Green, on Oct. 13.

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