Six of America's pop divas are releasing CDs in the next few weeks. And the scramble for chart supremacy could turn into quite a catfight.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is shaping up as D-Day, with Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Jennifer Lopez all scheduled to release albums on Nov. 26. That's the day Carey will drop her first single, "Through the Rain"; Houston, her CD "Just Whitney" and J.Lo, her CD "This is Me ... Then."

On top of that, Shania Twain and Christina Aguilera will also be thrusting albums at us in the next few weeks - while Faith Hill's latest CD came out Tuesday.

The season has brought schedule-jockeying to new heights, as Houston's and Lopez's labels are said to have made several shifts to outfox their competitors.

At one point, though, there was talk that longtime rivals Carey and Houston might unite for a CBS special. Proponents of the idea thought it would be good for both of them. Houston was facing down reports of drug use and marital problems, while Carey was coming back after her 2001 breakdown and the failure of her movie tie-in CD, "Glitter."

"They could have given each other strength," says a source.

But you'll see no special.

One ally of Houston's says she turned Carey down. "She wasn't ready," says the source. "Also, do you think that CBS would have promoted it as anything other than the 'Two Freaks'?"

Another source argues that it was Carey's advisers who turned down the special: "They didn't want her associated with Whitney, with all her troubles. Considering Mariah's baggage, why would you want to invite comparison?"

Now we hear that Houston will have her own ABC special. She'll need it.

NEWSFILE: 21 OCTOBER 2002