Nicole Richie didn’t just beat rival Christina Aguilera to the delivery room by having daughter Harlow on Jan. 11, one day before Aguilera gave birth to son Max, but it appears Richie will beat Aguilera on the newsstand as well.

Both new moms each had their own cover of People magazine, and according to some early estimates, the issue featuring Richie is on target to sell more than 1.8 million copies, according to an industry source, whereas Aguilera has far less. (People magazine could not confirm sales numbers; a spokesperson said its too soon to know how many copies were sold.)

Why does there seem to be more interest in Harlow Winter Kate Madden? One magazine insider said part of it could come down to the moms’ fan bases. “Christina historically doesn’t do that well on covers,” said the source, who cites poor sales of her wedding photo issue in OK!, and less-than-stellar sales of her nude photo shoot in the January 2008 Marie Claire.
That might be true, but Nicole Richie doesn’t seem like an obvious home run on the cover, either. “There’s also a greater element of curiosity with Nicole,” the source conceded. “She’s gone public about being a heroin addict. Her boyfriend is covered in tattoos. By default, she’s got the more interesting baby. People want to see how she settles down. They want to see what kind of baby someone with her [life] background has.”

Hackett won’t discuss actual figures but says, “These numbers are grossly inaccurate” and often “come from competitors who wanted the pictures and didn’t get them. You can almost set your watch to ‘I heard you paid …’ ”

For Christina Aguilera and son Max, the figure that popped up was $1.5 million, and People was scrutinized in reports that said the issue, dated Feb. 25, undersold. Hackett counters: “I am thrilled with Christina. It was a solid performer and not under expectations. I would buy Christina’s pictures again in a second.”