FLYING UP THE CHARTS: Winning the Cliburn International Piano Competition would no doubt help if you had dreams of recording an album. But you’re really in luck if you’ve already recorded one. Since sharing the gold medal Sunday with Haochen Zhang, two of Nobuyuki Tsujii’s albums have jumped into the top five on Amazon Japan’s music charts. “Before his award, his albums did not even rank in the top 50, but since then they have shot up to the top ranks,” an Amazon spokeswoman tells Agence France-Presse. “It is unbelievable how sales have surged in such a short time.”

LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT DIES: Steve Lovett, a playwright who had written for WaterTower Theatre, Pegasus Theatre and Pocket Sandwich Theatre, died Thursday afternoon after a long hospital stay. TheaterJones.com has more details as well as a video interview it conducted with Lovett about a play he had in this year’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival. Lovett is the second notable death this week in the local theater community. Actor Spencer Prokop died on Sunday after a long bout with pancreatic cancer.

MUSIC BITS: QuickDFW.com has the details on a Prince tribute disc that will feature a cover of “Let’s Go Crazy” by Denton’s Riverboat Gamblers. … DC9 at Night and Channel 5 each have news about a proposed rebirth of Trees in Deep Ellum. Word is the venerable club will reopen in August. … Preston Jones over at DFW.com passes along word of a CD release party for Fort Worth’s The Burning Hotels.