In a heated war for No. 1 on the Billboard charts this week, Madonna found herself in a battle with an unlikely opponent — Lionel Richie. And she’s being accused of using a sneaky move to win the crown. Heading into the Billboard 200 chart’s unveiling last night, Richie’s “Tuskegee” was projected as No. 1 over Her Madgesty’s “MDNA,” which would end Madonna’s streak of five No. 1 album debuts. Richie’s album of duets with country stars Shania Twain, Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift was No. 1 on the Nielsen SoundScan Building Chart, which tracks sales of music merchants including iTunes, Target and Best Buy before the Billboard chart comes out. But Madge’s new disc was able to handily surpass Richie’s thanks to a promo campaign with Ticketmaster, in which her fans received a copy of “MDNA” when they bought a ticket to the Material Girl’s US tour — and those copies were counted in her sales tally. (The same scheme has previously helped propel Jon Bon Jovi and Tom Petty to the top of the charts.) “It’s not a free album,” an industry source explains of the promo copies of “MDNA.” “While the public may view it as free, it’s actually bundled into the price of the ticket.” Madonna’s album sold 359,000 copies in its debut, including the promo copies. “Tuskegee” rang up 199,000 copies, which was Richie’s best start since SoundScan began tracking sales back in 1991.