Singer Taylor Swift poses as she arrives at "The Grammy
Nominations Concert Live!: Countdown to Music's Biggest Night" in Los Angeles,
California December 3. Country star Taylor Swift began a third non-consecutive
week at No. 1 on the US pop album chart Wednesday.- Xinhua/Reuters
Country star Taylor Swift began a third non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the
US pop album chart Wednesday, trumping big debuts from Keyshia Cole and Jamie
Foxx, which opened at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
Swift's "Fearless" sold 330,000 copies during the week ended December 21,
according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Cole's "A Different Me" followed with
322,000 copies, a career-best sales week for the R&B singer. Her 2007 album,
"Just Like You," also debuted at No. 2 but with 281,000 units.
Foxx's "Intuition" shifted 265,000 copies. His last album, "Unpredictable,"
bowed exactly two years ago, starting at No. 2 with 598,000 before rising to No.
1 the following week with 200,000.
The next four albums were each down two places on the Billboard 200: Britney
Spears' "Circus" at No. 4 with 196,000 copies, Beyonce's "I Am ... Sasha Fierce"
at No. 5 with 195,000, Nickelback's "Dark Horse" at No. 6 with 194,000, and the
soundtrack to "Twilight" at No. 7 with 156,000.
Fall Out Boy's "Folie a Deux" debuted at No. 8 with 150,000. The album, which
was originally scheduled for a November 4 release, is the follow-up to 2007's
"Infinity on High," which debuted at No. 1 with 260,000.
AC/DC's "Black Ice" slipped one to No. 9 with 143,000 copies, taking its
total to more than 1.8 million since September. The multi-artist compilation
"Now 29" dropped three to No. 10 with 139,000.
Anthony Hamilton returned to the chart with "The Point of It All" at No. 12
with 133,000. His last new studio effort, "Ain't Nobody Worryin'," debuted and
peaked at No. 19 in December 2005 with 112,000.
Other new entries included Rapper Plies' "Da Realist," begins at No. 14, and
the All-American Rejects' "When The World Comes Down" at No. 15.
Teenage rapper Soulja Boy's "ISouljaBoyTellEm" debuted at a disappointing No.
43 with 46,000; his 2007 debut, "SouljaBoyTellEm.com," began at No. 4 with
117,000, on the strength of the No. 1 Hot 100 hit "Crank That."
At 17.16 million units, album sales this week were up 33% over last week but
down 33% from the same week in 2007, when 25.57 million albums were
sold.