Billboard 200 12/8/12: RIHANNA #1 238,000

[Verisimilitude]

Rihanna Earns First No. 1 Album with 'Unapologetic' on Billboard 200 Chart

November 27, 2012 | By Keith Caulfield, Los Angeles

One week after Rihanna scored her 12th No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Diamonds," the diva earns her very first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

The iconic diva's latest release, "Unapologetic," opens atop the Billboard 200, selling 238,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The SRP/Def Jam set is her seventh studio release in a little over seven years and follows six earlier top 10 efforts. Rather infamously, until this week, Rihanna held the distinction of having the most No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 without having claimed a No. 1 album.

"Unapologetic," released on Nov. 19, also gives Rihanna her best sales week yet for an album. (The SoundScan tracking week ends at the close of business every Sunday.) The new album's arrival surpasses her previous best frame, racked when 2010's "Loud" launched at No. 3 with 207,000.

Rihanna's first release, "Music of the Sun," debuted and peaked at No. 10 in 2005, followed by "A Girl Like Me" (No. 5, 2006), "Good Girl Gone Bad" (No. 2, 2007), "Rated R" (No. 4, 2009), "Loud" (No. 3, 2010) and "Talk That Talk" (No. 3, 2011). Additionally, she has charted with two remix albums "Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes" (No. 106, 2009) and "Rated R: Remixed" (No. 158, 2010).

It's not unprecedented for an artist to score six top 10 albums without having had a No. 1. More than 25 acts have lodged six top 10s -- without a No. 1. They range from Sting (10 top 10s, zero No. 1s) and Sheryl Crow (eight top 10s) to Brad Paisley (seven top 10s) and Rush (12 top 10s).

Rihanna's lack of a No. 1 album only seemed to draw more attention, perhaps compared to her consistent performance as a singles artist. Since her arrival in 2005, she has tallied 12 No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 -- tying her for the fourth-most of all time with Madonna and the Supremes. Only the Beatles (with 20), Mariah Carey (18) and Michael Jackson (13) have had more.

Our usual recap of the top 10 selling albums will be counted down on the morning of Nov. 28

Read more at www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/rihanna-earns-first-no-1-album-with-unapologetic-1008028982.story#zwWKyYo92LZ2IIYe.99

[Verisimilitude]

Adele's '21' Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales

November 27, 2012 | By Keith Caulfield (keith_caulfield), Los Angeles

Adele's mega-selling "21" album continues to rewrite the record books.

This week, the XL/Columbia release pushes past the 10 million U.S. sales mark in only its 92nd week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In doing so, "21" becomes the 21st album to shift 10 million since the firm began tracking data in 1991.

The last album to sell as many copies in a shorter span of time was 'N Sync's "No Strings Attached," which raced to 10 million in its 43rd week (January 2001). Only one album in the SoundScan era hit 10 million faster: Backstreet Boys' "Millennium," in its 39th week in February 2000.

"21" is one of only eight albums to hit the 10 million mark within two years of release (104 weeks). In addition to "21," "No Strings Attached" and "Millennium," Santana's "Supernatural" (60 weeks to 10 million), Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" (66), "The Bodyguard" soundtrack (72), Creed's "Human Clay" (93) and Shania Twain's "Come On Over" (96) all raced to the figure in under two years.

"21" shifted another 28,000 in the past week, bringing its to-date sum to 10,020,000. "21" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent 24 non-consecutive weeks atop the tally -- the most in the SoundScan era. It hasn't left the chart since, earning 80 weeks in the top 10. This week, the set moves 31-35.

"21" is the third album to cross the 10 million mark this year, following Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" and Usher's "Confessions." However, those sets took much longer to reach 10 million. Linkin Park's set was released in 2000, while Usher's effort bowed in 2004. (Next in line to hit 10 million is likely Pearl Jam's "Ten," which has sold 9.98 million so far.)

Since 1991, the highest selling album -- according to SoundScan -- is Metallica's self-titled 1991 release, which has moved 15.8 million. Twain's "Come On Over" is in second place with 15.5 million and Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" is in third with 14.8 million. In fourth place is "Millennium" (12.2 million), followed by Beatles' "1" (12.1 million), "The Bodyguard" (12 million), "Supernatural" (11.7 million), "Human Clay" (11.6 million), and Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Legend" (11.2 million) at Nos. 5-9. Rounding out SoundScan's top 10 selling albums since 1991 is "No Strings Attached," with 11.1 million.

Adele's "21" spun off four official singles -- all of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first three, in fact, all hit No. 1: "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire to the Rain." The fourth and final single, "Rumour Has It," climbed to No. 16. (Unofficial single "Turning Tables" reached No. 63 in May of 2011.)

Adele is currently riding the Hot 100 with "Skyfall," the title song from the James Bond film of the same name. ("Skyfall" is not on the "21" album; it is only available as a digital download.) The single debuted at No. 8 in October.

Read more at www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/adele-s-21-hits-10-million-in-u-s-sales-1008029002.story#bdU5iLc78THbWRWp.99

[forg]

Great run for 21 :)

[dgarcia3377]

Adele is AWESOME!!

[jughead]

Amazing feat for Adele!

[Lockheart]

Awesome news for 21. 10 million in two years alone. Great consitency

[wavey.]

Damn, already got an article.

[HolidayGuy]

Remember when there were doubts that 21 would reach 10 million in any capacity? :)

[musicrocks]

Congrats to Rihanna! I wonder if she will actually take a break after this album now that she has finally hit #1...

[fridayteenage]

I wonder if Taylor will be #1 next week with her strong #2 showing this week. Not sure what's out this week.

[Pink Pvssy]

Too bad this isn't Rihanna's best album. I only love Diamonds. All the rest are garbage. Rated R is so much better than this. Congrats anyway.

[ZAYN]

Yay Adele! Meh rihanna -_-

[Spidey]

Amazing for Adele. About damn time Rihanna scores a No. 1 album.

[Deleted]

Nov 28, 2012 0:34:54 GMT -5 fridayteenage said:

I wonder if Taylor will be #1 next week with her strong #2 showing this week. Not sure what's out this week.

Alicia Keys & Glee are both releasing. I'm thinking Alicia will be #1.

[Lockheart]

Alicia is the best contender for #1. shes always had solid opening numbers

[Enigma.]

I predict Glee won't bother top 5, look at how horribly the latest EP have done.

Based on quality, I think Unapologetic will face a challenge in reaching 1m. It's not GGGB, Loud or even TTT. I'm quite disappointed that it was the only album to sell over 200k this week but top 10 looks solid.

[JamaicaFunk²]

Nov 27, 2012 20:48:45 GMT -5 Verisimilitude said:

Adele's '21' Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales

November 27, 2012 | By Keith Caulfield (keith_caulfield), Los Angeles

Adele's mega-selling "21" album continues to rewrite the record books.

This week, the XL/Columbia release pushes past the 10 million U.S. sales mark in only its 92nd week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In doing so, "21" becomes the 21st album to shift 10 million since the firm began tracking data in 1991.

21 is the 21st album in 21 years to hit 10 million.

[areyoureadytojump]

music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/chart-watch-extra-adele-tops-10-million-120255136.html#more-3511

Adele's 21 performs two miracles this week. It tops the 10 million mark in U.S. sales, a milestone that most had figured was out of reach for newer releases, given the diminished sales of recent years. And it reached the 10 million mark in less than two years (92 weeks, to be exact), faster than any other album since *NSYNC's No Strings Attached hit 10M in its 43rd week in January 2001.

*NSYNC's album was released in 2000, when album sales were at a dizzy peak. Record stores were still prevalent back then, if you can imagine that. The fact that 21 has reached 10M in a markedly more challenging sales environment is extraordinary.

The last album (by release date) to sell 10M copies was Usher's Confessions, which came out in the spring of 2004. But that album took more than four times as long as Adele's (eight years and five months) to sell 10M copies.

21 is the 21st album to sell 10 million copies in the U.S. since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard in 1991. It's the second by a British artist, following the Beatles' hit-studded 1.

Here's a complete list of the 10 million-sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era. They're ranked not by their total sales, but by how long they took to reach the 10M plateau. (I also mention how many top 10 hits each album spawned on the Hot 100 or Hot 100 Airplay charts.) Dates are Nielsen SoundScan "week ending" dates.

1. Backstreet Boys, Millennium, 40 weeks. The boy band's sophomore album charted the week ending May 23, 1999 and hit 10M the week ending Feb. 20, 2000. (You can do the math: it averaged 250K in weekly sales for 40 weeks.) The album spawned two top 10 hits: "I Want It That Way" and "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely."

2. *NSYNC, No Strings Attached, 43 weeks. The boy band's second regular studio album charted the week ending March 26, 2000 and hit 10M the week ending Jan. 14, 2001. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "Bye Bye Bye," "It's Gonna Be Me" and "This I Promise You."

3. Santana, Supernatural, 60 weeks. The veteran Latin rock band's 17th studio album charted the week ending June 20, 1999 and hit 10M the week ending Aug. 6, 2000. Santana collected eight Grammys, including Album of the Year, on Feb. 23, 2000 (which equaled Michael Jackson's one-night Grammy record). The album spawned two #1 singles: "Smooth" (featuring Rob Thomas) and "Maria Maria" (featuring The Product G&B).

4. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill, 66 weeks. Morissette's first U.S. album charted the week ending June 18, 1995 and hit 10M the week ending Sept. 15, 1996. Morissette won four Grammys, including Album of the Year, on Feb. 28, 1996. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "Ironic," "You Learn" and "Head Over Feet."

5. Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard soundtrack, 72 weeks. Houston's first soundtrack album charted the week ending Nov. 29, 1992 and hit 10M the week ending April 3, 1994. Houston won three Grammys, including Album of the Year, on March 1, 1994. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "I Will Always Love You," "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing."

6. Adele, 21, 92 weeks. Adele's sophomore album charted the week ending Feb. 27, 2011 and hit 10M the week ending Nov. 25, 2012. Adele won six Grammys, including Album of the Year, on Feb. 12, 2012. The album spawned three #1 hits: "Rolling In The Deep," "Someone Like You" and "Set Fire To The Rain."

7. Creed, Human Clay, 93 weeks. Creed's sophomore album charted the week ending Oct. 3, 1999 and hit 10M the week ending July 8, 2001. "With Arms Wide Open" won a Grammy as Best Rock Song on Feb. 21, 2001. The album spawned two top 10 hits: "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open."

8. Shania Twain, Come On Over, 96 weeks. Twain's third album charted the week ending Nov. 9, 1997 and hit 10M the week ending Sept. 5, 1999. Twain won four Grammys over the course of two years for her work on the album. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "You're Still The One," "From This Moment On" and "That Don't Impress Me Much."

9. Britney Spears, …Baby One More Time, 106 weeks. Spears' debut album charted the week ending Jan. 17, 1999 and hit 10M the week ending Jan. 21, 2001. The album spawned two top 10 hits: "…Baby One More Time" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy."

10. Celine Dion, Falling Into You, three years and three weeks. Dion's fourth English-language studio album charted the week ending March 17, 1996 and hit 10M the week ending April 4, 1999. Dion won two Grammys, including Album of the Year, on Feb. 26, 1997. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "Because You Loved Me," "It's All Coming To Me Now" and a cover of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself."

11. Backstreet Boys, Backstreet Boys, four years and four months. The boy band's debut album charted the week ending Aug. 17, 1997 and hit 10M the week ending Dec. 9, 2001. The album spawned five top 10 hits: "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," "As Long As You Love Me," "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and "All I Have To Give."

12. The Beatles, 1, four years and four months. The hit-studded compilation charted the week ending Nov. 19, 2000 and hit 10M the week ending March 20, 2005. The album contains all 20 of the group's #1 hits on the Hot 100, from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "The Long And Winding Road."

13. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me, four years and 11 months. Jones' debut album charted the week ending March 3, 2002 and hit 10M the week ending Feb. 11, 2007. Jones won five Grammys, including Album of the Year, on Feb. 23, 2003. The album didn't spawn a top 10 hit. Its biggest hit, the smoky "Don't Know Why," peaked at #30.

14. Soundtrack, Titanic, five years. The soundtrack charted the week ending Dec. 14, 1997 and hit 10M the week ending Dec. 1, 2002. Composer James Horner won two Oscars on March 23, 1998 and three Grammys on Feb. 24, 1999. The album spawned a #1 hit: Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From 'Titanic')."

15. Metallica, Metallica, six years and four months. The band's fifth regular studio album hit The Billboard 200 in the issue dated Aug. 31, 1991 and hit 10M the week ending Dec. 21, 1997. The album won a Grammy as Best Metal Performance on Feb. 25, 1992. The album didn't spawn a top 10 hit. Its biggest hit, "Enter Sandman," reached #16.

16. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP, six years and six months. The rapper's sophomore album charted the week ending May 28, 2000 and hit 10M the week ending Nov. 26, 2006. Eminem won three Grammys, including Best Rap Album, on Feb. 21, 2001. The album spawned the top 10 hit "The Real Slim Shady."

17. Usher, Confessions, eight years and five months. The R&B star's fourth studio album charted the week ending March 28, 2004 and hit 10M the week ending July 1, 2012. Usher won three Grammys, including Best Contemporary R&B Album, on Feb. 13, 2005. The album spawned three #1 hits: "Yeah!" (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris), "Burn" and "Confessions Part II." In addition, "My Boo," a collabo with Alicia Keys, hit #1. The song was added to a deluxe edition of the album, which was released in October 2004.

18. Hootie & the Blowfish, Cracked Rear View, eight years, 5-1/2 months. The group's debut album charted the week ending July 10, 1994 and hit 10M the week ending Dec. 22, 2002. The band won two Grammys, including Best New Artist, on Feb. 28, 1996. The album spawned three top 10 hits: "Hold My Hand," "Let Her Cry" and "Only Wanna Be With You."

19. Eminem, The Eminem Show, nine years and four months. The rapper's third album charted the week ending May 26, 2002 and hit 10M the week ending Oct. 2, 2011. Eminem won two Grammys, including Best Rap Album, on Feb. 23, 2003. The album spawned two top 10 hits: "Without Me" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet."

20. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory, 11 years and 10 months. The rock band's debut album charted the week ending Oct. 29, 2000 and hit 10M the week ending Aug. 19, 2012. "Crawling" won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance on Feb. 27, 2002. The album also included "In The End," a #2 hit on the Hot 100.

21. Bob Marley & the Wailers, Legend, 18 years. The reggae legend's compilation hit The Billboard 200 in the issue dated Aug. 18, 1984, which was nearly seven years before Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales. It reached 10M (counting just post-1991 sales) the week ending June 21, 2009. None of the album's songs (as recorded by Marley) cracked the Hot 100. "Exodus" came closest. It "bubbled under" the chart at #103.

Note: Pearl Jam's 1991 album Ten is very close to topping 10M. Its sales currently stand at 9,981,000. I'll let you know when it goes over the top. Two other albums are within 500K of hitting 10M: Celine Dion's 1997 album Let's Talk About Love (9,597,000) and Garth Brooks' 1991 album Ropin The Wind (9,571,000).

[skizzo]

How far is Oops from 10m?

[when the pawn...]

That means only 8 albums released in the 2000s have hit 10 million. Adele will easily pass Eminem (probably both albums), Linkin Park and Usher.

[HolidayGuy]

www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat#/news/rihanna-gets-first-no-1-album-phillip-phillips-1008029352.story

Rihanna Gets First No. 1 Album, Phillip Phillips & Kid Rock Debut Top Five
by Keith Caulfield, L.A. | November 28, 2012

The busy Thanksgiving holiday shopping week has predictably shaken up the Billboard 200 albums chart, sending a diva to No. 1 for the first time and rearranging many of the albums on the tally.

As earlier reported, Rihanna's "Unapologetic" opens at No. 1 with 238,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan, marking her first chart-topper. The release, her seventh album, follows six earlier top 10 sets dating back to her first album in 2005.

Last week's leader, One Direction's "Take Me Home," falls to No. 3 with 176,000 in its second week (down 67%) while Taylor Swift's "Red" holds steady at No. 2 with 185,000 (up 28%).

"American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips sees his debut album "The World From the Side of the Moon" start at No. 4 with 169,000. The 2011 champ, Scotty McCreery, entered at No. 1 in October of that year with his first album, "Clear as Day." It bowed with a more robust figure -- 197,000.

Kid Rock grabs his seventh top 10 album as "Rebel Soul" bows at No. 5 this week, moving 146,000 copies. It's his first major label album to be sold digitally -- though the bulk of his catalog is still unavailable as downloads. Digital sales amounted to 57,000 of "Rebel Soul's" first week, and it enters at No. 3 on the Digital Albums chart.

"Rebel Soul's" overall bow is the smallest for a Kid Rock studio set since "Devil Without a Cause" started with 4,000 way back in 1998. His last studio set, 2010's "Born Free," launched at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 189,000. That was up a bit compared to the album that came before it, 2007's "Rock N Roll Jesus," which entered at No. 1 with 172,000.

Back on this week's chart, Rod Stewart's "Merry Christmas, Baby," is a non-mover at No. 6 with 117,000 (up 47%) while P!nk's "The Truth About Love" jumps back into the top 10, rising 22-7 with 114,000 (up 334%).

The latter album profits from buzz generated by P!nk's acrobatic performance on the "American Music Awards" (Nov. 18) as well as discount pricing at major retailers. Last Thursday through Saturday (Nov. 22-24), the album was sale priced for $7.00 at Target, while over the weekend, Best Buy offered it for $5.99. iTunes and Amazon MP3 also got in on the action, selling it for $6.99.

Jason Aldean's "Night Train" chugs back into the top 10 as well, moving 13-8 with 103,000 (up 157%). Like P!nk's set, Aldean's was also on sale at Target.

Right behind Aldean is a new arrival from Led Zeppelin, the live album "Celebration Day" (No. 9 with 101,000). The set, culled from a 2007 reunion concert in London, is the group's first new batch of recordings in decades. "Celebration Day" is Led Zeppelin's 13th top 10 album and first since the greatest hits set "Mothership" debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Dec. 1, 2007 chart.

Closing out the top 10 is Keyshia Cole's "Woman to Woman," bowing in the No. 10 slot with 96,000. It's the singer's fifth straight top 10 debut in five tries and follows 2010's "Calling All Hearts." That set launched and peaked at No. 9 with 128,000 sold over Christmas week that year.

Over on the Digital Songs chart, PSY's "Gangnam Style" returns to No. 1 with 229,000 (up 42%). Its big gain is owed to PSY's show-closing performance on the "American Music Awards," where he collaborated with MC Hammer for a mashed-up version of "Gangnam Style" and "2 Legit 2 Quit."

Last week's No. 1, Rihanna's "Diamonds," slips to No. 2 with 176,000 (up 3%), while "The Voice" contestant Cassadee Pope arrives at No. 3 with "Over You" (152,000). Ke$ha's "Die Young" is stationary at No. 4 (151,000; up 14%), Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" is pushed back 3-5 (just over 151,000; up 2%) and Phillip Phillips' "Home" scales 9-6 (131,000; up 27%).

The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" falls back, despite a gain, 5-7 with 126,000 (up 4%), Flo Rida's "I Cry" holds at No. 8 with 117,000 (up 12%) and Maroon 5's "One More Night" slips 7-9 with just under 117,000 (down 1%). P!nk's "Try" -- the song she sang on the "American Music Awards" -- jumps 33-10 with 101,000 (up 126%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Nov. 25) totaled 9.74 million units, up 44% compared with the sum last week (6.76 million) and down less than 1% compared with the comparable sales week of 2011 (9.78 million). Year-to-date album sales stand at 267.79 million, down 4% compared with the same total at this point last year (278.72 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 24.06 million downloads, up 9% compared with last week (22.03 million) and up 9% stacked next to the comparable week of 2011 (22.06 million). Year-to-date track sales are at 1.186 billion, up 6% compared with the same total at this point last year (1.121 billion).

Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2011 when: Michael Buble's "Christmas" held at No. 1 for a second week, selling 293,000 (up 29%). The chart's highest debut was at No. 23, where Trey Songz' "Inevitable" EP started with 27,000.

[areyoureadytojump]

Nov 28, 2012 10:53:16 GMT -5 skizzo said:

How far is Oops from 10m?

Last confirmed total was ~9.203 million.

Brit's catalog sales are awful so it's kind of doubtful it will hit 10 million.

[HolidayGuy]

^Her first album was charting in the catalog 200, not too long ago (thanks to some discounting, which has benefited other titles, as well), but, yeah, other than that, catalog sales haven't been too notable.

More bits from MTV.com:

Just outside the top bracket, original "Idol" Kelly Clarkson landed at #11 with Greatest Hits -- Chapter 1 (74,000), landing just ahead of the another "Idol" legend, Carrie Underwood, whose Blown Away blew up 13 spots to #12 as sales were up 349 percent to 74,000 and the album crossed the one million mark.

Rapper Pitbull debuted at #14 with Global Warming (64,000), while "The Voice" mentor Christina Aguilera plummeted 10 spots in week two to #17 with Lotus,
 which was off 28 percent on sales of 53,000.

Nicki Minaj's bonus edition of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up, shot up 80 spots to #27 as sales picked up by 591 percent to 36,000. The week also brought a long-awaited career best for Adele, whose two-year-old 21 passed the 10 million mark,
 moving 26,000 copies for a to-date total of 10,020,000 in the U.S. since its January 2011 release.

With the holidays fast approaching, a number of Christmas albums started a run up the charts into the top 30, including titles from Michael Bublé (#16), Blake Shelton (#18), Lady Antebellum (#19), Scotty McCreery (#21) and Justin Bieber.

One of the week's biggest drops belonged to reunited grunge icons Soundgarden, whose comeback album, King Animal, swooned 47 spots in its second week to #52 as sales were off 76 percent to 20,000.

Next week's big debut will come from Alicia Keys with Girl on Fire.

[areyoureadytojump]

Finally!

RIAA.com:

ADELE
21
February 22, 2011
November 28, 2012
XL RECORDINGS/COLUMBIA
Standard
10.00x MULTI PLATINUM
ALBUM
SOLO

[DJ General]

Wow, only 21 albums have sold over 10 million! :O I forgot how huge creed used to be.

[alchemy]

Nov 28, 2012 0:10:19 GMT -5 musicrocks said:

Congrats to Rihanna! I wonder if she will actually take a break after this album now that she has finally hit #1...

Don't hold your breath...

[areyoureadytojump]

Paul Grein does NOT work for Billboard.

Paul is a blogger employed by Yahoo!.

music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-nov-25-2012-albums-crash-burn-173216096.html#more-3528

Week Ending Nov. 25, 2012. Albums: Crash And Burn
By Paul Grein | Chart Watch

This is one of those weeks where the downward moves and slow starts are more interesting than the upward moves. Susan Boyle's Standing Ovation: The Greatest Songs From The Stage drops from #12 to #31 in its second week, suggesting that her appeal owed a great deal to her compelling back story (the frumpy woman with the golden voice), a hook that is no longer fresh. The Rolling Stones' GRRR! drops from #19 to #64 in its second week, proving that a 50th anniversary hook isn't enough to sell a three-disk album in this market and/or that even with name-checks in #1 hits by Ke$ha and Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, Mick Jagger is still a distant figure to today's record buyers.

Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You: The Best Of Whitney Houston drops from #14 to #58 in its second week, despite the promotion of We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute To Whitney Houston, which aired on Nov. 16. (The album has sold just 57K copies in its first two weeks of release.) Likewise, Michael Jackson's Bad re-enters the chart at #142. I expected much more in the wake of ABC's Thanksgiving night airing of Spike Lee's documentary on the making of the album. It was a 90-minute commercial for the album, and it motivated only 11K people to actually buy the album this week(!). (And that tally combines sales of Bad and Bad 25, which sold 2K copies this week, too few to make the chart. The elaborate Bad 25 package has sold just 20K copies in its 10 weeks of release.)

Soundgarden's King Animal drops from #5 to #52 in its second week, proving that the band's decision to take 16 years between studio albums wasn't, well, sound. Green Day's Dos! plummets from #9 to #75 in its second week, proving that the band would probably have been better off putting out one killer album in which they culled the best songs from Uno!, Dos! and Tre!, rather than releasing three albums in quick succession.

Here are some more drops that caught my eye. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 drops from #3 to #24, even though the movie was #1 at the box-office for the second straight weekend. Lana Del Rey's EP Paradise drops from #10 to #76 in its second week. The Deftones' Koi No Yokan drops from #11 to #83 in its second week. Aaron Lewis' first full-length solo album, The Road, drops from #30 to #122 in its second week. (At least he's still got his day job in Staind to go back to.)

Here are a couple that have been out a while. Muse's The 2nd Law drops from #72 to #166 in its eighth week. The band's last album, The Resistance, logged 34 weeks in the top 100. Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Psychedelic Pill drops from #65 to #176 in its fourth week. Their last album, Americana, spent eight weeks in the top 100.
Disclaimer: As Lenny Kravitz once sang, "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," and some of these albums may turn around as Christmas draws closer.

Time for some good news.

After amassing 12 #1 singles on the Hot 100, Rihanna finally lands her first #1 album on The Billboard 200 with Unapologetic. The album sold 238K copies, which is Rihanna's highest first-week tally to date. It surpasses Loud, which sold 207K in its first week. Unapologetic is Rihanna's sixth album in a row to reach the top five. Her highest-charting album before this was Good Girl Gone Bad, which reached #2 in June 2007.

Unapologetic also enters Top Digital Albums at #1, with 107K in digital sales. It's Rihanna's first album to debut at #1 on the digital chart, through her two most recent albums, Loud and Talk That Talk, hit #1 on that chart in their third weeks.

Unapologetic also enters the Official U.K. chart at #1. It's Rihanna's fourth #1 in that country, following Good Girl Gone Bad, Loud and Talk That Talk.

"Diamonds," the first single from the album, dips to #2 on Hot Digital Songs. (What toppled it? Read on.) It is expected to hold at #1 on the Hot 100 for the second week. Will it? You'll find out later today when we post Chart Watch: Songs.

Taylor Swift's Red holds at #2 for the second week in its fifth week on the chart. In addition, the album tops the 2 million mark in sales this week. It's the first album to sell 2 million copies in as few as five weeks since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream sold 2 million in just four weeks in late 2009. This is the fastest that a Swift album has reached the 2 million mark. Her 2010 album Speak Now took six weeks. Her 2008 album Fearless took seven. Her 2006 debut album Taylor Swift took a not-so-swift 61 weeks.

Swift also tops the 20 million mark in overall album sales this week. Among female country artists, she's in fourth place behind Shania Twain (34,244,000), Reba McEntire (30,102,000) and LeAnn Rimes (20,493,000). Swift just this week pulls ahead of Faith Hill, who is in fifth place with 20,105,000. Note: McEntire sold millions more albums between October 1977, when her first album came out, and 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard.

One Direction's Take Me Home drops to #3 after debuting at #1 last week. The album has sold 716K copies, which puts it at #15 for the year-to-date. The quintet has two albums in the top 15 for the year-to-date. Up All Night ranks #3. No other act has two albums in the top 15 for the year-to-date. Adele has two of the top 20.
In addition, Up All Night—The Live Tour logs its 23rd week at #1 on Top Music Videos.

Phillip Phillips' The World From The Side Of The Moon debuts at #4. Phillips is the seventh American Idol winner to crack the top five with his or her debut album. Debut albums by Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Scotty McCreery opened at #1. Debut albums by Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks bowed at #2. David Cook's first post-Idol album debuted and peaked at #3. Phillips' album includes "Home," which is the best-selling "coronation song" in Idol history. It has sold 2,582,000 copies to date.

Kid Rock's Rebel Soul, his first album since he belatedly joined the digital universe, debuts at #5. The album sold 146K copies, which is less than his three previous albums, which sold between 172K and 189K copies in their first weeks. Rebel Soul sold 90K CDs and 57K digital copies.

It's impossible to know how many sales Kid Rock missed out on by not being part of the digital scene before this, but I can tell you this: A cover band known as Rock Heroes sold 1,647,000 digital copies of his 2007 radio hit "All Night Long."

Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby holds at #6 for the second week. It's the highest-ranking of 49 (!) holiday albums on this week's Billboard 200.

P!nk's The Truth About Love rebounds from #22 to #7 in its 10th week. This is its seventh week in the top 10. This is already the longest that a P!nk album has remained in the top 10 since her 2002 smash Missundaztood logged 23 weeks in the top 10. This is one of many albums that benefited from heavy discounting last week. A lot of albums were on sale for between $5 and $8. range.

Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day debuts at #9. The CD/DVD combo is the band's 13th top 10 album; its fourth since it disbanded in the wake of drummer John Bonham's death in 1980. Zeppelin first cracked the top 10 in May 1969, which gives it a 43-1/2 year span of top 10 albums. That's the record for a hard rock/heavy metal band. Celebration Day was recorded at the band's reunion show at London's 02 Arena in 2007.

Adele's 21 performs two miracles this week. The album tops the 10 million mark in U.S. sales, a milestone that most had figured was out of reach for newer releases, given the diminished sales of recent years. And it reached the 10 million mark in less than two years (92 weeks, to be exact), faster than any other album since *NSYNC's No Strings Attached hit 10M in its 43rd week in January 2001. That blockbuster was released when album sales were at a dizzy peak. The fact that 21 has reached 10M in a markedly more challenging sales environment is extraordinary.

PSY's "Gangnam Style" returns to #1 on Hot Digital Songs. This is its sixth week on top. That's the longest run by a song that never reached #1 on the Hot 100 since Miley Cyrus' "Party In The U.S.A." had six weeks on top of the digital sales chart in 2009. I'll have more details in Chart Watch Songs later today.

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

The Top Five: Rihanna's Unapologetic debuts at #1 (238K). This is her seventh top 10 album; her first to reach #1… Taylor Swift's Red holds at #2 for the second week in its fifth week (185K). This is its fifth week in the top 10... One Direction's Take Me Home drops from #1 to #3 in its second week (176K)…Phillip Phillips' The World From The Side Of The Moon debuts at #4 (169K). This is his first top 10 album… Kid Rock's Rebel Soul debuts at #5 (146K). This is his seventh top 10 album; his sixth to make the top five.

The Second Five: Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby holds at #6 for the second week in its fourth week (117K). This is its fourth week in the top 10…P!nk's The Truth About Love rebounds from #22 to #7 in its 10th week (114K). This is its seventh week in the top 10…Jason Aldean's Night Train rebounds from #13 to #8 in its sixth week (103K). This is its fifth week in the top 10…Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day debuts at #9 (101K). This is the band's 13th top 10 album…Keyshia Cole's Woman To Woman debuts at #10 (96K). This is Cole's fifth top 10 album.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 drops from #3 to #24. It's #1 on Top Soundtracks for the second week. Six other albums drop out of the top 10 this week. The Weeknd's Trilogy drops from #4 to #34…Soundgarden's King Animal drops from #5 to #52…Christina Aguilera's Lotus drops from #7 to #17… Now 44 drops from #8 to #15…Green Day's Dos! plummets from #9 to #75…Lana Del Rey's Paradise EP nosedives from #10 to #76.

Kelly Clarkson's Greatest Hits: Chapter One debuts at #11. This is her sixth top 20 album, but her first to miss the top 10…Pitbull's Global Warming debuts at #14. This is his fifth top 20 album. Two have reached the top 10: Rebelution (#8 in 2009) and Planet Pit (#7 in 2011)…Michael Buble's Christmas jumps from #20 to #16 in its fifth week back on the chart. It's #1 on Top Catalog Albums for the fourth straight week.

AC/DC's Live At River Plate debuts at #66. The band's video of the same name was #1 on Top Music Videos for seven weeks in 2011.

Shameless Plug: AC/DC invaded the digital album and songs charts this week in the wake of the band's belated entry into the digital market. I'll have a Chart Watch Extra on that later today.

Coming Attractions: Alicia Keys' Girl On Fire will be next week's top new entry. Will it debut at #1? We'll soon see. Also due: Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1, Future's Pluto 3D and Rage Against The Machine's XX, a 20th anniversary re-release of its debut album.

[HolidayGuy]

About 25%of the chart is holiday albums- I wonder what the record percentage is.

[Ballroom Blitzed]

Nov 28, 2012 14:08:11 GMT -5 DJ General said:

Wow, only 21 albums have sold over 10 million! :O I forgot how huge creed used to be.

Twenty-one in twenty-one years, and the twenty-first is 21. Rather neat, I think.

[peterca]

Nov 28, 2012 13:46:24 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

Finally!

RIAA.com:

ADELE
21
February 22, 2011
November 28, 2012
XL RECORDINGS/COLUMBIA
Standard
10.00x MULTI PLATINUM
ALBUM
SOLO

Indeed, finally! As for this, a bit too soon...

Chart News @chartnews
US album sales: #2 @taylorswift13, Red 185k (2.08 million total).

Chart News @chartnews
US certifications (RIAA): @taylorswift13, Red 3x Platinum (3 million).