Four out of the top 10-selling albums of the week were holiday efforts, as the march to Christmas nears ever closer.
On Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart dated Dec. 18 (reflecting the sales week ending Dec. 9), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas TV soundtrack climbs 7-6, Carrie Underwood’s My Gift rises 12-7, Kelly Clarkson’s When Christmas Comes Around… flies 25-9 and Michael Bublé’s chart-topping Christmas holds steady at No. 10.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Adele’s 30 is No. 1 on Top Album Sales for a third week in a row, selling 149,000 copies (down 34%). It debuted with 692,000 copies sold, then sold 225,000 copies in its second week. Thus, 30 has sold over 100,000 copies in each of its first three weeks of release – the first album to do so since Taylor Swift’s 2017 release Reputation also sold in excess of 100,000 in its first three weeks.
30 has sold 1.07 million copies in the U.S. through Dec. 9. It is the only album released in 2021 to sell a million copies.
Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Red (Taylor’s Version) is a non-mover at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 39,000 sold (down 16%). The album’s cumulative sales have now surpassed 500,000 (rising to 520,000 through Dec. 9), marking Swift’s 11th album to sell at least a half-million copies.
Rapper Berner debuts at No. 3 with Gotti. It’s Berner’s first top 10 and best sales week (22,000). The album also debuts at No. 4 on Top Rap Albums and No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart.
Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour falls 3-4 (17,000 sold; down 18%), The Beatles’ chart-topping Let It Be rises 6-5 (16,000; down 10%), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas climbs 7-6 (16,000; down 3%), Carrie Underwood’s My Gift ascends 12-7 (15,000; up 10%), NCT 127’s Sticker: The 3rd Album bounces 27-8 (15,000; up 43%), Kelly Clarkson’s When Christmas Comes Around vaults 25-9 (14,000; up 10%), Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 Christmas is steady at No. 10 (13,000; down 6%).
Tagged: Chart Beat, entertainment blog, Holiday, music, music blog