The year is coming to a close, and that means you shouldn't expect too many new releases coming down the pipe. This week's Top 10 of the Billboard 200 didn't have any new entries, so expect to see some familiar names.
Beyoncé stays atop the list with her surprise LP of the same name. The pop star sold 374,000 additional copies of the album. Part of Beyoncé's continued success can be attributed to it now being available as a CD (even if retailers like Target and Amazon refuse to stock it). Another impressive statistic: The second week sales of Beyoncé were better than the first week sales of her last album, 4. It's a positive sign after other pop powerhouses such as Lady Gaga and Britney Spears saw disappointing sales during their first weeks of sales this year.
Garth Brooks also maintains his spot from last week, coming in at no. 2 with Blame It On My Roots, a four-disc collection of cover songs, available only at Walmart. The compilation sold an additional 199,000 for the country star. Another big country name made his reentry into the Top 10. Luke Bryan, who opened with eight consecutive weeks in the Top 10 with Crash My Party, found his way back to no. 10, with that album moving 68,000 units.
Speaking of opening with plenty of weeks in the Top 10: Two albums on the list managed to trump the eight-week run set by Bryan. Both Kelly Clarkson and the cast of Duck Dynasty saw their Christmas albums (Wrapped in Red and Duck The Halls, respectively) reach their ninth weeks on the chart. Duck The Halls placed no. 4 with 132,000 copies sold, and Clarkson came in at no. 5 with 124,000 copies sold. It would be easy to theorize that Halls is seeing a boost in sales thanks to the controversy generated by its cast in recent weeks, but many albums in the Top 10 saw a similar sales growth percentage.
One Direction sold 166,000 copies of Midnight Memories in its fourth week, coming in at no. 3. Eminem is also contesting most weeks on the Top 10, coming in at no. 6 with The Marshal Mathers LP 2 in its seventh week. The album sold 115,000 copies last week. Katy Perry and PRISM saw a jump, probably thanks to the even more dramatic rise in popularity of her single "Dark Horse." The album placed at no. 7 with 99,000 copies sold. The soundtrack to the film Frozen sold 81,000 and placed no. 8. Michael Buble dominated Spotify with his Christmas album this holiday, and the 2011 collection Christmas managed to come back to the Top 10 at no. 9, selling just more than 68,000 copies.
