Country star Taylor Swift began a third non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.S. 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 Dec. 21, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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Singer Taylor Swift poses as she arrives at "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!: Countdown to Music's Biggest Night" in Los Angeles, California Dec. 3, 2008. Country star Taylor Swift began a third non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.S. pop album chart Wednesday. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]
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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.
(China Daily/Agencies December 26, 2008)
