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SUSAN BOYLE STAYS STONG AT No. 1 ON HOT 200

[Reuters/Billboard, 11/25/2010]

Susan Boyle stays strong at the first position on Billboard Hot 200, keeping this week's new releases away from the spot. Her second studio album and first holiday compilation, "The Gift", adds another 335,000 copies, slightly higher that its opening week which only drew 318,000 units. Coming at No. 2 on the U.S. albums chart is 10-year-old Jackie Evancho. The 2010 runner-up of "America's Got Talent" secures the spot with her mini album "O Holy Night" which contains only four songs. Tagged with an economical list price of $8, the holiday album bows with 239,000. This reportedly makes her the youngest female solo artist to debut in the Top 10 list. Next, there is Rihanna's "Loud" which lands at the third place with 207,000 copies. Although the November 16 effort debuts one spot lower than her 2007 critically-acclaimed "Good Girl Gone Bad", the sale number is higher and marks her best U.S. chart sales debut to date. The parade of new entries continues with Josh Groban arriving at No. 4, Kid Rock at No. 5, Rascal Flatts at No. 6, Keith Urban at No. 7, "Glee" Christmas album at No. 8, and Nelly's "Nelly 5.0" at No. 10. The only album which survives at the Top 10 beside Boyle's "The Gift" is Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" which is now sitting at No. 9. Next week, the Hot 200 is likely to have a new champion. Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is going head-to-head with Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday". Kanye is estimated to easily sell around 550,000 copies in its first week, and Minaj is predicted to begin with more than 400,000.

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