Maybe it hasn”t hurt Taylor Swift that the name of her album is one of the colors of Christmas: “Red” continues its lead on the Billboard 200 album sales chart for a sixth non-consecutive week. The set sold 276,000 copies, up 32% in sales over the previous week.
That set beats out T.I.”s fresh set “Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head,” bowing at No. 2 with 179,000. His last album “No Mercy” was met with 160,000 in 2010, peaking at No. 4. It, too, was released late into December.
Bruno Mars” “Unorthodox Jukebox” slips No. 2 to No. 3 with 178,000 (-8%) and One Direction’s “Take Me Home” sits tight at No. 4 (177,000, +39%). Michael Buble”s “Christmas” falls No. 3 to No. 5 (148,000, +7%) while another holiday title, Rod Stewart”s “Merry Christmas, Baby” slips No. 5 to No. 6 (113,000, +4%).
Phillip Phillips” “The World From the Side of the Moon” stay at No. 7 (98,000, +44%) while Mumford & Sons” “Babel re-enters the top tier No. 11 to No. 8 (93,000, +56%). The digital-only release “12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy Relief” compilation debuts at No. 9 with 82,000. The “Now 44” hits comp climbs No. 12 to No. 10 (80,000, +36%).
This past week marked the busiest sales week in the Billboard 200″s year, as people shopped for Christmas gifts. About 12.79 million albums were sold, the biggest frame since the comparable week last year.
Sales for the week are up 31% compared to the previous week and down 16% compared to the same week last year. Sales are down 5% for the year so far.