Thursday, November 11, 2010

Country Acts Lead Billboard 200 Album Chart

(Undated) -- Taylor Swift continues to rule the Billboard 200. The singer's latest release "Speak Now" is marking a second week at the top of the all genre chart. While her album saw a 69-percent drop in sales from its debut week, fans still picked up 320-thousand copies of "Speak Now" to keep the disc at number one. And Swift isn't the lone country representative in the Billboard 200's top tier. Jason Aldean is debuting at number two with his new effort, "My Kinda Party," which had sales of 193-thousand. Meanwhile, Sugarland's "The Incredible Machine" is holding down the number three spot with sales of 60-thousand. Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas II You" sold 55-thousand copies to make its chart entry at number four. Lil Wayne's former number one, "I Am Not A Human Being," rounds out the top five.

This is the first time in three years that country albums have occupied the the top three spots on the Billboard 200. The last time it happened was in November 2007, when Carrie Underwood's "Carnival Ride" was number one, followed by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's "Raising Sand" at number two and Gary Allan's Living Hard" at number three.

The Billboard 200 Top Ten

1. Taylor Swift, "Mine" (320-thousand albums)
2. Jason Aldean, "My Kinda Party" (193-thousand albums)
3. Sugarland, "The Incredible Machine" (60-thousand albums)
4. Mariah Carey, "Merry Christmas II You" (55-thousand albums)
5. Lil Wayne, "I Am Not A Human Being" (49-thousand albums)
6. Kings Of Leon, "Come Around Sundown" (40-thousand albums)
7. Eminem, "Recovery" (38-thousand albums)
8. Neil Diamond, "Dreams" (35-thousand albums)
9. Brad Paisley, "Hits Alive" (31-thousand albums)
10. Elton John and Leon Russell, "The Union" (27-thousand albums)