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Celebration was the norm on this week’s chart, as Black Friday and bargain pricing drove huge (and often triple-digit) increases across the board.

#1 DIRECTION!

SYCO/Columbia’s Lads Rule Our Album Chart as Holiday Shopping Fuels Big Gains Across the Board
Midnight never looked so bright.

In addition to ruling the hearts of countless lovestruck fans, SYCO/Columbia’s One Direction rule the HITS Album Sales Chart this week, moving 530k of their Midnight Memories and inspiring much celebration by Messrs. Stringer, Klaiman and team.

In fact, celebration was the norm on this week’s chart, as Black Friday and bargain pricing drove huge (and often triple-digit) increases across the board. Sweet, right?

Eminem snagged the #2 spot as The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) picked up another 195k (+59%); the hip-hop iconoclast’s RTD total has now passed 1.3m.

Next comes Pearl’s Garth Brooks, whose Walmart-exclusive set racked up 190k in its debut week. If this guy ever finds out about iTunes, he’s gonna be dangerous. On the other hand, you can pick up his new box set when you stop in for more shotgun shells.

Kelly Clarkson’s yuletide set Wrapped in Red (RCA), sold a very festive 133k (+215%), causing her to vault from #9-4; Capitol’s Katy Perry rounds out the Top 5, jumping six spots on the chart with 133k (+237%).

Who else gained big? To name but a few: EMI Nashville’s The Robertsons (#6, 123k, +106%); Interscope’s Lady Gaga (#7, 115k, +130%); Capitol Nashville’s Luke Bryan (#8, 103k, +298%); RCA’s Miley Cyrus (#10, 78k, +224%) and Justin Timberlake (#11, 77k, +349%, the session’s greatest gainer); YM/CM/Republic’s Drake (#12, 71k, +132%); Republic Nashville’s Florida Georgia Line (#13, 64k, +195%); KidinaKorner/Interscope’s Imagine Dragons (#14, 62k, +172%); Mary J. Blige’s holiday set on Verve (#15, 56k, +82%); 2011’s Christmas by Reprise’s Michael Buble (#16, 51k, +144%); and Warner Nashville’s Blake Shelton (#19, 41k, +294%).

Streeting today are RCA’s Britney Spears, Sony Masterworks new Sound of Music soundtrack (starring Carrie Underwood), RCA Nashville’s Jake Owen and an iTunes exclusive EP by sensibility/Columbia’s The Civil Wars, among others. With holiday fare like Sound and TV specials starring Clarkson and Buble, among others, airing over the next week or so, look for corresponding spikes at retail.

Speaking of spiking, is it wrong to start putting eggnog in our coffee now?

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