FIRST CHART OF 2011 IS TAYLOR-MADE FOR SWIFT
She just turned 21 years old, but it seems like Taylor Swift has been dominating the HITS Album sales chart for at least that long.
Swift’s Big Machine album, Speak Now, ended up #1 at the end of last year and enters 2011 the same way, topping the first sales tally with 74k, easily outdistancing Eminem’s Grammy fave (and last year’s top seller) Recovery, as the Shady/Aftermath/Interscope album, now at 3.3 million and counting, continues to surge, with another 66k added to its total.
Def Jam/IDJ’s Rihanna (#4), Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Kanye West (#5) and Walt Disney’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack by electronica icons Daft Punk (#6) gives newly crowned UMG CEO Lucian Grainge and Jim Urie’s UMGD all six of the top records (and seven of the Top 10).
New Elektra’s Bruno Mars (#7), Glassnote’s revitalized Mumford & Sons (#8), Capitol/EMI’s Katy Perry (#9) and Interscope’s Black Eyed Peas (#10) round out the leader board.
Broken Bow country star Jason Aldean (#11) tops the second 10, with last week’s debuts, Geffen’s Keyshia Cole (#12), J/RMG’s Jamie Foxx (#13) and Interscope’s Keri Hilson (#16) also landing in the Top 20.
Universal Republic’s Best New Artist candidate Florence + the Machine (#23), Nonesuch’s Black Keys (#27), Universal Republic Nashville’s The Band Perry (#40) and 19/Jive/JLG’s Crystal Bowersox (#48) are the other new and developing acts that maintained their chart momentum into 2011.
Holiday-themed records had a big fall-off, with
Nothing new of note hits retail this week, but look for January releases from Jive/JLG’s Cage the Elephant (1/11), Epic’s The Script and Capitol/EMI’s The Decemberists (both 1/18).
