Still tracking big physical sales, Taylor Swift’s “1989” has captured a fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart amid relatively static pre-Christmas sales.
Swift’s Big Machine mega-hit sold another 274,000 total copies (off 19%), according to Nielsen Music data for the week ending Dec. 7, with 230,000 of those units physical sales. (Last week, Nielsen began ranking albums with a formula surveying physical albums, track-equivalent albums and streams.) The release has sold 2.7 million physical copies in six weeks.
A cappella group Pentatonix’s holiday hit “That’s Christmas to Me” (RCA) also maintained its No. 2 slot for another week, shifting a total of 221,000 (down 4%).
The frame’s top debut was Aussie hard rock AC/DC’s new “Rock or Bust” (Columbia), which claimed No. 3 on the list with a 174,000-unit bow. It is the act’s 15th U.S. studio album, and its first since “Black Ice” reached No. 1 here in 2008. It is their eighth album to reach the top 10 during a 40-year career.
The chart success caps a difficult year for AC/DC that saw the retirement of founding rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young due to illness and the arrest of drummer Phil Rudd on murder-for-hire charges.
The week’s only other debut in the top 10 was Mary J. Blige’s “The London Sessions” (Capitol), which entered at No. 9 with 57,000 sold. The R&B singer’s collection features collaborations with such noted U.K. talent as Sam Smith and Emeli Sande.
Also occupying top-10 slots were Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” (No. 4, 81,000 sold, down 35%), One Direction’s “Four” (No. 5, 74,000, off 40%), Idina Menzel’s “Holiday Wishes” (No. 6, 66,000, up 14%), Michael Buble’s “Christmas” (No. 7, 66,000, up 18%), Garth Brooks’ “Man Against Machine” (No. 8, 57,000, down 10%) and the “Frozen” soundtrack (No. 10, 43,000, off 39%). The only titles to show gains this week were the holiday titles by Menzel and Buble.
