My 1st Blog: Michael Buble's Christmas Tops Billboard Again

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Michael Buble's Christmas Tops Billboard Again

Justin Bieber, Adele make gains in slow week.
By Gil Kaufman

Michael Buble's Christmas
Photo: Reprise

Michael Bublé looks poised to run the board for the next few weeks as his Christmas album will hold on to the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second week thanks to sales of 293,000. During a cycle when most of the top 20 saw steep double-digit sales dips, smooth crooner Bublé's ode to the holiday season was up 29 percent as it passed the 1 million mark, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

Meanwhile, Adele's

id="1675219">Grammy-nominated 21 is up slightly as it climbs five spots to #2 on sales of 144,000, further padding her league-leading totals (4.8 million) to date this year. Justin Bieber's Under the Mistletoe is also up, moving three spots to #3, even as sales dipped by 11 percent to 133,000.

The rest of the top 10: Drake, Take Care (#4, 90,000, down 48 percent), Nickelback, Here and Now (#5, 78,000, down 68 percent), Mary J. Blige, My Life II ... The Journey Continues (#6, 72,000, down 54 percent), Rihanna, Talk That Talk (#7, down 66 percent), Andrea Bocelli, Concerto: One Night in Central Park (#8, 61,000), NOW 40 (#9) and Lady Antebellum, Own the Night (#10, 48,000).

With some former top 10 dwellers falling out of the upper echelon (Coldplay, Daughtry), a flood of Christmas albums creeps up the ranks, including "America's Got Talent" winner Jackie Evancho's Heavenly Christmas (up 17 spots to #15, 37,000), Bocelli's My Christmas (up 33 to #17, 35,000) and perennial faves Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Symphony (up 51 to #17, 35,00).

Among the only new faces are Trey Songz, whose Inevitable comes in at #23 (27,000) and pop rockers Hot Chelle Rae, who sneak into the top 50 at #48 with their second album, Whatever (18,000).

Bublé keeps his winning streak going on the iTunes albums chart, holding on to the #1 spot, with Drake, Adele, Rihanna, Coldplay and Bieber right behind. Rounding out the top 10 are Nickelback, the Killers' (RED) Christmas charity EP, She & Him's A Very She & Him Christmas and the "Glee" cast's Glee: The Music, the Christmas Album, Vol. 2.

On the iTunes singles chart, Bruno Mars holds it down for the #1 "Twilight" movie franchise with his song from the "Breaking Dawn" soundtrack, "It Will Rain," which keeps Rihanna's "We Found Love" out of the top spot. Just behind are LMFAO with "Sexy and I Know It," Flo Rida's "Good Feeling," Kanye West and Jay-Z's "N---as in Paris," Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger," T-Pain's "5 O'Clock," Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away," Adele's "Someone Like You" and David Guetta's "Without You."

Bublé may lose his spot for a bit next week when he faces competition from the Black Keys' El Camino, as well as new albums from the Roots, Robin Thicke, T-Pain and a posthumous collection from Amy Winehouse .

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