Carrie Underwood caps Billboard 200 for a second time

Carrie Underwood

Credit: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

Surprising nobody, Carrie Underwood's new album "Play On" bows at the top of The Billboard 200 albums chart, displacing Michael Jackson's "This Is It" to No. 2.

The "American Idol" winner scored her first No. 1 in 2007 with "Carnival Ride." That set did a lot better, numbers-wise, than "Play On," 527,000 versus 318,000. Still, the initial sales sum is the biggest number from a female act in 2009.

Your mom's favorite Christmas album this year, Andrea Boccelli's "My Christmas," starts at No. 3 with 149,000 copies. Part one of the two-part soundtrack from the first season of TV show "Glee" comes in right behind at No. 4 with 113,000; it contains the cast's take on popular tracks like "Dancing With Myself," "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Gold Digger." The second installment will be released Dec. 8. That puppy's on tonight, by the way.

The 32nd edition of the omnipresent hits compilation "NOW That's What I Call Music!" comes in at No. 5, with 102,000. I'm sure the Black Eyed Peas are on it.

At exactly 52 weeks on the chart, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" keeps on keeping on, slipping 3-6 with 70,000 (-36%).

Weezer takes a little bit of a spanking as it's rad "Raditude" album starts at No. 7 with 66,000. The band's last album (the self-titled "red album") almost twice that last year when it debuted at No. 4 with 126,000.

Michael Buble's "Crazy Love" falls 7-8 (59,000, -17%), Sting's "If on a Winter's Night" slips 6-9 (59,000, -26) and  the "New Moon" soundtrack descends 8-10 (52,000, -24%). Expect a spike on that latter title when the movie bows on Nov. 20.

This week marks the last one before new chart rules take effect at the music business magazine. Catalog titles -- titles that aren't new and haven't been on the Billboard 200 in a good long while -- will now qualify to be on The Billboard 200. So look for, say, The Beatles or Michael Jackson as the holiday sale season cranks up.