Indie underdog Mac Miller replaces Justin Bieber at No. 1 on The Billboard 200

Mac Miller

Credit: Rostrum

Major label mega-star Justin Bieber has been replaced at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 by a indie underdog, Mac Miller. The rapper’s very first full-length album “Blue Slide Park” slides right into the summit with 144,000 copies, making it the first independently-distributed debut set to take the top since 1995, when Tha Dogg Pound’s “Dogg Food” did the same with 278,000 sets.

“Blue Slide Park” is released via Rostrum Records, utilizing INgrooves/Fontana for distro. Fontana is Universal Music Group’s independent division.

Meanwhile, Michael Buble’s holiday set “Christmas” bounds up No. 8 to No. 2 with 123,000 (+38%).

The newest edition of the “NOW That’s What I Call Music!” series, “Now 40,” enters at No. 3 with 119,000. “Now 39” debuted and peaked at No. 3 in August this year.

The soundtrack to “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” debuts right behind, at No. 4 with 105,000; the much-anticipated movie premieres next week on Nov. 18. The “Twilight: Eclipse” soundtrack debuted at No. 2, while the first two in the series (“Twilight” and “New Moon”) both grabbed No. 1.

Adele’s “21” sits still at No. 5 (104,000, -3%), Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” falls No. 1 to No. 6 (97,000, -54%), Susan Boyle’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” descends No. 4 to No. 7 (72,000, -46%) and Coldplay’s “Mylo Xyloto” moves No. 7 to No. 8 (70,000, -32%).

Latin group Aventura’s Romeo Santos enters the chart at No. 9 with “Formula, Vol. 1,” selling 62,000. That’s his biggest album sales week easily, and the biggest for any Latin artist since Daddy Yankee’s “El Cartel: The Big Boss” started with 82,000 in June 2007.

Vocal quartet Il Divo’s “Wicked Game” debuts at No. 10 with 61,000, making it five top 10 sets for the crew. Their last, 2008 album “The Promise,” started at No. 5 with 162,000.

Unit sales for the week are up 4% compared to last week and up 2% compared to the same week last year. Sales are up 3% overall for the year so far.

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

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After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.