Susan Boyle beats out Taylor Swift at No. 1 on the Billboard 200

Kid Cudi, Bon Jovi, Jason Aldean start high on the albums chart

By Katie Hasty Wednesday, Nov 17, 2010 12:51 PM

Susan Boyle's "The Gift"

Susan Boyle makes it two atop the Billboard 200, as her new album “The Gift” debuts with 318,000 copies. Her previous “I Dreamed a Dream” – which crashed onto the top of the chart last year with 701,000 copies – was helped with the viral success of her clips from “Britain’s Got Talent.” “Dream” sat at No. 1 for six weeks between the 2009 holiday season and the slow beginning of 2010.

That means Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” – the past few weeks’ chart champ – falls to No. 2 with 212,000, a 34% dip in sales.

Kid Cudi’s “Man on the Moon II” enters at No. 3 with 169,000, besting last year’s “Man on the Moon,” which bowed at No. 4 with 104,000. The “Now 36” hits compilation takes No. 4 with 89,000. Bon Jovi’s “Greatest Hits” debuts at No. 5 with 88,000; the rock act’s last studio album “The Circle” topped the chart.

Jason Aldean’s “My Kind of Party” slips No. 2 to No. 6 (81,000, -58%).

Reba McEntire’s “All the Women I Am” debuts at No. 7 with 64,000. Her last “Keep on Loving You” reached No. 1.

Sugarland’s “The Incredible Machine” falls No. 3 to No. 8 (60,000, +1%).

Cee Lo Green’s new “The Lady Killer” starts off at No. 9 with 41,000. His last solo set, 2004’s “Cee-Lo Green… Is the Soul Machine” topped out at No. 14.

Lil Wayne’s “I Am Not a Human Being” rounds out the top tier, falling No. 5 to No. 10 (35,000, -22%).

Album sales are up 16% this week compared to last and down 11% compared to the same week last year. Sales for the year, at 253.67 million units, are down 13% compared to last year.

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Nov. 14) totaled 6.30 million units, up 16% compared to the sum last week (5.43 million) and down 11% compared to the comparable sales week of 2009 (7.04 million). Year to date album sales stand at 253.67 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year (293.00 million).

Digital track sales this past week totaled 21.30 million downloads, up 7% compared to last week (19.84 million) and up 8% stacked next to the comparable week of 2009 (19.63 million). Year to date track sales are at 978.15 million, down less than 1% compared to the same total at this point last year (980.61 million).

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

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.