Rihanna, Phillip Phillips and Taylor Swift lead Billboard 200 after Black Friday

Kid Rock, Keyshia Cole and Led Zeppelin also debut big

By Katie Hasty Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 7:37 PM

Phillip Phillips

Credit: AP Photo

After Black Friday and a slew of new releases, Rihanna’s “Unapologetic” takes the cake at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. As previously reported, it’s the pop star’s first chart-topper on the album sales tally, after a slew of No. 2 debuts. “Unapologetic” sold 238,000 copies.

Taylor Swift’s “Red” stays at No. 2 with 185,000, a 28% increase in sales. One Direction’s “Take Me Home” falls No. 1 to No. 3 (176,000, -67%).

Phillip Phillips’ “The World From the Side of the Moon” bows at No. 4 with 169,000. It’s his first album for Universal/19 Recordings since he won the latest season of “American Idol,” pushed by the added success of his single “Home.”

Kid Rock’s “Rebel Soul” enters at No. 5 with 146,000. It’s his smallest opening week since 1998’s “Devil Without a Cause.” His last album “Born Free” (2010) also debuted at No. 5, but with 189,000.

Rod Stewart’s “Merry Christmas, Baby” sticks to No. 6 (117,000, +47%) and Pink’s “The Truth About Love” darts up No. 22 to No. 7, with a little help from her exciting performance at this year’s American Music Awards and a sales sticker at many retailers. That effort moved 114,000, up 334%.

Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” moves No. 13 to No. 8 (103,000, +157%).

Led Zeppelin’s “Celebration Day,” their live album from the 2007 reunion concert, enters at No. 9 with 101,000.

Keyshia Cole’s “Woman to Woman” debuts at No. 10 with 96,000. Her last album was 2010’s “Calling All Hearts,” and it made it to No. 9 with 128,000.

Album sales were up 44% compared to last week and down less than 1% compared to the same week last year. Sales for the year are down 4% so far.

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.