First! Beyoncé’s Beyoncé will be, once again, No. 1. And in selling an additional 310,000 copies on its third week, that essential eponymous album handily smashes through the platinum mark, notching 1.3 million in 17 days in the United States alone. Furthermore, this is the first full-length since Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience to rack up three weeks at the top, and the first by a woman to do so since Taylor Swift’s Red. What’s more, the last time any album sold more than 300K in each of its debut three weeks was in 2009 — Susan Boyle’s record-smashing I Dreamed a Dream. Stay tuned to find out how many Target higher-ups are getting the ax for refusing to sell Beyoncé.
2 to 10: Virtually zero new releases came out last week, so it’s repeats across the board (throughout the entire top 50, in fact). Not for nothing, One Direction’s Midnight Memories surpasses a million sold, rising a rung to No. 2 (142K). And Eminem’s The Marshal Mathers LP 2 jumps two spots to No. 4 (122K), with both of those young titles likely benefiting from stocking-stuffed iTunes gift cards. The holiday season is also kind to family-friendly films, and the Frozen soundtrack now climbs to No. 4 (106K), nabbing the highest chart position for a Disney cartoon since Pocahontas scored a No. 1 victory in 1995.
Four titles post considerable gains due to iTunes’ self-fulfillingly titled Chart Toppers discount. In at No. 5 is Katy Perry’s Prism (99K); No. 7 goes to Lorde’s Pure Heroine (78K); Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz leaps from No. 17 to No. 8 (63K); and Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions bounds from No. 16 to No. 9 (62K). Despite being exclusively available in physical form at Walmart, Garth Brooks’ Britney-trouncing Blame It All on My Roots box set sticks around at No. 6 (90K). Lastly, Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas set Wrapped in Red makes its final appearance at No. 10 (62K).
Monstrous Success: Eminem and Rihanna continue to dominate the Hot 100 songs chart with Slim Shady’s retrospective rehash, “The Monster.” The single’s four-week run on top marks the 51st time that Bad Gal RiRi has had a No. 1 week and puts her third in that bracket behind Mariah Carey (79) and the Beatles (59). She was previously tied with Boyz II Men at 50. Usher is currently folding down the fifth slot with 47 weeks.
‘Tis the Season: While a few albums no doubt sold a few more copies due to digital gift cards, individual songs reaped the real rewards. According to Billboard, every single track on the Digital Songs chart posted significant gains — in fact, only four of those 50 rose by anything less than 100 percent. That Pitbull and Ke$ha song “Timber” is the big winner this week, selling 442K. It’s going down:
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