With new releases from Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Shakira and Adam Lambert, who would have guessed that newcomer Susan Boyle would surpass the intense competition and open with a record breaking debut of 700k.
YouTube sensation and former "Britain's Got Talent" contestant Susan Boyle's debut album "I Dreamed a Dream" opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 701,000 copies sold in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan -- the best sales week for an album in the U.S. this year.
2009's previous high-water mark came when Eminem's "Relapse" sold 608,000 in its opening week. In fact, Boyle's sales frame is the best the chart has seen since AC/DC's "Black Ice" bowed with 784,000 upon its release in October 2008.
Boyle's SYCO/Columbia effort was released last Monday, Nov. 23 and the sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday, Nov. 29.
The arrival of "I Dreamed a Dream" also marks the best opening week for a female artist's debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.
2009 "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert's debut "For Your Entertainment" starts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 198,000 copies. Last week, "Idol" champ Kris Allen saw his self-titled debut bow at No. 11 with 80,000.
Rihanna's fourth album "Rated R" climbs in at No. 4 with 181,000 -- the young diva's best sales week yet. Her previous best came when her third album "Good Girl Gone Bad" started with 162,000 at No. 2 in 2007.
Lady Gaga's new eight-song quasi-EP "The Fame Monster" bows at No. 5 with 174,000 while her first album "The Fame" rises from No. 34 to No. 6 (151,000; up 429%). The latter "Fame's" total jumps this week because it combines sales of her debut set in addition to a two-disc deluxe "The Fame" package that contains both "The Fame" and the new "Monster" disc.
As for holdovers in the top 10, Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" stands strong at No. 2 for a third week as it shifts 218,000 (up 18%) while Miley Cyrus' Wal-Mart-exclusive EP "The Time Of Our Lives" vaults from No. 29 to No. 7 with 150,000 (up 385%) thanks in part to its $5 sale tag at the retailer last week. Taylor Swift's "Fearless" moves from No. 10 to No. 8 with 125,000 (up 48%), Carrie Underwood's "Play On" holds at No. 9 with 124,000 (up 44%) and Norah Jones' "The Fall" falls from No. 3 to No. 10 with 110,000 (down 39%).
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