Music Thread #1 For 12/17/09: For A Third Straight Week, Susan Boyle Blows Everyone Away

Photo form Billboard

The remarkable story continues:

Susan Boyle remains atop the Billboard 200 chart for a third week with "I Dreamed a Dream," selling 582,000 copies (up 10%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. So far, "I Dreamed a Dream" has sold 1.8 million and is racing after Taylor Swift's "Fearless," currently the top selling album of 2009 with 2.7 million.

Along with "Fearless," Boyle's "Dream" is just the second album to spend three weeks at No. 1 this year. Swift's album spent seven weeks at No. 1 in the 2009 calendar year, in addition to three weeks atop the chart in late 2008.

And get this latest set of history from Boyle:

"I Dreamed a Dream" is also just the eighth album to sell at least 500,000 copies in each of its first three weeks of release, since SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. And, it's the only album by a woman to do so. The last set to charge through 500,000 in each of its first three weeks was 50 Cent's "Get Rich Or Die Tryin," in March of 2003.

Just more incentive for 50 to go say again "I want to work with her", because he truly needs her. And she has accomplished something that was last done by him, and only six other artists prior to Soundscan.

Boyle is no question the story of the year in music by far in my mind. The fact that she has gone gold three straight weeks in an era of horrible sales is a testament to the team behind her and the phenomenon she has become.

Andrea Bocelli won't mind being Boyle's right hand man for any time, as for a third straight week he finishes behind the British singer with his holiday album "My Christmas". It is also the 5th straight week for the Italian tenor placing at the #2 spot. Another 400,000 copies sold this week means that he can also say "People still will buy CD's."

For Chris Brown, however, the feelings are a near total 180 for him. "Graffiti" wasn't even the top debut this week, as the show "Glee" even outsold him. The hit Fox show (though I have struggled to get into it) premiered on the charts at No.3 with 173,000 sold. That is an extra slap to the face for Brown, who only sold 102K for his latest CD, down more than 170K from his last album's, "Exclusive", first week sales (294K).

Brown, who had his "MechanicalDummy" page removed from Twitter for voicing his anger at his CD's not being stocked at a local Wal-Mart, will need a second single (and a third, fourth and fifth maybe) to somehow boost those poor numbers. And Rihanna, if she wants to, can take solace in the fact that she sold more than her former love, though her first week sales and tallies since then haven't been much to write home about either.

In fact, from what I see, Rihanna isn't even in the Top

Gucci Mane's album "The State vs Radric Davis" debutted at #10, though with just 90,000 albums sold. It did a hell of a lot better than Snopp Dogg's latest release "Malice n Wonderland" ( a measly 59,000, #21) and Timbaland "Shock Value 2" (39,000, #32). It is safe to say that Shock Value's sequel won't be coming close to selling well like the original.

Also to note:

As for the other non-debuts in the top 10, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" moves down one rung to No. 4 with 168,000 (up 32%), while Carrie Underwood feels the impact of her Fox TV Christmas special last week -- her "Play On" album climbs from No. 6 to No. 5 with 107,000 (up 32%).

Lady Gaga's "The Fame" falls one position to No. 6 (103,000; down 23%), Justin Bieber's "My World" zips from No. 12 to No. 8 (97,000; up 45%), and Michael Bublé's "Crazy Love" inches up one slot to No. 9 (92,000; up 28%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Dec. 13) totaled 12.00 million units, up 18% compared to the sum last week (10.14 million) and down 7% compared to the same sales week of 2008 (12.93 million). Year to date album sales stand at 342.3 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year (394.2 million).

It will be something next week if Boyle is able to hold off Alicia Keys for the top spot.

I think Keys will do it next week. But with how I have given low expectations to the British star, only to have been wrong on them, I wouldn't be surprised if I were incorrect yet again.