(Reuters) – Country pop darling Taylor Swift retained the top spot of the Billboard 200 album chart on Thursday after strong sales during the holiday season that saw her album “Red” mark its sixth week at No. 1 since its release two months ago.
“Red” sold 275,000 copies last week ahead of the holidays, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.
Swift, 23, was able to hold off rapper T.I.’s new album “Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head” from the top spot. The rapper came in at No. 2 after selling 178,000 copies.
T.I.’s latest record was the only new release by an individual artist to debut in the top 10 this week. The entries comprised holiday favorites such as Michael Buble’s “Christmas” at No. 5 and some of this year’s chart-toppers, including One Direction’s “Take Me Home” at No. 4 and “Babel” by Mumford & Sons at No. 8.
Two compilation albums rounded out the top 10, with “12-12-12 The Concert for Sandy” at No. 9 and the latest Now Music installment, “Now 44” at No. 10.
The star-studded “12-12-12” compilation was released to raise funds for victims of superstorm Sandy following a live concert at New York’s Madison Square Gardens on December 12.
The album features live recordings of songs by Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, The Rolling Stones and Alicia Keys.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Kelsey and David Brunnstrom)