(Reuters) – Country pop star Taylor Swift held her reign at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, keeping retro-inspired R&B singer Bruno Mars’ new album at bay.
Swift’s latest album, “Red,” released in October, held the No. 1 slot for a fifth non-consecutive week with sales of 208,000, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.
Mars’ second album, “Unorthodox Jukebox,” sold 192,000 copies in its opening week to take the No. 2 slot.
The album’s lead single, “Locked Out of Heaven,” stayed at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a second week, and is the singer’s fourth chart-topping single. It also tops the Digital Songs chart this week.
Hip hop artist The Game entered the chart at No. 6 with his fifth studio album, “Jesus Piece,” selling 86,000 copies.
Four festive albums sat in the top ten this week, with Michael Buble’s “Christmas” at No. 3, Rod Stewart’s “Merry Christmas Baby” at No. 5, Blake Shelton’s “Cheers, It’s Christmas” at No. 8, and Lady Antebellum’s “On This Winter’s Night” at No. 10.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy Editing by Jill Serjeant, Gary Hill)
