Taylor Swift Continues Billboard 200 Dominance

3/4/2009 by Katie Hasty

With an 18% uptick in sales, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" continues its rule over The Billboard 200 for an 11th week. The Big Machine effort sold 73,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As reported last week, such a feat has gone unmatched by any album since Santana's "Supernatural" collected 12 weeks at No. 1 in 1999 and 2000.

Debuting at No. 2, a career high, is Lamb of God's "Wrath" (Prosthetic/Epic), having sold 68,000. The metal act's last release, "Sacrament," entered at No. 8 with 63,000 in 2006.

The Jonas Brothers' "3D Concert Experience" soundtrack from Hollywood Records bows right behind at No. 3 with 50,000. The group's movie opened with $12.5 million at the U.S. and Canada box office last weekend, a lower figure than what was expected by industry observers.

With help from the film's eight Oscar wins, the soundtrack to "Slumdog Millionaire" (Interscope) makes a leap 22-4 on a 109% increase to 44,000. On the Hot Digital Songs chart, best original song Oscar winner, "Jai Ho" from composer A.R. Rahman, enters at No. 7 with 130,000 (up 489%) and will make a swift climb up the Billboard Hot 100 once it is compiled later today (March 4).

Back on the 200, Nickelback's Roadrunner set "Dark Horse" slips 4-5 with 41,000 (-6%) as Beyonce's "I Am... Sasha Fierce" (Music World/Columbia) falls 5-6 with 35,000 (-13%). With 32,000 and a 1% increase, Lady GaGa's "The Fame" (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope) earns a new chart peak, moving 10-7.

The Fray's self-titled Epic album descends 3-8 with 31,000 (-41%) and Jamie Foxx's "Intuition" (J) takes a 5% hit, also with 31,000, falling 6-9. Rounding out the top tier of chart is Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), slipping 8-10 on a 21% decrease to 26,000.

Country singer Jake Owen's "Easy Does It" (RCA) bows at No. 13 with 23,000. His 2006 debut "Startin' With Me" peaked at No. 31. Other new albums on the chart this week include Chris Isaak's first studio album in seven years "Mr. Lucky" (Reprise, No. 29, 16,000), K'Naan's "Troubadour" (A&M/Octone, No. 32, 15,000), Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl" (Listen to the Lion, No. 33, 15,000) and "The 99 Most Essential Mozart Masterpieces," released at a discounted price on Amazon (X5, No. 34, 15,000).

Albums sold in this past chart week totaled 6.91 million units, down 6.8% compared to the same sum last week and down 13.1% compared to the same sales week last year. Sales from this year, at 63.82 million, are off 11.7% compared to same total at this time last year.