Taylor Swift On Track For No. 1 Debut

Taylor Swift is on course to earn her first No. 1 album on The Nielsen SoundScan’s Building chart, released today (Nov. 12).

Unweighted sales of the teen star’s “Fearless” (Big Machine) through the close of yesterday stood at 217,000. Billboard estimates the eight merchants who report to Nielsen SoundScan’s Building chart — Trans World Entertainment, Best Buy, Circuit City, iTunes, Starbucks, Borders, Target and Anderson Merchandisers — comprise about 80% of all U.S. album sales.

Universal Music Group Distribution is projecting that “Fearless” could move as much as 600,000 in its first full week of sales. That would easily rank as the best sales week for a country album this year, and the best since Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden” shifted 711,000 when it bowed in November 2007.

Other albums set to debut within the top 10 on The Billboard 200 next week include David Archuleta’s self-titled debut (19/Jive), T-Pain’s “Thr33 Ringz” (Konvict/Nappy Boy/Jive), the “Now 29” compilation (UMe) and Enya’s “And Winter Came…” (Reprise).

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