Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” (Syco Music/Columbia) is No. 1 on the Billboard album chart for a fifth week, racking up another 510,000 sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. She is the first artist in the 53-year history of the chart to have a debut album open No. 1 and stay in that position for the following four weeks. Ms. Boyle has sold a total of 2,982,000 albums, trailing Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” (Big Machine) by only 175,000 as the best-selling title of 2009, with one week of sales left for the year. (SoundScan’s year officially ends on Sunday.) On last week’s chart the continued success of “I Dreamed a Dream” pushed Alicia Keys’s latest album, “The Element of Freedom” (J), to No. 2, and on this week’s chart Ms. Boyle holds off another R&B diva: Mary J. Blige’s new release, “Stronger With Each Tear” (Geffen), opened at No. 2 with 330,000. Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas” (Sugar/Decca) is No. 3 with 284,000, “The Element of Freedom” is No. 4 with 280,000, and Ms. Swift’s “Fearless” is in fifth place with 224,000.
Susan Boyle Still No. 1
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New York Times
The Top 10 Everything of 2009 - Top 10 Viral Videos
By · CommentsSusan Boyle
Before she had the biggest-selling debut album in the history of the U.K. charts, frumpy Susan Boyle was YouTube’s darling.
In April, British television viewers watched the middle-aged Scottish woman astonish a live audience (and difficult-to-impress judge Simon Cowell) with a rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent. Days later, YouTube users in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world wept for joy at the storybook success (however carefully crafted by the reality show’s producers) of the simple woman with the bushy eyebrows and crystal-clear voice.
Sure, she lost the final competition to some dancing kids. And she succumbed more than once to the emotional pressure that comes with sudden fame. But with her record selling well, she said she doesn’t want it to end.
Adding up the various posts on YouTube, the number of views of her first TV appearance hovers at about 100 million. With a statistic like that, she’s the most viral of them all, and no list of the year’s viral hits can exclude her.
No Stopping Susan Boyle’s ‘Dream’ On Billboard 200
By · CommentsFrom Billboard
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.
“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.
Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas” continues to play runner-up to Boyle’s “Dream,” meanwhile, finding itself stuck at No. 2 for a fifth week (400,000; down 7%).
There’s No Stopping Susan Boyle!
By · CommentsHoliday season sales: There’s no stopping Susan Boyle
British singing sensation Susan Boyle continues her dominance of the U.S. pop charts, with her orchestral-lite takes on boomer standards hitting a sweet spot with music buyers. In three weeks, her “I Dreamed a Dream” has sold a stunning 1.8 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, surpassing 2009 releases from such mega-stars as Eminem and Green Day, and even overtaking another TV-made phenomena – the soundtrack to “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which has sold 1.7 million copies since its release in the spring.
How far can Boyle go? Expect her sales to coast through the holidays. It will be worth watching to see what happens in January, when music sales typically plummet. With comfy-soft renditions of “Daydream Believer,” “Amazing Grace” and more, Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” is clearly built for holiday-timed sales, and it’s taking full advantage.
Her album hit another milestone this week too, racking up an additional 582,000 copies sold. Billboard reports that “I Dreamed a Dream” is the first album by a woman to sell 500,000 copies in each of its first three weeks since SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. If Boyle’s pace stays relatively steady, and with three sales weeks left in 2009, including the two biggest of the year, her album could top 3 million copies sold and quite possibly become the year’s top seller. But one week at a time.
You Can Watch IDAD on TV Guide.com
By · CommentsHere’s the whole thing!