LOS ANGELES, Dec 27 (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 Dec. 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)