Chart Beat
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SZA’s SOS rules the Billboard 200 chart (dated Jan. 7) for a third straight and total week as the set earned 128,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 29 (down 29%), according to Luminate. Plus, five holiday albums populate the top 10 — the most in a year — led by Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 Christmas.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 7, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 4 (one day later than usual, due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Jan. 1). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of SOS’ 128,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 126,500 (down 29%, equaling 168.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 1,000 (down 20%) and TEA units comprise 500 (up 3%).
SOS is the first R&B album by a woman to spend three weeks at No. 1 since Beyoncé’s self-titled effort also spent its first three weeks atop the list in 2013. (R&B albums are defined as those that have hit Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart.)
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights is a non-mover at No. 2 with 106,000 equivalent album units (down 32%), while Bublé’s Christmas rises 5-3 with 62,000 units (down 14%). Christmas is one of five holiday albums in the top 10, the most in the region since the chart dated Jan. 2, 2022, when the top 10 also housed five festive sets.
Metro Boomin’s chart-topping Heroes & Villains is stationary at No. 4 with 58,000 equivalent album units earned (down 24%). Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song hits a new peak, rising 7-5 with 57,000 units. It previously topped out at No. 6, first achieved on the Jan. 2, 2021-dated list.
Drake and 21 Savage’s former leader, Her Loss, holds at No. 6 with 50,000 equivalent album units earned (down 16%) and Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti climbs 10-7 with 48,000 (down 9%). A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector climbs to a new chart high, rising 11-8 with 47,000 units (down 1%). The set had earlier plateaued at No. 10 on the Jan. 8, 2022-dated tally. Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas is a non-mover at No. 9 with 47,000 units (down 10%) and Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack falls 8-10 with 45,000 units (down 20%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
In case you partied too much last night, here’s a nice, easy scroll to usher in 2023: 23 memorable songs that peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Among them: Bruce Springsteen’s first Hot 100 hit and a signature song; likewise, Pat Benatar’s breakthrough classic; No Doubt’s wry ode to girl power; Shakira’s anthem, featuring Alejandro Sanz, that ruled the Hot Latin Songs chart for 25 weeks; and one of Taylor Swift’s most observant, and sympathetic, songs.
Plus, enduring anthems by Tom Petty, Dr. Dre, Britney Spears and more.
Happy new year!
Morgan Wallen hits an unprecedented milestone on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Jan. 7, 2023) as “You Proof” becomes the first song to lead the list for double-digit weeks.
The song, released on Big Loud Records, rules Country Airplay for a 10th week, with 22.8 million audience impressions Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate.
A week earlier, “You Proof” surpassed two titles that dominated Country Airplay — which began in January 1990 — for eight frames each and had shared the record for the list’s longest command for nearly two decades: Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003) and Lonestar’s pop crossover hit “Amazed” (1999).
“Breaking this record is simply a testament to a huge song and Morgan continuing to evolve and strengthen as a vital artist to country radio,” Big Loud vice president of promotion Stacy Blythe told Billboard when “You Proof” notched its ninth week atop Country Airplay. “It also shows the consistent work ethic of the Big Loud radio team and support from radio. There were a lot of folks who stepped up on a holiday week to help us get here and it’s not taken for granted.”
Wallen co-wrote “You Proof” — a stand-alone single that in October became his seventh No. 1 on Country Airplay — with ERNEST, Ashley Gorley, Keith Smith and Charlie Handsome, the lattermost of whom also produced it with Joey Moi.
The track also logs a record-breaking 16th week in the Country Airplay chart’s top three, passing Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” which spent four weeks at No. 1 beginning in September.
Mariah Carey already locked up the Christmas No. 1, now she’s certain to see in the New Year as queen of the Australian singles chart.
Carey’s nine-times platinum hit from 1994, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia/Sony), enters a third week at No. 1 on the latest ARIA Singles Chart, as holiday numbers flood the survey.
“All I Want” leads an “all-Christmas” top ten, published Dec. 30, and is one of 18 Christmas songs impacting the top 20, with SZA’s “Kill Bill” (down 2-12 via RCA/Sony) and Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ former leader “Unholy” (down 3-14 via Capitol/Universal) the only exceptions.
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A string of Xmas-themed tracks impact the upper tier of the chart for the first time, including the late Nat King Cole’s 1946 recording “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” (via Universal), new at No. 27; The Beach Boys’ “Little Saint Nick” (Universal) at No. 39; Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” (Universal) at No. 41; Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (via Sony) at No. 49; and another Nat King Cole classic, “Deck The Hall” (EMI), at No. 50.
Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Taylor Swift’s platinum-certified Midnights (Universal) retains top spot, ahead of Michael Buble’s Christmas (up 3-2 via Reprise/Warner) and SZA’s SOS. (down 2-3 via RCA/Sony).
As the New Year nears, Swift can rest assured that her fanbase in Australia is amped for a potential tour to these parts. The U.S. pop superstar makes her presence known up and down the national albums survey, with Folklore (up 31-21), Evermore (up 50-22), Red (Taylor’s Version) (up 33-23), 1989 (up 32-27), Lover (up 34-30), Reputation (up 53-44), and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (up 62-50) making gains.
U.S. vinyl album sales hit a modern-era high in the week ending Dec. 22, as 2.232 million copies were sold, according to Luminate. That marks the single-largest sales week for vinyl albums since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. It’s also only the second time in the modern era (1991-onward) that weekly vinyl album sales have exceeded 2 million. It last happened a year ago, when vinyl had its previous modern-era-high by selling 2.115 million in the week ending Dec. 23, 2021.
Vinyl album sales grew by 46.7% in the week ending Dec. 22 (compared with the previous week), powered by holiday gift shopping. The top-selling vinyl album of the week was Taylor Swift’s Midnights, which sold 68,000 copies – the third-largest sales week of the year for an album on vinyl. (Midnights’ vinyl sales profit from its availability across five vinyl variants – all colored vinyl editions, including one exclusive to Target.)
Vinyl album sales made up 57% of overall album sales in the United States in the week ending Dec. 22 (2.232 million of 3.897 million) and 63% of all physical album sales (2.232 million of 3.526 million). (Overall album sales combine both physical and digital download album purchases. Physical album sales include vinyl albums, CDs and cassettes.)
Year-to-date vinyl album sales stand at 41.891 million – up 3.6% compared with the same point in 2021.
RM’s Indigo re-enters Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Dec. 31) at a new peak of No. 2 following the set’s CD release on Dec. 16. The album bounds back onto the list with 79,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 22 (up from less than 500 sales the week previous), according to Luminate. Of that 79,000 sales figure, CD sales comprise 77,500, while digital download album sales comprise 1,500.
Indigo debuted at No. 10 on the Top Album Sales chart dated Dec. 17 with 10,500 sold, following the set’s initial retail release as a digital download album. It slipped off the chart the following week, only to return on the new list after its CD release.
Like many K-pop releases, the CD configuration of Indigo was issued in collectible deluxe packages (three, including exclusive versions for Target and the Weverse webstore), each with a standard set of items and one randomized element (a photocard).
Also on Top Album Sales, Taylor Swift’s Midnights becomes the first album to spend its first nine weeks at No. 1 since the list launched in 1991. And, Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 8 following its deluxe vinyl release.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Swift’s Midnights holds at No. 1 on Top Album Sales for a ninth week — the entirety of it chart run. The effort sold 97,000 copies in the week ending Dec. 22 (up 31%). Midnights is the first album to spend its first nine weeks on the chart at No. 1 since the list launched with the May 25, 1991-dated chart.
Midnights is not the first title on Top Album Sales with nine weeks at No. 1 in a row, nor nine weeks in total at No. 1. The last album with nine consecutive weeks at No. 1 was Adele’s 21, which linked together 10 straight weeks (of its total 24) in 2012. And, the last album with nine weeks in total at No. 1, nonconsecutively, on Top Album Sales was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack, with 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2018-19.
Midnights’ sales gain of 31% is owed to holiday shopping, as the chart reflects the sales week ending Dec. 22. (We’ll still see holiday gift-giving purchases impacting next week’s chart, dated Jan. 7, 2023, as that chart will reflect the tracking week of Dec. 23-29.) The bulk of Midnights’ sales were vinyl-driven, with 68,000 on vinyl sold for the week — up 41%. That also marks the third-largest sales week for any vinyl album in 2022, following the debut weeks of Midnights (575,000) and Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (182,000). Midnights continues to profit from its availability across five vinyl variants — all colored vinyl editions, including one exclusive to Target.
Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack falls 2-3 on Top Album Sales with just over 23,000 sold (up 33%) — its largest sales week of 2022. Harry Styles’ former No. 1 Harry’s House moves 3-4 with 23,000 (up 41%); Michael Jackson’s Thriller rises 6-5 with nearly 23,000 (up 67%); Matteo, Andrea and Virginia Bocelli’s A Family Christmas dips 5-6 with 20,000 (up 43%), and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is a non-mover at No. 7 with nearly 20,000 (up 55%).
Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 8 with 19,000 sold following the album’s release in a deluxe triple-vinyl set on Dec. 16. The new expanded edition of the set includes 26 additional tracks and was offered in six variants (a standard black vinyl; plus four color variants, one of which included a signed insert by Burnham). Vinyl sales comprise the majority of the album’s total sales for the week, with 18,500 on wax.
Inside (The Songs) debuted at No. 43 on the June 29, 2021-dated chart and first reached the top 10 on the Jan. 1, 2022-dated list, when it re-entered at No. 3 after its initial vinyl LP release. The album has been absent from Top Album Sales since June.
Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city jumps 19-9 on Top Album Sales with 15,000 sold (up 97%), owed to stock replenishment of his recently released 10th anniversary edition of the album. Taylor Swift’s Evermore rounds out the top 10, falling 8-10 with 14,000 (up 23%).
In the week ending Dec. 22, there were 3.897 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 33.9% compared to the previous week). That’s the biggest week of 2022 and the largest for album sales since the week ending Dec. 23, 2021, when 4.231 million were sold.
In the week ending Dec. 22, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 3.526 million (up 39%) and digital albums comprised 371,000 (down 1.1%).
There were 1.276 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 22 (up 27.5% week-over-week) and 2.232 million vinyl albums sold (up 46.7%). It’s the largest week for CD album sales in 2022, and the biggest since the week ending Dec. 23, 2021, when there were 1.584 million CD albums sold.
Further, the 2.232 million vinyl albums sold in the week ending Dec. 22 marks the largest week for vinyl album sales since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. It surpasses the 2.115 million vinyl albums sold in the week ending Dec. 23, 2021.
Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 35.098 million (down 11.6% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 41.891 million (up 3.6%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 97.359 million (down 8.4% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 77.539 million (down 3.9%) and digital album sales total 19.821 million (down 22.8%).
Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.
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Let’s open the latest mailbag.
Hi Gary,
It’s fun to see Paul McCartney and John Lennon simultaneously in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Dec. 31). The former’s “Wonderful Christmastime” re-enters at No. 32 (after it hit No. 28 two years ago) and the latter’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (credited to John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir) hits a new high, placing in the top 40 for the first time as it returns at No. 38. Lennon logs his 14th top 40 title as a soloist and first since “Nobody Told Me” rose to No. 5 in 1984.
The Beatles last ranked in the Hot 100’s top 40 with “Real Love” and, before that, “Free as a Bird,” in 1995-96. But when did McCartney and Lennon last share space in the top 40 outside the group?
As we mention Paul, we can shout out another famed musical partner of his, Michael Jackson, as the Jackson 5 score another top 40 Hot 100 hit: “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” re-enters at No. 33. It’s the Jackson 5/Jacksons’ 24th top 40 hit and, like Lennon, their first since 1984, when “Torture” hit No. 17. (The act had last appeared in the top 40 billed as the Jackson 5 in 1975.)
Also in this week’s countdown, the Beach Boys achieve a new Hot 100 high as “Little Saint Nick” returns at No. 30. The legendary group surfs (sleds?) to its 35th top 40 hit and first “Kokomo” became its fourth No. 1 in 1988.
Who can resist the most wonderful time of the year?
Pablo NelsonOakland, Calif.
Happy holidays, Pablo!
First, in another highlight on the newest Hot 100, Elvis Presley‘s “Blue Christmas” bounds 41-27, a new high for his 1957 classic. The King posts his highest rank since the chart dated Jan. 7, 1978 – a day shy of what would’ve been his 43rd birthday – when “My Way” held at No. 22.
As for your question, while The Beatles last appeared in the Hot 100’s top 40 on the chart dated April, 6, 1996, McCartney and Lennon had, until this week, not placed simultaneously in the region with songs outside the band since the Feb. 25, 1984, chart, when Lennon’s “Nobody Told Me” surged 12-7, becoming his eighth and most recent top 10, and McCartney’s “So Bad” ranked at No. 37.
Other Hot 100 highlights that week: Van Halen’s “Jump” ascended to No. 1; The Police’s “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (14-9) and Billy Joel’s “An Innocent Man” (13-10) also hit the top 10; and future No. 1 ballads “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins (No. 67) and “Hello” by Lionel Richie (No. 75) debuted.
Plus, the highest-entering song on the Hot 100 that frame? Eventual top 10 “They Don’t Know” (No. 63) by Tracey Ullman. Her Fox series in 1987 ushered in The Simpsons, which, like the holiday hits in the latest list’s top 40, is still going strong, now in its 34th season.
Taylor Swift rebounds to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 31), spending a record-extending 58th week as the top musical act in the U.S. thanks to the continued success of her album Midnights.
Plus, RM re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 6, a new best for the BTS member as a soloist.
Swift’s Midnights ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with 155,000 equivalent album units earned in its ninth week (Dec. 16-22), according to Luminate. Of those nine weeks, five have been spent at No. 1, making it her sixth album to have five or more weeks at the summit. Swift is the only woman with as many as six albums that have reigned for five or more weeks, tying her with Garth Brooks for the second-most among all acts, since the chart became a combined stereo and mono survey in 1963. The Beatles lead with a whopping 14 No. 1s that ruled for five or more weeks each.
In total, Swift places eight albums on the latest Billboard 200, the most among all acts. After Midnights, she charts with Folklore (No. 39), Lover (No. 40), Evermore (No. 42), Red (Taylor’s Version) (No. 46), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (No. 80), 1989 (No. 105) and Reputation (No. 151).
Swift also charts two songs from Midnights on the Billboard Hot 100: former six-week No. 1 “Anti-Hero” at No. 9, followed by “Lavender Haze” at No. 67. As previously reported, “Anti-Hero” hits No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart, where Swift becomes the first artist with leaders in the 2000s, ’10s and ’20s, and the only act with No. 1s as a lead artist in any three distinct decades.
Plus, Swift has now spent eight total weeks at No. 1 on the Artist 100 chart in 2022. As this is the last chart week dated in 2022, she and Bad Bunny tie for the most weeks logged at No. 1 this year. The Weeknd follows with six weeks on top this year, then Adele (four), Harry Styles (three), Beyoncé and Stray Kids (two apiece).
Elsewhere on the Artist 100, BTS’ RM re-enters at No. 6 — a new high — thanks to the CD release of his solo album Indigo. The set re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at a new No. 3 best (83,000 units) after debuting at No. 15 two weeks ago, when he first reached the Artist 100’s top 10 at No 8.
RM is the sixth BTS member to scale the Artist 100 solo, after Jung Kook (No. 47 peak, earlier in December), Jin (No. 10, November), J-Hope (No. 9, July), V (No. 57, January) and Suga (No. 57, December 2021, after he soared to No. 4, billed as Agust D, in 2020). BTS has spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the Artist 100, the most among groups and the fourth-most overall after Swift, Drake (37) and The Weeknd (28), dating to the survey’s 2014 inception.
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multidimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Besides its catchy melodies and stellar vocal performance, what sonically has helped make Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” the top title on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart and a perennial No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 each holiday season since 2019?
As the carol, originally released in 1994, continues to expand its legacy, here’s a look at three compositional characteristics that have helped it jingle to chart history.
Underneath the Mistletoe
Over the 2019-22 holiday seasons, four favorites have peaked at Nos. 1-4, respectively, on the Hot 100: in order, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (from 1958), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (1957) and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (1964).
Helping it stand out when compared to other high-charting holiday hits, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a love song, a key differentiator. While others focus mainly on the holidays, Carey’s uses Christmas as a backdrop for romantic love, which further broadens its universal appeal.
Everyone Is Singing
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” also has notable cross-generational appeal. Drawing heavily from the early-to-mid-1960s, this R&B, pop, rock, dance, gospel and holiday-influenced hit has something for just about everyone. It resonates with the children of the ’90s who grew up on it, as well as their baby boomer parents, who grew up on ’60s rock. The song also connects with the former thanks to A-list artists such as Ariana Grande, who has cited Carey as a major influence and keeps ’90s-flavored R&B alive in today’s mainstream.
Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ringing
Perhaps most notable of all about “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the evocative and highly engaging way that it unfolds, which is a testament to its co-writers and co-producers, Carey and Walter Afanasieff.
Traversing through three distinct segments, the song kicks off with a familiar, simple melody played by a glockenspiel, which invites the listener in with a sense of holiday innocence and wonder.
The second segment abruptly shifts gears, providing a warm, sparse, anticipation-filled arrangement that effectively supports Carey’s evocative R&B-styled delivery of the song’s love-themed lyrics. The church bells cleverly tie together the love and holiday storylines, invoking the spirit of the season and alluding to marriage.
The third and final segment, which is also the longest, initially shifts to a sparse rock piano and sleigh bell arrangement before locking the listener into the song’s main groove.
Blending all its influences under one (snow-covered) roof, this uplifting and excited vibe embodies the holiday spirit and the feeling of being in love, solidifying listeners’ deep emotional connections with the song and keeping them coming back for more.
David and Yael Penn are the co-founders of Hit Songs Deconstructed. In April, Hit Songs Deconstructed and fellow song analysis platform MyPart partnered to launch ChartCipher, a new platform analyzing hit songs, as defined by Billboard’s charts.
LadBaby lands the ultimate Christmas present with “Food Aid” (via BMG) earning the coveted Christmas No. 1 in the U.K. — and doing so in record-busting fashion.
The charity single debuts at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart with more than 65,000 chart sales, the Official Charts Company reports, for the fastest-selling week of any recording in 2022.
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The husband-and-wife duo of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle become the first act to nab five Official U.K. Christmas No. 1 singles, beating the old mark held by the Beatles, who bagged four non-consecutive Christmas leaders in 1963, 1964, 1965 & 1967.
Previously, LadBaby ruled the Christmas chart with “We Built This City” (in 2018), “I Love Sausage Rolls” (2019), “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’” (2020) and 2021’s “Sausage Rolls For Everyone” with Ed Sheeran and Elton John.
Proceeds from the single, a re-interpretation of Band Aid’s ‘80s classic “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” are split equally between food bank charity The Trussell Trust and the Band Aid Trust.
“It only seems yesterday that LadBaby turned up with their first festive campaign four years ago, so it feels slightly surreal to be sending hearty congratulations on their fifth successive Official Christmas No. 1,” comments Martin Talbot, chief executive of the OCC. “Securing one Christmas No. 1 is a huge achievement in itself – to do it five times, in successive years, is unprecedented and frankly incredible.”
There’s Christmas cheer to be found up and down the chart, as Wham’s “Last Christmas” (RCA) dips 1-2, but racks up a market-leading 12.9 million streams. Meanwhile, another fundraising holiday number, Sidemen’s “Christmas Drillings,” is the highest climber, blasting 41-3; while yuletide favorites from Mariah Carey (“All I Want For Christmas Is You” down 2-4 via Columbia), Ed Sheeran and Elton John (“Merry Christmas” down 4-5 via Atlantic) and Brenda Lee (“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” down 5-8 via MCA) impact the top 10.
It’s the season to be jolly, and it’s also the season for punk act the K**ts to stage a return with a protest song. At No. 7, “F**k The Tories” (via Tactical Voting) is the highest new entry on the chart, published Dec. 23. It’s the English act’s third consecutive Christmas top 10, following “Boris Johnson Is Still A F**king C**t” in 2021 and “Boris Johnson Is A F**king C**t” in 2020, both peaking at No. 5.
The Christmas albums crown belongs to Taylor Swift, whose 2022 smash Midnights (EMI) lifts 3-1 on the Official Chart, with over 17,000 chart units, according to the OCC.
Midnights joins 2020’s Folklore as Swift’s only LPs to log three weeks at the U.K. summit, and it’s the only non-Christmas album to inhabit the current top 3, as Cliff Richard’s Christmas With Cliff (EastWest/Rhino) lifts 8-2, and Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise) improves 4-3.