CHART STORY: REPUBLIC RULES

Christmas came early for Swifties and Republic with the surprise release of superstar Taylor Swift’s second 2020 studio album, evermore. The new arrival—a sister set to the year’s biggest debut, Tay’s folklore—takes the #1 spot on the HITS Top 50 with 331k. Her folklore, which surged to 128k as Swiftmania overtook the land, lands at #3. This marks the ninth week Taylor has topped the album chart this year; she’s claimed that spot more frequently than any other artist in 2020. Since she sealed her 2018 pact with UMG and Republic, Swift has released three #1 albums—within a time frame of 16 months—that have combined for 5m+ in total activity.

Sandwiched between Tay’s albums is labelmate Kid Cudi, who dropped the third chapter of his Man on the Moon series a full decade after its predecessor. The highly anticipated MOTM III: The Chosen, debuts at #2 with 148k. Add perpetually hot projects from Pop Smoke and Ariana Grande to the mix and Republic holds five of the Top 10 albums.

Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise) and Carrie Underwood’s My Gift (Capitol Nashville) lead the pack of holiday titles crowding the chart. They’re positioned on the tree at #4 and #6, respectively. Seasonal favorites Pentatonix (RCA) land two albums inside the Top 30.

On its one-year anniversary, Harry Styles’ Fine Line (Columbia) jumps back into the Top 15 (+29%), lining up at #13.

Want more data? You'll have to find it yourself. Dig into the whole chart here.

Streeting this week are new releases from Capitol’s Paul McCartney, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope’s Eminem and Ingrooves’ Eslabon Armado.

Now pass the eggnog so we can get holly-jolly shit-faced.