Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Returns to No. 1 for Eighth Week Atop Billboard 200
Taylor Swift’s album *The Life of a Showgirl* has made a triumphant return to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the week dated December 13, marking its eighth nonconsecutive week at the top. The album surged from No. 3, accumulating 99,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week ending December 4, which reflects a 12% increase. This boost can be attributed to strategic Black Friday promotions and the release of signed CDs available through Swift’s webstore. The album’s success is further underscored by its impressive sales figures, with 46,000 album sales alone—a remarkable 121% rise from the previous week—demonstrating the enduring appeal of Swift’s music during the holiday season.
The Billboard 200 chart, which ranks the most popular albums in the U.S. based on a combination of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA), saw a mix of familiar faces in the top ten this week. Morgan Wallen’s *I’m the Problem* climbed to No. 2 with 71,000 equivalent album units, while the K-Pop *Demon Hunters* soundtrack and Stray Kids’ *DO IT* followed closely behind. Notably, holiday favorites also made their presence felt, with Michael Bublé’s *Christmas* returning to the top ten at No. 6, buoyed by significant streaming activity. This album, originally released in 2011, has become a perennial favorite, showcasing classics like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Meanwhile, Bing Crosby’s *Ultimate Christmas* rose to No. 7, benefiting from a resurgence in streaming as listeners embrace the holiday spirit.
As the holiday season progresses, the Billboard 200 is expected to continue reflecting the festive mood, with three more tracking weeks leading up to Christmas. This period is typically characterized by a spike in holiday music consumption, and the presence of iconic soundtracks like Vince Guaraldi’s *A Charlie Brown Christmas*—which made a notable return to the top ten—highlights the nostalgic connection many have to these seasonal classics. The album, originally released in 1965, has gained renewed interest, particularly as Apple TV offers the beloved animated special for free during select dates, further driving its streaming numbers. With the holiday season in full swing, the charts are likely to see more shifts as fans indulge in both new releases and timeless favorites.
Taylor Swift
’s
The Life of a Showgirl
returns to No. 1 on the
Billboard 200
albums chart (dated Dec. 13), up from No. 3 a week ago, collecting its eighth nonconsecutive week atop the list. The set earned 99,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the tracking week ending Dec. 4 (up 12%), according to Luminate, aided by Black Friday promotions at retail and newly available signed CDs sold through the artist’s webstore.
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Also in the top 10, holiday music returns to the region, as albums by
Michael Bublé
,
Bing Crosby
and
Vince Guaraldi Trio
jingle up the list.
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 Dec. 13, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on
Billboard
‘s website on Dec. 9. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of
The Life of a Showgirl
’s 99,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, SEA units comprise 53,000 (down 18%, equaling 69.38 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks — it holds at No. 2 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 46,000 (up 121%; it climbs 4-2 Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise less than 1,000 (down 76%).
Three former No. 1s are Nos. 2-4 on the latest Billboard 200, as
Morgan Wallen
’s
I’m the Problem
rises 4-2 (71,000 equivalent album units, down 6%), the
KPop Demon Hunters
soundtrack steps 5-3 (66,000, down 1%) and
Stray Kids
’
DO IT
falls 1-4 in its second week (64,000, down 78%).
The
Wicked: For Good
soundtrack drops 2-5 in its second frame, earning 63,000 (down 49%).
Michael Bublé’s former No. 1
Christmas
returns to the top 10, climbing 12-6 with 58,000 equivalent album units earned (up 70%), largely driven by streaming activity (48,000 SEA units, equaling 64.86 million on-demand official streams of the project’s songs; it zooms 11-3 on the Top Streaming Albums chart).
Christmas
was released in 2011, spent five weeks at No. 1 in December 2011 and early January 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every following holiday season. The set boasts
Holiday 100
-charting favorites like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
The Billboard 200’s latest tracking week captured the first seven days following the Thanksgiving Day holiday (Nov. 28 through Dec. 4). There are three more tracking weeks during the Christmas season, as the Christmas holiday (Dec. 25) falls on a Thursday this year.
Bing Crosby’s
Ultimate Christmas
rises 16-7 on the Billboard 200 with 52,000 equivalent album units earned (up 78%). Nearly all of that sum is powered by streaming activity, as SEA units comprise 48,000 (equaling 63.55 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks). The album also rockets 14-4 on the Top Streaming Albums chart.
The
Ultimate Christmas
best-of set was released in 2024 and peaked at No. 3 on the Jan. 4, 2025-dated chart. It marked the late Crosby’s highest-charting album in 66 years, dating to when his former No. 1
Merry Christmas
ranked at No. 2 on the Jan. 5, 1959 chart. (
Merry Christmas
previously spent a week at No. 1 on Jan. 6, 1958-dated chart.)
Ultimate Christmas
contains such classic
Holiday 100
-charting tunes from Crosby as “White Christmas” (featuring The Ken Darby Singers and John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra), “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Mele Kalikimaka” (with The Andrews Sisters).
Olivia Dean
’s
The Art of Loving
falls 7-8 on the latest Billboard 200 (48,000 equivalent album units earned, down 1%).
Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to the
A Charlie Brown Christmas
animated TV special is back in the top 10 for the first time in nearly three years, as it surges 18-9 with 46,000 equivalent album units earned (up 68%). It was last in the top 10 on the Jan. 7, 2023-dated chart, when it ranked at No. 10. Of the 46,000 units the album earned for the week, SEA units comprise 26,000 (up 72%, equaling 33.81 million on-demand official streams of its songs; it rises 43-13 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 20,000 (up 64% and largely owed to vinyl purchases; it jumps 10-4 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum (up 42%). The album earns its biggest sales week in three years, since it sold 23,000 copies on the Dec. 31, 2022 chart.
The
A Charlie Brown Christmas
soundtrack was released in 1965, the same year that the Emmy Award-winning special premiered on CBS, but it did not reach any
Billboard
ranking until 1987. That year, it debuted on the Top Holiday Albums chart, where it later peaked at No. 2 (Jan. 27, 2007). On the Billboard 200 chart, the set visited the top 10 for the first time on the Jan. 2, 2021-dated list, later peaking at No. 6 on the Jan. 1, 2022-dated chart.
The
A Charlie Brown Christmas
TV special aired annually on CBS during the holiday season from 1965 through 2000. ABC picked up the rights to the show from 2001 to 2019. In 2020, Apple TV acquired the rights to the special, along with other classic animated Peanuts programs. Each year, Apple TV also makes
A Charlie Brown Christmas
available free for a limited time; this year, the free window will take place Dec. 13-14.
Closing out the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200 is
Tate McRae
’s former leader,
So Close To What
, which falls 6-10 with 44,000 equivalent album units earned (down 31%).
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.
