Album chart is ‘Frozen’ with holiday cheer, thanks to Mariah, Michael & Pentatonix
Columbia RecordsIf you weren’t fully convinced that winter is here and Christmas is just weeks away, just take a look at the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
Topping the chart is the soundtrack of the smash Disney sequel Frozen II, which rises from number three to number one. It’s the third soundtrack to hit number one in 2019, following A Star Is Born and Kanye West‘s Jesus Is King, which is technically the soundtrack to the rapper’s short film of the same name.
Meanwhile, holiday albums by Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé return to the top 10, while the official group of Christmas, Pentatonix, has scored its 10th top-10 album with The Best of Pentatonix Christmas.
Mariah’s 1994 album Merry Christmas jumps from #21 to number nine. It initially hit the top 10 when it was first released, and then returned to the top 10 again in January 2019. With U.S. sales of 5.7 million copies, it’s the third-biggest-selling holiday album since sales started being tracked electronically in 1991. The album’s perennial hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is currently #18 on the Hot 100.
Michael’s 2011 album Christmas rises from #17 to number six. The album has returned to the top 10 every year since its initial release. With U.S. sales of 4.3 million copies, it’s Michael’s biggest album, and the fifth-biggest-selling album since 1991.
As for Pentatonix, fully half of the group’s ten top-10 albums are Christmas albums. Their new release, The Best of Pentatonix Christmas, has moved from #18 to number eight. It features four new songs, including a “virtual duet” with the late Whitney Houston on “Do You Hear What I Hear.”
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