The charity album A Philly Special Christmas hits the top 10 on four Billboard album charts, including a No. 1 re-entry on the Compilation Albums tally and a No. 9 debut on Top Album Sales. Led by Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, the seven-track set includes renditions of holiday favorites such sa “White Christmas” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” All profits from the album benefit Philadelphia’s Children’s Crisis Treatment Center.
A Philly Special Christmas was released as a digital download album for purchase and through streaming services on Dec. 23. In the week ending Dec. 29, 2022, the album sold nearly 11,000 copies in the U.S. according to Luminate – the largest sales week for a non-soundtrack compilation album in over two years. Nearly all of those 11,000 sales were digital downloads. The album previously was available on vinyl, and sold 3,000 copies between the weeks ending Dec. 1 and Dec. 22.
A Philly Special Christmas re-enters the Compilation Albums chart at No. 1 and re-enters Top Current Album Sales at No. 4 (also its first week in the top 10), and debuts at No. 8 on Independent Albums and No. 9 on Top Album Sales. It also bows at No. 26 on Top Holiday Albums and No. 80 on the Billboard 200. (All charts dated Jan. 7, 2023, reflecting the tracking week ending Dec. 29, 2022.)
The last time a non-soundtrack compilation album sold more in a single week was two years ago, when the last Good Music charity album, Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2 debuted at No. 1 on Compilation Albums and No. 10 on Top Album Sales with 13,500 sold (Oct. 17, 2020, chart).
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.
Compilation Albums ranks the week’s top-selling compilation albums and Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s overall top-selling current albums (excluding catalog, or older, titles). Independent Albums reflects the week’s most popular albums, by units, released by independent record labels. Top Holiday Albums ranks the most popular seasonal albums of the week, by units.
At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Taylor Swift’s Midnights rules the list for a 10th week – the entirety of its chart run – with 55,000 copies sold (down 44%). It’s the first album with 10 weeks at No. 1 since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack strung together 10 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list in 2018-19. The last album with 10 straight weeks at No. 1 was Adele’s 21, which linked together 10 weeks in a row (of its total 24) in 2012.
RM’s Indigo is a non-mover at No. 2 with 15,000 (down 81%), Michael Jackson’s Thriller rises 5-3 with 14,000 (down 37%), Harry Styles’ former No. 1 Harry’s House is steady at No. 4 with 13,000 (down 43%) and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours climbs 7-5 with 12,000 (down 39%).
Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city jumps 9-6 with nearly 12,000 sold (down 22%), Tyler, the Creator’s Igor bumps 12-7 with 11,000 (down 14%), Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack falls 3-8 with 11,000 (down 52%) and A Family Christmas from Matteo, Andrea and Virginia Bocelli descends 10-6 with 10,000 (down 51%).
