Meet the Youngest Top 10 Album Artist

 Jackie Evancho, a 10-year old vocal prodigy who was the runner-up in September on America's Got Talent, enters The Billboard 200 at #2 with O Holy Night. Evancho is the youngest artist ever to land a top 10 album. Michael Jackson was 11 in 1970 when the Jackson 5 landed their first top 10 album
. Zac Hanson was 11 in 1997 when Hanson first scored. Stevie Wonder, LeAnn Rimes and Miley Cyrus were each 13 when they first reached the top 10 (counting Hannah Montana for Cyrus).
Evancho is a "classical crossover" artist in the style of Charlotte Church and Hayley Westenra, who were 13 and 17, respectively, when they first cracked The Billboard 200.

 O Holy Night is a four-song EP which consists of two Christmas standards ("O Holy Night" and "Silent Night") and two classical crossover pieces. Evancho sang one of those pieces, "Pie Jesu," on both America's Got Talent and Oprah. The singer, who lives with her family near Pittsburgh, has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show and The View. (When I was 10, I had a paper route.)
Evancho first charted last summer with an (aptly-titled) album, Prelude To A Dream, which debuted and peaked at #121. The independently-released, digital-only album was thereafter pulled from the market on the theory that it didn't reflect the singer's current sound. Evancho's new release is on Columbia Records.

 (Amazingly, Evancho isn't the only 10-year old who is making noise on this week's charts. Willow, the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pickett Smith, is riding high with her hit "Whip My Hair," which reached #11 on the Hot 100 a few weeks ago. Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon (as Neil Young) sang a deadpan parody of the song last week on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.)

O Holy Night debuts just behind Susan Boyle's The Gift, which holds at #1 for the second week. This marks the first time that holiday collections have held down the top two spots on The Billboard 200 since December 1957, when Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas and Elvis Presley's Elvis' Christmas Album were #1 and #2.

 Boyle was the runner-up in 2009 on Britain's Got Talent, so both of this week's top two albums are by artists who rose to fame on reality TV shows. Simon Cowell is credited with discovering both artists.

 But the best news for Rihanna is on the Hot 100. "Only Girl (In The World)" will rise to #1 when that chart is officially released tomorrow. "Only Girl" is Rihanna's fourth #1 hit on the Hot 100 so far this year, following "Rude Boy," Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" (on which Rihanna is featured) and "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake), which hit the top spot just two weeks ago. Rihanna is the first artist to amass four #1 hits in a calendar year since Usher scored in 2004.

 Only Girl (In The World)" hit #1 in the U.K. last week. It's Rihanna's third song to reach #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., following "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) and "Take A Bow." Among female artists, only Madonna has had more transatlantic #1 hits (five). Whitney Houston is tied with Rihanna with three.

 Two songs from Glee are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs for the first time in the show's history. Gwyneth Paltrow's cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" debuts at #1, based on sales of 192K copies. The cast's medley of Gene Kelly's 1952 classic "Singin' In The Rain" and Rihanna/Jay-Z's 2007 smash "Umbrella" debuts at #7, based on sales of 140K copies. This is Glee's first "mash-up" to make the top 10.

 The new album includes such holiday perennials as the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling," Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and Jerry Herman's "We Need A Little Christmas" from Mame.

 Eminem's Recovery this week becomes the first album to sell 3 million copies in 2010. This is the earliest in the year that an album has topped 3 million in year-to-date sales since 2006, when the first High School Musical album hit that plateau in the week ending Sept. 3. Josh Groban's Noel was the only album to top the 3 million mark in 2007. It reached that plateau in the week ending Dec. 23. In 2008, no album reached 3 million. Taylor Swift's Fearless was the first to top the 3 million mark in 2009. It rang the bell in the week ending Dec. 27. This is a little bit of good news for the beleaguered music industry.
Here's the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs. The Glee version of "Forget You" debuts at #1 (192K). Cee Lo Green's original version of "F*** You (Forget You)" vaults from #12 to #2 (191K). Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" dips from #2 to #3 (189K). Katy Perry's "Firework" holds at #4 (175K). P!nk's "Raise Your Glass" holds at #5 (171K). Rihanna featuring Drake's "What's My Name?" holds at #6 (147K). The Glee version of "Singin' In The Rain"/"Umbrella" debuts at #7 (140K). The Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)" drops from #3 to #8 (140K). Rihanna's "Only Girl (In The World)" dips from #8 to #9 (131K). Far*East Movement featuring Cataracs & Dev's "Like A G6" drops from #7 to #10 (130K).

 Three of the acts that debut in the top 10 on this week's Billboard 200 have reason to be both pleased and a little concerned. Kid Rock, who debuts at #5, opened at #1 with his last album. Rascal Flatts, which debuts at #6, bowed at #1 with its last four studio albums. Keith Urban, who debuts at #7, started in the top three with his last three studio albums. These lower debuts are largely a function of the logjam in the top 10. With so many superstars releasing albums at the same time, some acts are bound to lose ground in the chart wars.

 Shameless Plug: The Beatles were late to the digital "Revolution," but they're "Here, There and Everywhere" on the digital charts in the week after they finally allowed their music to be sold digitally. Forty seven Beatles songs enter the Hot Digital Songs chart this week, while 17 of the group's albums enter the Top Digital Albums chart. I have all the details in a Chart Watch Extra.
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

 1. Susan Boyle, The Gift, 335,000. The album holds at #1 for the second week. It's the first #1 album to post a sales increase in its second week atop the chart since Michael Buble's Crazy Love in October 2009.

 2. Jackie Evancho, O Holy Night, 239,000. This new entry is the first top 10 album for the 10-year old singer. It's also #2 on this week's Christmas Albums chart.

 3. Rihanna, Loud, 207,000. This new entry is Rihanna's fifth studio album in a row to make the top 10; her fourth in a row to make the top five. Five songs from the album are listed in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "What's Your Name?" (featuring Drake), which holds at #6.

 4. Josh Groban, Illuminations, 191,000. This new entry is Groban's sixth top 10 album. Groban's last album, Noel, debuted at #10 in 2007. His last non-holiday studio album, Awake, debuted at #2 in 2006.

 5. Kid Rock, Born Free, 189,000. This new entry is Kid's sixth top 10 album. That's his entire output since his 1999 breakthrough except for a 2006 live album

 6. Rascal Flatts, Nothing Like This, 165,000. This new entry is the country trio's seventh straight top 10 album. It's the band's sixth #1 album on the country chart. "Why Wait" drops from #114 to #177 on Hot Digital Songs.

 7. Keith Urban, Get Closer, 162,000. This new entry is Urban's fourth top 10 album. "Put You In A Song" drops from #95 to #107 on Hot Digital Songs.

 8. Various Artists, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album, 161,000. This new entry is the seventh Glee album or EP to crack the top 10. It's also the week's top soundtrack. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "O Holy Night" debuts at #116. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" bows at #179.

 9. Taylor Swift, Speak Now, 146,000. The former #1 album drops from #2 to #9 in its fourth week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Mine" drops from #42 to #56. "Back To December" drops from #51 to #74.

 10. Nelly, 5.0, 63,000. This new entry is the rapper's sixth top 10 album. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Just A Dream" drops from #9 to #11. "Liv Tonight" (featuring Keri Hilson) debuts at #46.

 A Day To Remember's What Separates Me From You opens at #11. This is the metal band's first top 20 album...P!nk's Greatest Hits...So Far!! bows at #14.  This is P!nk's fifth album to crack the top 20, though it failed to follow the other four into the top 10. Greatest hits albums simply don't mean what they used to.

 Bruce Springsteen's The Promise bows at #16. The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story debuts at #27. The former album includes 21 previously-unreleased songs that were recorded during the sessions that produced Springsteen's 1978 album Darkness At The Edge Of Town. The latter album is a three-CD, three-DVD box set. (If the sales for the two albums had been combined, Springsteen would have debuted at #10 this week, which would have upped his total of top 10 albums to 17.) Darkness, which reached #5 in July 1978, was Springsteen's follow-up to his 1975 breakthrough album Born To Run. (That album also inspired a successful archival project, Born To Run: 30th Anniversary Edition, which hit #18 in November 2005.)

 Lee DeWyze's Live It Up bows at #19. This is the lowest entry for an album by an American Idol winner. Last year, Kris Allen became the first Idol winner to fall short of the top 10 with his debut. (Kris Allen opened and peaked at #11.)  While DeWyze and Allen haven't set off the sparks of such Idol superstars as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, these diminished chart numbers are largely a reflection of the series being past its peak. It's still a hit show, but it's not the force it was. If Clarkson and Underwood had won the competition in the last two years, instead of in Seasons 1 and 4, would they have been able to overcome this Idol fatigue and still chart powerfully? Discuss amongst yourselves.

 Take That's Progress enters the U.K. chart at #1. The album sold nearly 520,000 copies during the week, according to the Official Charts Company. That's the biggest one-week sales tally in the U.K. since Oasis' Be Here Now, which sold 663,000 in its first week in August 1997. Progress is Take That's sixth #1 album in the U.K.

 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part One was #1 at the box-office over the weekend. All seven movies in the series have opened at #1. The score by Alexandre Desplat enters The Billboard 200 at #74. It's the week's highest-charting soundtrack to a theatrically-released film. All seven Potter soundtracks have made the top half of The Billboard 200. This is the first Potter movie that Desplat has scored. John Williams did the honors on the first three. Patrick Doyle scored the fourth. Nicholas Hooper handled the last two.

 Coming Attractions: Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday are expected to enter The Billboard 200 in the top two slots next week. Also due: My Chemical Romance's Danger Days The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys, Ne-Yo's Libra Scale, Ke$ha's Cannibal, Lloyd Banks' H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2), the Burlesque soundtrack, Jay-Z's The Hits Collection-Volume One, Alan Jackson's 34 Number One Hits and Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remastered.

Be Thankful: What's the best Thanksgiving song of all time? The list would certainly include William DeVaughn's 1974 hit "Be Thankful For What You Got." The Rolling Stones also expressed the day's sentiments perfectly in their 1969 classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (the next line: "But if you try sometimes you just might find/You get what you need)." I also like Andrew Gold's 1978 hit "Thank You For Being A Friend," which gained immortality when it was used as the theme song for The Golden Girls. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Actors Who Sing on the Side

A good actor can play anyone, right? Meet 15 thespians who, with varying degrees of success, have attempted to be singers. (And no vocalists-turned-actors like Babs.) From a “Gladiator” hero to a rehabbing starlet, listen up to these actors with pipes.

Gwyneth Paltrow
Urbane beauty taps inner twang

This Oscar winner sang with Huey Lewis on the “Cruisin’” video and on TV’s music-fueled hit. She’s back this fall in the movie “Country Strong” as an actor ... and singer.


Joaquin Phoenix rap
'Man in Black' does rap

“Sing” is a generous word for the hip-hop musings of this offbeat actor in his recent mockumentary. He received an Oscar nomination for playing a country star in “Walk the Line.”


Lindsay Lohan
Rehabbing starlet generated 'Rumors'

Now living at this rehab facility, the star of “Mean Girls” released two teen-targeted albums in the mid-2000s. A former “American Idol” judge wrote some of her songs.


Eddie Murphy
Comic gets funky for 'Party'

This A-lister gets laughs in films like “Beverly Hills Cop,” yet proves his pipes in a Michael Jackson video and, with help from a “Superfreak,” his own 1985 hit single.

Minnie Driver
English Oscar nom sings of heartache

Matt Damon allegedly dumped her on a talk show, so this actor, Oscar-nominated for a Damon-scripted film, has plenty of pain to fuel her singer-songwriter career.


Kevin Bacon
Actor sizzles in brotherly duo

If you’ve seen him dancing in “Footloose,” you know this actor has rhythm, which comes in handy in his fraternal two-man group.

Lynda Carter
Superhero actor sings the standards

Who knew TV’s Wonder Woman could croon? Since her 1970s heyday, this actor has released several albums and, in 2007, she launched a new act in New York.

Russell Crowe
“Gladiator” star fronts "Grunts"

Oscar named this “Gladiator” star best actor, whom audiences Down Under also know as a singer for his ’80s solo tune, his band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and his new group.


Billy Bob
Angelina’s ex sings bluesy tunes

In this interview turned viral video, the prickly star of “Sling Blade” (and Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband) insulted Canadians while promoting his country-rock band.

Robert Downy Jr.
“Iron Man” actor proves musical mettle

Before “Iron Man,” this actor won an Oscar nom for playing a silent-movie star in a 1992 biopic for which he sang on the soundtrack. He also released this 2004 solo CD.

Juliette Lewis
Rock is no act for edgy film star

Although she famously sucked this body part of Robert De Niro in “Cape Fear,” fans of her band, the New Romantiques, say this actor really rocks as lead singer

Jamie Foxx
“In Living Color” alum hits pop charts

Since his Oscar for playing a music icon, this multitalented actor has released two hit albums. His collaboration with a top rapper that won a Grammy is due in December.


David Hasselhoff
“Baywatch” hunk a music star abroad

In the States, we associate this actor with television shows involving a talking car and him wearing a red swimsuit (pics), but people in at least one European country consider him a singing star. Really.

Jennifer Love Hewit
Know what she did last album?

The star of “Ghost Whisperer” (is that show still on?) has summoned several albums of moderate chart success. She also appears in a Spanish pop singer’s “Hero” video.

Jared Leto
My so-called musical life?

He’ll always be Jordan Catalano to TV fans, but this actor is also a musician. Alongside his drummer brother, he sings and plays guitar for this rock band.