Justin Bieber Becomes First Artist With Five No. 1 Albums Before 19th Birthday

[Miguel]

As expected, Justin Bieber achieves his fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as "Believe Acoustic" debuts atop the list with 211,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

With the arrival, he becomes the only artist to have notched five No. 1 albums before turning 19 years old. (He turns 19 on March 1.) He was previously tied with Miley Cyrus, who had also claimed four leaders before she turned 19.

Bieber's new album also gives him a No. 1 album for four years straight -- something only nine earlier acts have done in the nearly 57-year history of the Billboard 200.

"Believe Acoustic" performed strongly with digital retailers, as 75% of its sales were generated by downloads. That robust digital share was expected, thanks in part to strong pre-orders via iTunes. Industry sources suggest that iTunes' pre-orders equated to around 20%-25% of the album's overall first-week. The set became available to pre-order more than a month before its release -- on Dec. 21, 2012 -- likely benefitting from download gift card redemptions after Christmas.

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/ne...-five-no-1