Taylor Swift 'Red' Album Storming Billboard Chart, Jason Aldean Takes No. 1

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer Jason Aldean drove straight to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday with his latest album "Night Train," while country-pop darling Taylor Swift's new release is already storming its way to a high debut.

Aldean's fifth studio album notched 409,000 copies in its first week of release according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, landing the singer his first No. 1 album. It was also the second-largest debut of the year, behind Mumford & Son's "Babel," which debuted with 600,000 copies earlier this month.

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"Babel" slipped to No. 2 this week when it sold 73,000 copies after a three-week reign at the top of the charts.

Aldean's time at No.1 is likely to be short-lived as Swift's "Red" is already selling at a fast pace.

Released on Monday, the album shot to the top of the iTunes all-genres album chart within 36 minutes and sold more than 262,000 copies in its first day on iTunes. "Red" also topped the iTunes charts across 32 countries, according to figures from Swift's Big Machine record label.

Swift has so far released five singles from "Red," with three shooting to the top of the Billboard Digital Songs chart, while her latest, "State of Grace," landed at No. 2 this week behind Korean singer Psy's dance hit "Gangnam Style."

Back on the Billboard 200 album chart this week, three new debuts rounded out the top five.

R&B singer Brandy entered at No. 3 with her sixth studio set "Two Eleven," "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery at No. 4 with his holiday album "Christmas With Scotty," and country singer Jamey Johnson landed at No. 5 with his tribute to Hank Cochran, "Living For a Song."