U2 knocks Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' off Billboard top spot

Irish group U2 receive an award at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards at Wembley Arena in London, Britain, November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

LOS ANGELES - U2 knocked Taylor Swift off her perch at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with its new release "Songs of Experience," giving the Irish band its eighth No. 1 album in the United States.

"Songs of Experience" sold more than 185,000 units in its first week, according to Nielsen Music data released on Monday.

Billboard said it was the biggest sales week for a rock album in 2017 in an industry where hip hop and R&B music are now the biggest genres.

Country singer Chris Stapleton's "From a Room: Volume 2" debuted in second place with more than 124,000 units sold.

The two new releases pushed Swift's "Reputation" into third place after three weeks at No. 1

The Billboard 200 chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album).

On the Digital Songs chart, which measures online single sales, Ed Sheeran's love song "Perfect" held steady in the top spot with a 200 percent increase in sales to 180,000 for the week, thanks to a newly released collaboration with Beyonce. — Reuters