Hypeblog

Taylor Swift's sophomore Big Machine album "Fearless" tops The Billboard 200 for a fourth non-consecutive week after selling 262,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 21% sales decline from last week.

Rapper Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" (Cash Money/Universal) is far and away the top seller of 2008, netting 2.88 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. However, it's the first time the best selling album of the year has sold less than 3 million since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

Bjork has partnered with a Reykjavik-based venture capital firm on a fund that will invest in companies that are socially and environmentally responsible and will help restore Iceland's battered economy.

Blue October plans to "go global" with its fifth album, "Approaching Normal," according to bassist Matt Noveskey. "We want to go international," Noveskey tells Billboard.com, adding that the plan will be in motion in January when the quintet group flies to Europe for a 10-day promotional swing after it films the video for new single "Dirt Room."

"Chris is just coming out of the shower, so we'll call you back in a couple of minutes." There's no doubt that many young females (as well as older ones, as you'll read below) would give anything to hear Chris Brown's assistant say those words.

Embattled rapper DMX faces at least 90 days in jail after pleading guilty on Tuesday to drug, theft and animal cruelty charges, Arizona prosecutors said. The artist pleaded to three felony charges and one misdemeanor count in Maricopa County Superior Court under a deal to settle three criminal cases against him.

Rock guitarist Delaney Bramlett, who collaborated with such artists as George Harrison and Eric Clapton, died in a Los Angeles hospital following gallbladder surgery. He was 69.

The U.K.'s final weekly sales charts of 2008 saw Alexandra Burke and Take That retain their singles and album crowns, respectively. "X Factor" winner Burke's "Hallelujah" sold another 311,000 copies during the chart week ending Dec. 27 to take her two-week total to 888,000.

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who played with legends such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey and Herbie Hancock, died today (Dec. 29) in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

The Harrell brothers say their father was a strict disciplinarian, but being raised with a hard hand has apparently paid off. The R&B quintet Brutha, got signed in 2007 and their lead single, "I Can't Hear The Music," featuring Fabolous, entered the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs  chart at No. 92 two weeks ago.