Disney's 'Frozen' soundtrack retakes top spot on Billboard 200 chart

By Mikael Wood

Feb. 26, 2014 12 AM PT

“Frozen” just won’t let it go.

The soundtrack to Disney’s hit animated feature returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on Wednesday, marking its fifth nonconsecutive week atop the album chart. Driven in part by the success of the single “Let It Go” -- which is up for an Oscar on Sunday for original song -- “Frozen” sold 89,000 copies in the week that ended Feb. 23, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Those five weeks are the most for any soundtrack since 1998, as Billboard’s Keith Caulfield reports. That’s the year “Titanic,” with Celine Dion’s smash “My Heart Will Go On,” occupied the top spot for 16 straight weeks.

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Three other soundtracks have spent at least five weeks at No. 1 since Billboard began tracking sales with SoundScan in 1991: “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Lion King” and “The Bodyguard,” which racked up 20 weeks atop the chart in 1992 and 1993.

Behind “Frozen,” Eric Church’s “The Outsiders” came in at No. 2 with sales of 74,000 copies -- a 74% decrease from the previous week, when the tough-talking country star’s latest entered the chart at No. 1.

Another country album, Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut, notched the highest start for a new release on this week’s tally; it sold 63,000 copies to land at No. 3.

“Frozen” stands to get a boost next week in the wake of Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony, where the four tunes nominated for original song are to be performed.

In addition to “Let It Go” (to be sung on the telecast by Idina Menzel), those are Pharrell Williams’ ”Happy,” from “Despicable Me 2”; Karen O’s “The Moon Song,” from “Her”; and U2’s “Ordinary Love,” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”

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Twitter: @mikaelwood