Album Chart: Susan Boyle's 'Dream' comes true at No. 1

Susan Boyle, the former "Britain's Got Talent" contestant whose audition became a YouTube sensation, has added another chapter to her real-life Cinderella story by scoring a No. 1 debut on the US album chart after logging a higher first-week sales figure than any other stateside album so far this year.

"I Dreamed a Dream," the singer's debut set, moved 701,000 copies during its first week in stores, easily eclipsing 2009's previous best-seller, Eminem's "Relapse," which notched first-week sales of 608,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan retail figures as reported by Billboard. In addition to earning her a stint in the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 chart, Boyle's feat also marks the best opening week for a debut album by a female artist in SoundScan's 18-year history (a record previously held by Ashanti, whose self-titled debut moved 503,000 copies in 2002), and earns her the additional distinction of scoring the second-best debut week of any album released during the SoundScan era (behind Snoop Dogg's "Doggystyle," which sold 803,000 copies when it surfaced in 1993), Billboard reports.

Boyle leads a charge of new blood onto the chart this week, with fellow television talent-search contestant Adam Lambert's debut, "For Your Entertainment," logging on at No. 3 with sales of 198,000 copies; Rihanna's "Rated R" at No. 4 with 181,000 copies; and Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster" at No. 5 with 174,000 copies, placing it just ahead of her first album, "The Fame," which jumps from No. 34 to No. 6 on sales of 151,000 copies.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" at No. 2 with 218,000 copies; Miley Cyrus' "The Time of Our Lives" at No. 7 with 150,000 copies; Taylor Swift's "Fearless" at No. 8 with 125,000 copies; Carrie Underwood's "Play On" at No. 9 with 124,000 copies; and Norah Jones' "The Fall" at No. 10 with 110,000 copies.