McCARTNEY III DEBUTS AT NO. 2 BEHIND TAYLOR SWIFT

Paul McCartney's new release McCartney III debuted at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 — 62,000 units shy of toppling Taylor Swift, who launched Evermore on Dec. 11. The former Beatles and Wings musician, shown, had revealed on The Howard Stern Show that Swift emailed him to say she was shifting the release of her second album of the year so as not to clash with his offering.

“People do keep out of each other's way. It's a nice thing to do,” McCartney said. Eminem's Music to Be Murdered By surged to No. 3 from No. 199 on the countdown thanks to a deluxe reissue, titled Side B. Michael Bublé led six festive albums in the top 10 — his former No. 1, Christmas, came in at No. 4 — and Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas jumped up from No. 10 to No. 5.