The final figures from Neilsen/SoundScan for 2009, are that Susan Boyle sold 3,103,000 copies of I Dreamed a Dream, whereas Taylor Swift sold 3,216,000 copies of Fearless. Other albums in the top five bestsellers were at #3 Number Ones by Michael Jackson, selling 2,355,000 copies, at #4 Fame by Lady Gaga selling 2,237,000 copies and at #5 My Christmas by Andrea Bocelli, selling 2,207,000 copies.

However, Susan did sell more physical copies of her album than Taylor, she sold 3 million compared to Taylor’s 2.8 million, with only 100,000 Susan Boyle fans choosing to download the album instead of buying a physical copy.

As Susan is still number one on the Billboard 200, she may well catch up on Taylor’s figures this year. Total sales for Fearless so far are more than 5 million copies.

I Dreamed a Dream has overtaken the 2.3 million US sales of Michael Jackson’s Number Ones ­Collection.

Of course, the question remains, will sales of Susan’s album overtake those of Taylor Swift? I’m reading contradictory reports across the internet so I’m not going to comment until I know for sure.

Taylor Swift’s Fearless has sold 2.7 million copies since its release earlier in the year.

However, a US chart forecaster  has said: “Susan is on the crest of a phenomenal sweep.

“Her album has been available only weeks and is already closing in fast on Taylor’s CD, which has been available all year. There is very little doubt that I Dreamed A Dream will end up as 2009’s top-seller.”

Worldwide, Susan has sold more than 6 million copies of her album. In the UK, it sold in excess of 130,000 copies on its first day of release and 410,000 copies by the end of the first week. These figures are record breaking and represent the biggest first week sales for a debut album in British chart history.

Martin Talbot, of the Official Charts Company, told the Express: “After all of the excitement surrounding her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, everyone expected her to make a big impact but to arrive with such a bang is exceptional.”

Across the water in Los Angeles. media analyst Mike Raia predicted: “She’s ­already cracked America and now she can become one of the highest-paid solo artists on the planet.”

Other nuggets from the Sunday Express include:

• As I previously reported, the White House want  Susan to perform I Dreamed a Dream at a private family ­gathering to celebrate Michelle Obama’s 46th birthday on 17th January.
• Amazon.com is considering sponsoring a US tour for Susan.
• Susan completed the year with more than 300 million worldwide internet views and ­downloads, which is another world record.

According to Billboard, the total number of sales of Taylor Swift’s Fearless are 3,157,000, whereas the total number of sales of I Dreamed a Dream stand at 2,982,000.

“Fearless” is projected to sell a further 65,000 to 75,000 copies this week, and current predictions are that I Dreamed a Dream will not sell sufficient copies to close the gap, although the album is projected to sell over 100,000 copies this week.

The figures come from Nielsen SoundScan.

Next week’s album chart will be published on Wednesday, 6th January and includes data for the week ending Sunday, 3rd January.

Andrea Bocelli, with whom Susan Boyle has been tipped to duet in 2010, held onto his number 3 position with his album My Christmas.

According to the article, Susan’s album sales “almost equal” those of Taylor Swift’s Fearless, so we’ll just have to wait until Sunday to see if Susan’s album sales overtake those of Taylor.

Susan waved happily to fans, although she declined a request by one of the TV networks to give an impromptu rendition of one of her songs.

According to Tokyo newspaper Nikkan Gendai, Susan will receive 5 million yen for the appearance and a further 5 million yen for her entourage and travel expenses.

It is thought that Susan will sing a Japanese folk song and also perform Wings to Fly, a bonus track that appeared only on the Japanese version of her “I Dreamed a Dream” album.

In other news, Susan looks likely to hold onto her number one spot on the Billboard 200 for a further week, preventing Mary J Blige from achieving the number one spot. Last week, she held off Alicia Keys from the number one position.  Industry sources are predicting that “I Dreamed a Dream” could sell another 500,000 copies by Sunday night, and Susan is currently being tipped to take over from Taylor Swift to have the best selling US album of the year, although the final figures will not be known until Sunday.

Nevertheless, in the US, there are still two full sales weeks left and the highest selling album will not be known until January 3rd, 2010. With Susan Boyle is currently selling about three times as many copies of her album as Taylor Swift, will her sales surpass Taylor’s next week or the week after? I predict that they will.

In the meantime, I Dreamed A Dream is officially the second biggest selling album of the year in America, overtaking Eminem’s Relapse, according to Undercover.com.au.