Mariah Carey was beaten to the Billboard 200 top spot this week after her record "Me: I Am Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse' entered at No.3 with 58,000. It matched the effort of the last non-holiday studio effort, 2009's Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel, which debuted at No.3 with 168,000.

Mariah CareyMariah Carey Had To Settle for No.3

It was Coldplay's Ghost Stories that held onto the top spot for a second consecutive week, selling 83,000 to take overall sales to over 460,000. It makes it the sixth-largest-selling album of 2014, with the Frozen soundtrack way ahead with 2.5 million, according to Billboard.

More: read our full review of Ghost Stories

Coldplay beat out Brantley Gilbert's Just As I Am, which remained at No.2 with 65,000 (69 per cent). Essentially, Mariah - who collects her 17th Top 10 album - has done pretty well NOT to top the chart here, what with two week-old albums holding their spots. 

It's Carey's smallest opening for a non-holiday studio album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. 

ColdplayColdplay Kept The No.1 Spot With 'Ghost Stories'

Chanteuse was originally earmarked for a March 2013 released but was then pushed to July 23, before being brought forward to May 6 and then finally May 27. The album's most recent charting single, You're Mine (Eternal), spent one week at No.88.

Elsewhere on the chart, Austin Mahone's debut EP The Secret is No.5 with 46,000 while the Now 50 compilation is a non-mover at No.6. Michael Jackson slips to No.7 with Xscape and The Black Keys' Turn Blue is at No.8 Crowder's Neon Steeple is at No.9 and Iggy Azalea rounds things out with The New Classic - which sold 18,000. 

More: Mariah Carey takes kids to the park in a ball gown