Christian singer-songwriter Chris Tomlin topped the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday as his album Burning Lights became the fourth Christian album to top the charts.

Tomlin, 40, who scored his first mainstream No.1 album, sold 73,000 units in its first week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

It was the first time a Christian album rose to No.1 since hip-hop and pop artist tobyMac's Eye on It in September 2012.

Billboard credited Tomlin's strong performance to sales related to churches and a college Christian conference in Atlanta that drew about 60,000 attendees. Some 40 percent of all sales came from those sources, Billboard said.

Rap-rockers Hollywood Undead's Notes from the Underground entered the charts at No.2. And the soundtrack to the film adaptation of Broadway musical Les Miserables, last week's top album, was No.3.

This week's chart, which tracks sales through January 13, did not reflect any boost in sales the album might get from the film's three Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, including best comedy or musical.

Country-pop star Taylor Swift's Red placed fourth, down one spot, while the soundtrack to the musical film Pitch Perfect was fifth, two positions higher than last week.

Reuters