Vampire Weekend scored its second No. 1 Billboard 200 album with their new release, Modern Vampires of the City. The album squeaked past country icon George Strait’s latest album.
Billboard reports that Modern Vampires only sold 134,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan numbers. But that was still the best sales week for the indie group. It follows the success of 2010’s Contra, which also debuted at No. 1, with 124,000 copies sold.
It’s actually the first indie release to top the chart since Jason Aldean’s Night Train, which did so back on Nov. 3, 2012.
Love is Everything from Strait sold 120,000 copies in its first week, good enough for the No. 2 spot. It’s the 18th top 10 album for Strait and he now holds the No. 4 spot on the list of male artists with most Top 10 albums. He’s tied with Paul McCartney.
Demi Lovato’s Demi debuted at No. 3 with 110,000 copies. That’s the best sales week yet for the X Factor judge.
Rolling Stone notes that the major loser of the week was The Great Gatsby soundtrack, which fell to No. 4 with just 95,000 copies sold. Lady Antebellum’s Golden also tumbled, falling from No. 1 to No. 5 with only 56,000 copies.
The rest of the Top 10 includes Now 46 (52,000); Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience (44,000); To Be Loved by Michael Buble (40,000), Pistol Annies’ Annie Up (30,000) and Blake Shelton’s Based on a True Story (28,000).
“Can’t Hold Us,” the latest hit from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ first album topped the Digital Songs chart with 231,000 downloads. Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was on its heels though, with 206,000 downloads.
image: Amazon