New York indie rock vets Vampire Weekend sunk their teeth into the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 this week, as their third album “Modern Vampires of the City” sold 134,000 copies in its first week of release, edging out George Strait, Demi Lovato and Lady Antebellum.
“Modern” topped the first week sales of Vampire Weekend’s previous effort “Contra,” which debuted at No. 1 in 2010, selling 124,000.
Country legend George Strait’s new “Love Is Everything” debuted in the No. 2 spot, moving 120,000 copies, making it his 18th top 10 album on the chart.
Another new entry on the charts, Demi Lovato’s “Demi” bowed at No. 3. Her fourth album garnered the best sales week of Lovato’s career, selling 110,000 copies.
Sliding from No. 2 to No. 4 was the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s 3D film “The Great Gatsby,” curated by Jay-Z, who also has reveal songs included in the set. It sold 95,000 copies, only a 30% decrease from its debut week.
Rounding out the top 5, Lady Antebellum’s “Golden” fell from last week’s No. 1 spot to No. 5, selling 56,000 copies (down 67%).
At No. 6 was the compilation “Now 46” (52,000 sold), while Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” came in at No. 7(44,000 sold).
Meanwhile, Michael Buble’s “To Be Loved” moved 40,000 units to secure the eighth spot, and Pistol Annies’ “Annie Up” descended from 5-9, after selling 30,000.
“The Voice” coach Blake Shelton’s “Based On a True Story” closes out this week’s top ten, selling 28,000 copies.
Overall album sales in this past chart week are down 8% from last week (5.55 million), but up nearly 1% compared with the same week in 2012. So far, 2013 sales have totaled 111.41 million, a 5% decrease from this point last year.