The Decemberists earn their first No. 1 on The Billboard 200

The Decemberists

The Decemberists sold just shy of 100,000 copies of their new “The King Is Dead,” good enough for the band’s very first No. 1 on The Billboard 200 albums sales chart.

The 94,000 copies mark a high-water sales high for the group, and easily bests the dismal last couple of weeks on the tally, which has boasted the very lowest in sales for No. 1 records (both below 60,000).

The Decemberist’s previous bests were with 2009’s “The Hazards of Love,” which topped out at No. 14 with 19,000.

“Kidz Bop 19” comes in at No. 2 with 70,000.

The Script has itself a brand new best week, with the No. 3 entry of “Science & Faith” (49,000). Their best was previously at No. 64 (9,000).

Social Distortion is back, starting “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes” at No. 4 with 46,000. That, too, is a new peak, doing better than the previous No. 29; “Rhymes” is their first for Epitaph.

Right behind that, another debut: Gregg Allman’s first solo set in 14 years, “Low Country Blues,” bows at No. 5 with 36,000.

The rest of the top tier looks a little like this: Bruno Mars’ “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” moves No. 4 to No. 6 (34,000, +6%), Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” ascends No. 13 to No. 7 (33,000, +42%), Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” slips No. 3 to No. 8 (31,000, -13%), Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday” descends No. 5 to No. 9 (28,000, -11%) and Mumford & Sons’ “Sigh No More” drops No. 9 to No. 10 (27,000, +2%).

Sales this week are up 8% compared to last week and down 10% compared to the same week last year. Sales for the year are down 11% so far.
 

Katie Hasty
Managing Editor

• Follow

After five years as a columnist and editor at Billboard, Katie Hasty joined HitFix in 2009 for music and film reporting out of New York. The Midwest native has worked as a writer, music promoter and in A&R since 1999 and performs with her band Numbers And Letters.