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Rock band Vampire Weekend leads U.S. album chart

LOS ANGELES - New York band Vampire Weekend replaced pop singer Ke$ha at No. 1 on the U.S. pop album chart Wednesday, while Susan Boyle was poised for a possible return to the top spot next week.

Vampire Weekend’s second album “Contra” sold 124,000 copies during its first week on sale, according to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week ended Jan. 17.

The quartet’s self-titled first album debuted and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 in 2008 after selling 28,000 copies; its tally now stands at 498,000.

“Contra” was the lone debut in the top 10, as the second-highest entry came from rapper Omarion’s “Ollusion” at No. 19 with 19,000 copies. This isn’t out of the ordinary for January, as the month’s release schedule is usually light on blockbuster new albums.

Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” held at No. 2 with 77,000 copies, marking its eighth straight week within the top two slots. The album could return to the No. 1 position next week, in the wake of her sit-down interview and performance on Tuesday’s “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Ke$ha’s “Animal” fell two to No. 3 with 67,000. Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” slipped one to No. 4 with 64,000, while her EP “The Fame Monster” jumped four places to No. 6 with 36,000 — powered by her appearance on “Oprah” last Friday.

Alicia Keys’ “The Element of Freedom” dropped one to No. 5, Mary J. Blige’s “Stronger With Each Tear” fell two to No. 7, Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” slipped one to No. 8, the latest “Alvin and the Chipmunks” soundtrack dropped three to No. 9, and the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” was off two to No. 10.

Overall album sales totaled 5.69 million units, down 4% compared to the sum last week and down 3% compared to the comparable sales week of 2009.