Music

The 'Catalyst' hitmakers snatch the throne on the chart with their latest album 'Living Things', while the Adam Levine-fronted band follow at No. 2.

• Jul 5, 2012

AceShowbiz - The battle for the coveted spot on Billboard 200 this week is won by Linkin Park. The Chester Bennington-fronted group defeat another band Maroon 5 who also debuted their new album last week.

Linkin Park score the win with their fifth studio album "Living Things" which has sold 223,000 copies. Though so, the number is a little below the opening week sales of their fourth LP "A Thousand Suns", which scanned 241,000 copies when it debuted in 2010.

Maroon 5 secures the runner-up place with "Overexposed" which has sold 222,000 copies, marking the smallest gap between No. 1 and No. 2 on the chart since December 11, 2011. The album which features "Payphone" as its lead single performed better than the band's 2010 album "Hands All Over", which scanned 142,000 in its first-week sales. It also marks Maroon 5's best sales week since "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" bowed at No. 1 with 429,000 in 2009.

Other new releases which enter the top 10 this week include the Maybach Music Group's latest compilation set and R. Kelly's eleventh studio album. "Self Made Vol. 2" enters at No. 4 with 98,000 copies, while the solo singer's set "Write Me Back" debuts at No. 5 with 68,000 copies.

With Linkin Park's and Maroon 5's sets occupying the top two spots, Justin Bieber's "Believe" is forced to fall down to No. 3. It's sold additional 115,000 copies in its second week, dropping 69|percent| from last last week.

The rest of the top 10 spots belong to holdovers. Kenny Chesney's "Welcome to the Fishbowl" falls four places from No. 2 to No. 6 with 61,000 copies, Adele's "21" maintains its position at No. 7 with 42,000 copies, and One Direction's "Up All Night" stays at No. 8 with 39,000 copies. "Looking 4 Myself" by Usher slips from No. 6 to No. 9 with 36,000 copies, while the "Rock of Ages" movie soundtrack drops five places to No. 10 with 28,000 copies.

1. "Living Things" - Linkin Park (223,000)
2. "Overexposed" - Maroon 5 (222,000)
3. "Believe" - Justin Bieber (115,000)
4. "Self Made Vol. 2" - Maybach Music Group (98,000)
5. "Write Me Back" - R. Kelly's (68,000)
6. "Welcome to the Fishbowl" - Kenny Chesney (61,000)
7. "21" - Adele (42,000)
8. "Up All Night" - One Direction (39,000)
9. "Looking 4 Myself" - Usher (36,000 copies)
10. "Rock of Ages" soundtrack - Various Artists (28,000 copies)