Lana Del Rey debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard chart

By: Camille Mann
Topics: Music

Lana del Rey performs during the TV broadcast show "Le Grand Journal" on Canal Plus channel set on Jan. 30, 2012, in Paris, on the day of the release in France of her new album "Born to Die."

(Credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)

(CBS) Despite being trashed for her "Saturday Night Live" performance, Lana Del Rey topped the Billboard chart at No. 2, with her first album (under her stage name) selling 77,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Del Rey's "Born to Die" is the highest entry for a female artist's full-length major label debut since Jackie Evancho's "Dream With Me" in July 2011, reportsBillboard.

And Del Rey did it all without a real "hit" under her belt. Her singles "Born to Die" and "Video Games" were both popular on YouTube, logging millions of views, but only "Video Games" made it to the Hot 100 chart - reaching No. 91.

The 25-year-old singer's credibility has been debated online passionately for the months leading up to her album release. The topics included her name change, her lips, her backstory and recently, her "SNL" performance. But, her album sales have proved that "All publicity is good publicity."

Meanwhile, Adele's "21" remained at No. 1 for the 19th nonconsecutive week selling 122,000 copies.

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