No. 1 for Bright Eyes? Not quite, but still a strong showing

Bright Eyes didn't have a No. 1 album, which I predicted could happen a few weeks ago.

But it came damn close.

"The People's Key" debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 40,816 copies (17,796 of which were digital downloads).

What was above it? Justin Bieber, Mumford & Sons, Lady Antebellum, Bruno Mars, Eminem, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Arcade Fire.

Do those names sound familiar? If so, it's probably because they were all part of the Grammy Awards last week.

"The post-Grammy spike is one of the biggest I’ve ever seen," said Mike Fratt, general manager at Homer's Music.

Last week, Fratt predicted several among those named above that would beat Bright Eyes and he was right on.

Anyway, 41k is still a strong debut sales week for Bright Eyes and Saddle Creek Records in general.

It sold more than both of Oberst's solo albums, but less that "Cassadaga" and "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning." Both of those albums sold in the high 50k range in their debut week.