Officially proving to critics and skeptics alike that they are still 'alive' and as relevant as ever, Linkin Park have returned with a bang officially selling a total of 623,000 albums (in America) for Minutes To Midnight's first week of release according to Nielsen Soundscan. Due to decling record sales over the past two years, it should be noted that while Meteora sold 810,000 copies in its first week, with 623,000 Linkin Park have officially scored the highest debut of 2007, beating out the previous title holder Norah Jones by over 200,000 copies. Only 5 bands have sold more than 600,000 in their opening week in the last two years, and Linkin Park's "Minutes To Midnight" is the biggest debut week since Jay Z's "Kingdom Come" back in December (which moved 680,000 in its first week).

Minutes To Midnight A Worldwide Success

As if their remarkable debut on the American billboard charts was not enough, it appears as if Linkin Park have taken over the world with Minutes To Midnight, if record sales are to be of any indication. In the album's first week of sales, Minutes To Midnight has gone number one in several countries, with platinum record sales (already!) in several countries including (but not limited to) Australia, Japan, Singapore and Canada.

Quoting from their official myspace:
"One week after its international release, the album has debuted #1 in the US, UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Norway, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Philippines, Italy, Sweden, Austria, and Ireland and is certified platinum in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Austria, Switzerland, and France. It has also been certified gold in Czech, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and UK. “We’re shocked and humbled by this extraordinary show of support. We invested ourselves entirely into the creation of this album, with the hope that this music would resonate with our fans as deeply as it does with us. We couldn’t be more excited about today’s news,” said guitarist, Brad Delson."

Billboard Top 200 Albums
Minutes To Midnight - #1 (Debut)

Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
What I've Done - #1 (Last week - #1)

Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
What I've Done - #1 (Last week - #1)

Billboard Hot 100
What I've Done - #12 (Last week - #23)
Bleed It Out - #97 (Debut)
Given Up - #99 (Debut)
Leave Out All The Rest - #117 (Debut)
Hands Held High - #123 (Debut)
No More Sorrow - #124 (Debut)

Billboard Hot Digital Tracks
What I've Done - #6 (Last week - #17)

As previously reported, Minutes To Midnight sold an incredible 623,000 copies in its first week of release, propelling it to the #1 spot on the Billboard Top 200.
On the rock charts, "What I've Done" continued its reign atop both the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts for a seventh and fourth consecutive week, respectively.
On the Hot 100 and Hot Digital charts, the song made huge leaps. On both charts the single jumped eleven spots, to #12 and #6 respectively.

Lastly, due to huge digital sales of Minutes To Midnight, "Bleed It Out", "Given Up", "Leave Out All The Rest", "Hands Held High", and "No More Sorrow". Despite not being singles, debuted on the Hot 100. Congrats, Linkin Park!

Further, Billboard News is reporting that 'Given Up' and 'Shadow of the Day' will be the next singles off the new album, released August 6th and October 8th, respectively. However, it should be noted that the news has not been confirmed by Linkin Park, and the the album's first single, 'What I've Done,' was officially released in the beginning of April.