Artist of the Week: Mumford and Sons

Three years after busting the chart with their critically-acclaimed debut album "Sigh No More", Mumford & Sons returned with a bang. Marcus Mumford and his pals released "Babel" and soared high once again on Billboard Hot 200.

They easily topped the U.S. album chart by selling 600,000 copies of the album in its first week. The number marked the biggest debut this year, surpassing Justin Bieber's "Believe" which bowed at the top spot with 374,000 copies last summer.

Mumford pulled in around 420,000 copies of "Babel" from digital downloads. The band posted the second-biggest digital sales week ever, placing behind Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" which was downloaded 662,000 times in 2011.

In terms of overall sales weeks, the band settled at the runner-up place behind Adele. The "Someone Like You" hitmaker occupied the first slot with her groundbreaking LP, "21", which sold 730,000 copies in its 52nd week, thanks to Grammy boost.

Overseas, "Babel" became the fastest selling album of the year in the United Kingdom. It sold over 158,000 copies in its first week.