Lady Gaga's Artpop tops US Billboard 200 album chart

But the album sold over 800,000 fewer copies than 2011's 'Born This Way'

The cover of Lady Gaga's latest album, ARTPOP

Lady Gaga's new album Artpop has debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart after selling 258,000 copies in its first week of sale.

The "Applause" singer has topped the chart for the second time, following the success of 2011's Born This WayI, which sold 1.1 million in its opening week.

But the 27-year-old's latest achievement falls far short of her previous high, putting her at 12th in the best-selling debut list for 2013, behind Drake, Daft Punk, Miley Cyrus and Jay Z.

Gaga was unable to match current top-seller Justin Timberlake after 968,000 people bought The 20/20 Experience during its first week in March.

The Marshall Mathers 2 by rapper Eminem took second place, selling 210,000 copies, while the Now 48 compilation came third with 114,000 sales.

Other albums in the top ten include Katy Perry's Prism, holiday album Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, Jhene Aiko's Sail Out and On Air: Live At The BBC Vol 2 from The Beatles.

Billboard said total album sales in the US have declined, reaching 5.4 million last week in a 5 per cent year-on-year drop.

Despite not coming close to rivalling Born This Way's opening sales, Gaga can take solace in her position on the Forbes' highest-paid musicians list.

The singer came second to Madonna having earned £49.6 million, primarily from her hugely popular world tour. Had she not torn a muscle in her hip and had to cancel the tail end shows, this figure would have been much higher.

Artpop debuted at number one in the UK Official Albums Chart on Sunday, taking the top spot from Eminem.