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Taylor Swift has another titanic battle on her hands, as the U.K. albums chart race enters the final straight.
Last week, Swift’s Midnights (via EMI) saw off the challenge of Arctic Monkeys and their seventh studio album The Car (Domino Recordings). This time, it’s the Beatles with Revolver (EMI).
A special deluxe rerelease of the Fab Four’s 1966 album blasts to No. 2 on the midweek chart, behind Midnights.
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Swift last week landed her ninth U.K. chart crown – and snapped several records — as Midnights surged to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with more than 200,000 chart sales, easily a career-best week for the U.S. pop superstar.
With that effort, Swift sailed past Kylie Minogue for outright second place in the list of female artists with the most U.K. No. 1 albums, with nine, all consecutive. Madonna leads that particular ranking, with 12. And the leader among all acts? The Beatles, with 15 U.K. No. 1s, a tally that includes Revolver, which led the survey following its original release.
Behind Swift and the Beatles on the midweek chart is Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s Together In Vegas (Decca), which is set to become their fourth consecutive top 3 as a duo. It’s new at No. 3 on the Official Chart Update, while the top 5 is completed by DJ Fred Again’s Actual Life 3 (Atlantic), and Massive Wagons’ Triggered (Earache), respectively.
Also eyeing top 10 starts are Foo Fighters’ new hits retrospective The Essential (No. 6 via Sony Music CG), Tom Odell’s Best Day Of My Life (No. 7 via Urok Mtheory), Paul Weller’s triple-album Will Of The People (No. 8 via Universal Music Recordings) and Blue’s Heart & Soul (No. 10 via TAG8).
Over on the singles chart blast, Swift maintains her lead with “Anti-Hero.” If it holds its position, and its parent album does the same, Swift will make it a second chart double in as many weeks.
At the halfway point in the chart cycle, “Anti-Hero” leads Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI) and Rihanna’s new release, “Lift Me Up” (Def Jam), respectively. Rihanna’s comeback track, which will appear in Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, had trailed just “Anti-Hero” earlier in the week.
All will be revealed when the U.K. singles and albums charts are published Friday (Nov. 4).
Rihanna ended her years-long music drought last week with the release of “Lift Me Up.” When the next U.K. chart is published, the pop superstar could be rewarded with a crown.
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The Barbadian singer is flying with “Lift Me Up,” which will appear in the upcoming Marvel film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Based on sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours in the chart cycle, “Life Me Up” is the No. 2-ranked song. The leader in the early stages is Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” which bowed at No. 1 last Friday (Oct. 28) for TayTay’s second U.K. chart leader.
According to the Official Charts Company, the race to No. 1 is “incredibly close,” with former leader “Unholy,” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras, at No. 3 on the First Look survey.
Heading into the second half of the week, less than 300 chart sales separate the top three.
If “Lift Me Up” does indeed lift to the top it would be Rihanna’s 10th U.K. No. 1, and first since 2017’s “Wild Thoughts,” with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller. It will, almost certainly, give RiRi her 31st U.K. top 10 appearance.
Elsewhere on the chart blast, several tracks eye new peaks inside the U.K. top 10 — Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s “Miss You,” and Stormzy’s “Hide & Seek” (No. 6), while Venbee & Goddard are chasing a first appearance in the top flight with “Messy In Heaven” (No. 10).
SZA’s own comeback track, “Shirt,” could wear a top 20 debut. It’s on target for a No. 15 start.
Finally, Meghan Trainor “Made You Look” is the biggest gainer on the chart blast, the OCC reports, up 28-18.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published this Friday.
It’s a Taylor Swift takeover on the U.K. charts, as Midnights (via EMI) clocks up exceptional first-week numbers for her 10th No. 1.
Midnights and Arctic Monkeys The Car (Domino Recordings) fought an epic battle which, at the midnight point, saw both LPs surge past 100,000 chart sales.
There could be only one winner. Midnights made it a win for the ages and a personal best for TayTay.
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According to data published by the Official Charts Company, Midnights notches 204,000 U.K. chart sales, a volume that’s more than double her previous personal best of 90,300, for 2014’s 1989.
The first week tally for Midnights easily beats the previous best for 2022, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, which accumulated 113,000 chart sales, and it’s the best first-week result for any title since Adele’s 30 raked-up 261,000 chart sales in November 2021.
Midnights was a streaming juggernaut too, racking up 72.5 million streams in its first seven days. That too is a year-best, overhauling the 53.9 million U.K. week-one streams for Harry’s House.
Swift now moves up the all-time leaderboard. With nine consecutive U.K. No. 1 albums, she overtakes Madonna to set a new chart record, by doing so in faster succession than any female artist, the OCC reports.
It took Swift just 10 years to achieve the feat, the time between her first leader with Red, in October 2012, and now Midnights, whereas Madonna took 21 years to reach double digits. The boss in that particular frame is the Beatles, with, nine chart leaders in just 5 years and 7 months, the time between the release of their debut album Please Please Me in May 1963 and The White Album in December 1968.
Also, Swift overtakes Kylie Minogue for outright second place in the list of female artists with the most U.K. No. 1 albums. Madonna leads that ranking, with 12. And Taylor extends her lead as the female solo artist with the highest tally of No. 1 albums this century.
With Midnights and “Anti-Hero” debuting at No. 1 on the respective charts, Swift becomes the first female artist to complete the chart double in nine years (Miley Cyrus was the last to do it, in August 2013).
Arctic Monkeys’ streak of six U.K. No. 1s comes to a screeching halt, thanks to Midnights. The Sheffield, England rockers’ latest album The Car revs up for 100,000-plus first week combined sales, an effort that would easily land the chart crown on most weeks.
Coming in at No. 3 on the fresh chart, published Oct. 28, is South London rapper Loyle Carner with Hugo (EMI), new at No. 3 for an equal career high.
Scottish ‘80s new wave legends Simple Minds start at No. 4 with Direction of the Heart (BMG), their 12th top 10 appearance; Kylie’s Impossible Princess (BMG) enjoys a return to the chart and a new peak position following its 25th anniversary reissue. Impossible Princess pushes to No. 5, surpassing its peak position of No. 10 in 1998.
Finally, alternative-rock outfit Dry Cleaning start at No. 11 with their sophomore album Stumpwork (4AD), while Norwegian ‘80s pop trio a-ha earn a No. 12 debut with True North (Music For Nations).
It’s Taylor Swift time on the U.K. charts, as the pop superstar bags a rare chart double.
Following the release of her album Midnights (via EMI), Swift cleans up on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, bagging the No. 1 with “Anti-Hero,” and respectively taking out positions 3 and 4 with “Lavender Haze” and “Snow On The Beach,” featuring Lana Del Rey.
“Anti-Hero,” which Swift has said described as “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” is also a favorite among Brits, as it becomes just her second U.K. chart-leader following 2017’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
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With Midnights also rocketing to No. 1, Swift becomes the first female artist in nine years to simultaneously debut atop the Official Albums and Singles Charts, according to the Official Charts Company. Miley Cyrus was the last to do it, when Bangerz and “Wrecking Ball” both arrived at No. 1 on the Official Charts back in August 2013.
The single that stops a Swift trifecta on the latest chart, published Oct. 28, is Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), down 1-2, while David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s former chart-topper “I’m Good (Blue)” dips 2-5.
Meanwhile, the only non-Midnights track to enjoy a top 10 gain is Oliver Tree and Robin Schultz’s viral EDM release “Miss You” (Atlantic), up 9- 8, while Southstar’s version of the song slips 23-27 via B1/Ministry of Sound.
Following the release of their seventh studio album, The Car (via Domino Recordings), Arctic Monkeys park two tracks in the top tier, with “Body Paint” accelerating 60-22, while “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” enters one place below at No. 23, for the Sheffield, England alternative rock band’s 18th U.K. top 40 appearance.
Finally, U.S. singer Meghan Trainor lands her first U.K. top 40 single in four years with “Made You Look” (Epic), new at No. 28; Australian singer and songwriter Dean Lewis climbs with the teary “How Do I Say Goodbye” (Universal Music Australia), up 35-31; and Joel Corry and Tom Grennan debut with “Lionheart (Fearless)” (via Atlantic), new at No. 37.
Taylor Swift achieves her 11th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Nov. 5) as Midnights arrives with the biggest week for any album in nearly seven years. The set launches with 1.578 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 27, according to Luminate. The last album to tally a larger week was the debut frame of Adele’s 25, when it bowed with 3.482 million units (Dec. 12, 2015-dated chart).
Midnights was released on Oct. 21 after being announced two months earlier by Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards (Aug. 28). No music from the album was released until the set dropped on Oct. 21, when she also issued the music video for Midnights’ first single, “Anti-Hero.” Midnights is Swift’s 10th full-length studio album and initially bowed as a 13-track standard release. Three hours after Midnights’ arrival, Swift released a deluxe version of the album (its “3am Edition”) with seven bonus tracks.
Swift now ties Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among women. Swift is also the sixth act with more than 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 since the chart began regularly publishing on a weekly basis in 1956. She joins The Beatles (who lead with a record 19 No. 1s), Jay-Z (14), Drake, Bruce Springsteen and Streisand (each with 11).
Midnights is already the year’s top-selling album by overall sales through the year, and tallies the largest sales week for an album since her own reputation debuted in 2017, the third-largest streaming week ever for an album, and the biggest sales week for a vinyl album in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991).
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200: albums from Arctic Monkeys, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Jeezy and DJ Drama debut.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Nov. 5, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Nov. 1). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Midnights’ 1.578 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 1.140 million, SEA units comprise 419,000 (equaling 549.26 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 20 total tracks) and TEA units comprise 19,000.
Third-Biggest Streaming Week Ever: Midnights logs the third-largest streaming week ever for an album, by total on-demand official streams. It also captures the biggest streaming week for a non-R&B/hip-hop album and any album by a woman. The Nos. 1 and 2 biggest streaming weeks were logged by the debut frames of Drake’s Scorpion (745.92 million) and Certified Lover Boy (743.67 million), respectively.
Previously, Swift’s biggest streaming week for an album was tallied by the first week of Red (Taylor’s Version), with 303.23 million in 2021.
2022’s Top-Selling Album: With 1.140 million sold, Midnights is easily 2022’s top-selling album already. Previously, 2022’s top-seller — adding up all sales generated through the year — was Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, with 633,000 copies sold through Oct. 27. (In terms of total equivalent album units, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti is 2022’s biggest album, with 2.911 million units earned.)
Breaking down Midnights’ first-week sales of 1.140 million, physical sales comprise 980,000 (575,000 on vinyl, 395,000 on CD and 10,000 on cassette) and digital album downloads comprise 161,000.
Biggest Sales Week Since Swift’s Own reputation: The 1.140 million sales number for Midnights marks the largest sales week for any album since Swift’s own reputation debuted with 1.216 million copies sold (chart dated Dec. 2, 2017).
Swift Has Five Albums With Million-Plus Sales Weeks: Midnights is the 22nd album to sell at least 1 million copies in a single week since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. In total, there have been 24 instances — by 22 different albums — in which an album sold at least 1 million copies in a week. One of those albums, Adele’s 25, sold more than 1 million in three separate weeks. Swift is the only artist with five different albums to each sell at least 1 million copies in a single week in the Luminate era — Midnights, reputation, 1989, Red, and Speak Now.
Further, now with five, Swift remains the only act with at least three different albums that hit the million-sales weekly threshold. Three acts have a pair of albums that each managed a million-plus sales week: Backstreet Boys, Eminem and *NSYNC.
New Modern-Era Vinyl Sales Record: Midnights handily breaks the modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales in the U.S. with 575,000 vinyl LPs sold. That’s the largest week for an album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It surges past the previous high, set earlier this year, when Harry’s House debuted with 182,000 vinyl copies (week ending May 26, 2021).
Midnights is also already 2022’s top-seller on vinyl year-to-date. Previously, the year’s top-seller on vinyl was Harry’s House, with 377,000 sold through the year.
Midnights’ 395,000 in CD sales is the largest sales week for an album on CD since reputation launched with 507,000 copies sold.
Midnights arrived after months of pre-release promotion and pre-orders — and its sales figure is bolstered by an array of available versions and variants of the album. It is available to purchase in a standard digital album (both clean and explicit); a deluxe digital album (clean and explicit, each with seven additional songs); an iTunes-exclusive version with a bonus spoken word track (clean and explicit); four standard CD editions (each with a different cover, both clean and explicit); four vinyl LP editions (each with a different cover and colored vinyl); and a cassette tape. Target is also selling an exclusive “Lavender” edition of the album on CD and colored-vinyl LP, with the CD boasting three bonus tracks.
Plus, in the weeks leading up to release, Swift’s webstore sold pre-orders of signed copies of the four standard CD albums and the four standard vinyl LPs. Midnights is also available in deluxe boxed set with a CD edition of the album and a Swift-branded T-shirt, exclusively for Capital One cardholders.
Some superfans may have also been enticed to purchase all four variants of the album on either CD or vinyl, as the back covers of the four albums fit together like a puzzle to display a clock face (a literal reference to Midnights!). Swift shared the news through her social media in mid-September, saying: “If you put all the back covers together, she’s a clock. It’s a clock… It makes a clock.” (Swift’s official webstore sells hardware to hold the four CDs or the four vinyl LPs together as a wall clock.) The idea of assembling multiple versions of an album’s back cover (or cover) together to reveal a larger complete image isn’t unique to Swift, as other acts (frequently in the K-pop world) have employed a similar marketing idea.
It’s not unusual for many artists to offer variants of an album, from multiple color vinyl editions to collectible CD packages and beyond. Swift herself has rolled out albums in a similar fashion in the past — she had four different Target-exclusive variants for Lover in 2015. In 2022, acts ranging from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ozzy Osbourne to BLACKPINK and Madonna have all leaned in to the practice of offering multiple iterations of a physical album where usually the only difference is in packaging or the color of a vinyl LP.
Lil Baby’s It’s Only Me falls to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (110,000 equivalent album units; down 49%) after debuting atop the list a week earlier. Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti drops out of the top two for the first time since its release, as the set moves 2-3 with 67,000 units (down 7%). When the album hit its 18th week in the top two, it became the first set to spend its first 18 weeks in the top two since the chart since August of 1963, when Billboard combined its separate stereo and mono album charts into one single album chart. (See more history on the Billboard 200, which began publishing as a regular, weekly fixture in March of 1956.)
Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album is a non-mover at No. 4 with 43,000 equivalent album units (down 4%) and The Weeknd’s The Highlights is stationary at No. 5 with 39,000 (down less than 1%).
Arctic Monkeys score their fourth top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as The Car drives in at No. 6 in its first week. It earned 37,500 equivalent album units; of that sum, album sales comprise 28,500, SEA units comprise 9,000 (equaling 11.76 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Ma’ I Got a Family starts at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with 37,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that, SEA units comprise 36,500 (equaling 52.54 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs). The new set is the 12 th top 10-charting effort for the prolific rapper, and his fifth top 10 in 2022 — the most of any act this year. He made his Billboard 200 debut in 2017 and got his first top 10 in 2018 with Until Death Call My Name. In total, his latest debut is the artist’s 25th charting effort.
Styles’ Harry’s House is a non-mover at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%).
Jeezy and DJ Drama’s Snofall starts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, marking the 11th top 10 for the former and the first for the latter. It bows with 31,000 equivalent album units earned. SEA units comprise 28,000 (equaling 38.45 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 2,500 and TEA units comprise 500.
Rounding out the new top 10 is Beyonce’s former No. 1 Renaissance, which falls 6-10 with 30,000 equivalent album units earned (down 10%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Taylor Swift is the queen of Australia’s music charts, as Midnights (via Universal) darts to No. 1 with the biggest volume week of any album in five years.
Midnights bows atop the latest ARIA Chart, with more combined sales than any title since Swift released Reputation, also No. 1 back in 2017. It’s her 10th No. 1 ARIA Album.
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With Midnights setting the albums chart alight, records tumble. Swift enjoys a record-setting haul on the national singles survey, capturing nine of the top 10 positions, led by “Anti-Hero” at No. 1, with “Lavender Haze” and “Snow On The Beach,” featuring Lana Del Rey, respectively completing the top 3.
According to Universal Music Australia, Midnights is the most-streamed album in a week in ARIA history, and the biggest-ever vinyl sales debut, shifting over 10,000 vinyl units in week one.
The song that ruins TayTay’s chance at a top 10 sweep is Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ former leader “Unholy” (Capitol/Universal), which dips 1-7 on the ARIA Singles Chart. With the exception of Smith and Petras’ collaboration, Swift locks down every ARIA chart position from No. 1 through to No. 14. Remarkably, she’s in possession of the only debuts on the latest singles frame — 13 of them.
“Anti-Hero” is Swift’s ninth No. 1 ARIA Single, and fourth in the past two years, most recently with “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021.
The U.S. pop star is shortlisted for the fan-voted best international artist category at the 2022 ARIA Awards, having won the pointed trophy in 2019 and 2021.
Parking at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, published Oct. 28, is Arctic Monkeys’ The Car (Domino Recordings/EMI). Though the Sheffield, England alternative rock band misses out on the crown, Alex Turner and Co. keep alive a streak that has seen all seven studio albums placed in the top 5, with three reaching the zenith.
Meanwhile, Australia’s pop royalty Kylie Minogue returns to the chart with Impossible Princess, which enjoys the reissue treatment for its 25th anniversary through Warner Music. Impossible Princess drops in at No. 3.
The top five is completed by two new classical crossover albums, Andrea, Matteo and Virginia Bocelli’s A Family Christmas (Decca/Universal), and Anthony Callea’s Forty Love (BMG), respectively.
Also new to the top 10 this week is Architects‘ tenth album Classic Symptoms of a Broken Spirit (Epitaph Record/RKT), at No. 8. The British metalcore band will support the album in these parts with a national tour in February 2023.
Midnights is on the brink of earning Taylor Swift a rare U.K. chart double.
Swift’s 10th studio album dropped last Friday (Oct. 21) and immediately caught fire on streaming platforms, smashing Spotify’s global 24-hour record. There’s a lot of love for Midnights (via EMI) in the U.K., with the album pushing past 140,000 combined sales in just three days, good enough for the best opening-week result for any title this year.
Midnights should dominate the singles chart, too.
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Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, Swift is on the brink of a 1-2-3. Currently, Midnights track “Anti-Hero” leads the chart blast, ahead of “Lavender Blaze” and “Snow on the Beach,” respectively.
Swift should unseat Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), ending its four-week run at the top. “Unholy” slips 1-4 on the midweek survey, ahead of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Parlophone), down 2-5.
The challenger to Midnights is Arctic Monkeys’ The Car (Domino Recordings). Like Midnights, The Car powers the full complement of three Arctic Monkeys songs into the midweek chart, with “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” new at No. 16, “Sculptures of Anything Goes” new at No. 17 and “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” reentering at No. 20.
Meanwhile, two versions of “Miss You” continue to impact the U.K. top 40. Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version, released by Atlantic Records, rises 12-10 on the Official Chart Update, while Southstar’s version, via B1/Ministry of Sound, dips 26-27.
Southstar has accused his fellow German Schulz of releasing a “copycat version,” a claim that places Sony Music and Warner Music at loggerheads. WMG’s Atlantic Records has responded. “Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version of ‘Miss You’ is the definitive version of the song that uses both the recording and underlying composition from Oliver Tree’s original track ‘Jerk,’ says an Atlantic Records U.S. spokesperson via email. “Southstar remixed ‘Jerk’ without permission and then released a version with re-recorded vocals to avoid fully compensating Oliver Tree and his label.”
Further down, Joel Corry and Tom Grennan are eyeing another U.K. top 40 with “Lionheart (Fearless)” (via Atlantic), which starts at No. 36 on the chart update. If it holds its position, “Lionheart” would give Corry a ninth top 40 appearance, and Grennan a seventh.
Finally, Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look” (Atlantic) appears to be en route to the top 40. It’s at No. 37 on the chart blast, and should enjoy a nudge following Trainor’s performance of the song Monday (Oct. 24) on The Tonight Show.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday.
The chart race of the year is only halfway complete, though Taylor Swift’s Midnights is already strides ahead of the pack.
Swift’s tenth studio album and Arctic Monkeys’ seventh studio set, The Car, are both blockbusters that would win almost any U.K. chart battle.
This is no ordinary chart cycle. It’s a heavyweight bout, with both sets notching well over 100,000 chart copies in just three days.
At the midweek point, Midnights has more than 140,000 chart units to secure the advantage. That sum gives Midnights the best start for any album this year, bettering the 113,000 chart units accumulated by Harry Styles’ Harry’s House across its first full week, the OCC reports.
The Car is some distance behind in second place on the Official Chart Update, with 105,000 chart units – an exceptional result for any other week.
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If Midnights stays on target, it will hand Swift her ninth U.K. No. 1 following Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021). Also, the U.S. artist could swoop in for a chart double; she holds the top three spots on the singles chart update, led by “Anti-Hero.”
Meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys enjoy a spotless streak of six consecutive career No. 1s, starting with their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, and continuing with 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, 2009’s Humbug, 2011’s Suck It And See, 2013’s AM, and 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Frontman Alex Turner has eight in the row, including his side project, the Last Shadow Puppets.
Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the OCC, South London artist Loyle Carner could come at No. 3 with his third album, Hugo; veteran Scottish band Simple Minds’ 19th record Direction of the Heart could bow at No. 4; and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue’s sixth studio LP Impossible Princess could return to the chart at No. 5, thanks to a 25th anniversary edition. Impossible Princess originally peaked at No. 10 following its release in 1997.
Norwegian ‘80s pop trio a-ha is set for a return to the U.K. survey this week with True North, new at No. 6 on the chart blast. If True North stays put, it would become the “Take On Me” singers’ highest-charting studio LP in the U.K. since 2009’s Foot of the Mountain went to No. 5.
Finally, Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen is on track for her career chart peak in the U.K. with The Loneliest Time, eyeing a No. 7 berth; while British alternative-rocker act Dry Cleaning is aiming for a second top 10 appearance with Stumpwork, on track for a No. 8 start.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday (Oct. 28).
Taylor Swift’s Midnights is already a record-setter. Now, Swift’s new studio album is set to crush the U.K. charts.
Based on sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours in the cycle, Swift could snag the top three spots on the Official U.K. Chart.
Swift’s “Anti-Hero” leads the chart blast and is on track to give the U.S. singing star her second U.K. leader, after 2017’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
“Anti-Hero” got a push with its official music video, which dropped Friday (Oct. 21), following the release proper of Midnights. Swifties were already tuned-into the track, thanks to the singer previously declaring it “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” adding “I really don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
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According to the Official Charts Company, Midnights opener “Lavender Haze” is “not far behind” in second spot on the First Look chart, followed by her Lana Del Rey collaboration “Snow On The Beach,” at No. 3.
Those three songs would represent the limit Midnights and its tracks could impact the singles chart. Based on criteria introduced in 2017, acts can have only their three most popular tracks feature in the Official Singles Chart Top 100, a move intended to prevent mega-stars’ albums from flooding the survey.
“Snow On The Beach,” notes the OCC, could secure Del Rey a fifth U.K. top 10 appearance, and first since 2019 collaboration “Don’t Call Me Angel,” with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, which peaked at No. 2.
Midnights bolted out the gate. The set is officially the most-streamed album worldwide in a single day in Spotify history.
If Midnights is crowned on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, when it’s published Friday (Oct. 28), it would be Swift’s ninth leader. Arctic Monkeys, which has swept the U.K. chart with every studio album release, is expected to challenge Swift with their own latest album, The Car.
Meanwhile, two tracks from The Car are set to drive into the U.K. top 20. “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” is poised to bow at No. 14, the OCC reports, with “Sculptures of Anything Goes” close behind at No. 15.
The midweek U.K. singles and albums surveys will be revealed late Monday (Oct. 24), local time.
Stormzy secures a 26th top 10 as “Hide & Seek” (via Def Jam) storms the U.K. singles chart, while Sam Smith and Kim Petras complete a full month atop the survey with their “Unholy” collaboration.
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“Hide & Seek,” lifted from Stormzy’s upcoming third album This Is What I Mean, is new at No. 7, giving the homegrown hip-hop star the week’s top debut. This Is What I Mean is due out Nov. 25.
Meanwhile, Anne-Marie and Aitch’s “Psycho” (Atlantic) collab is on the climb. After chasing a top 5 spot on the midweek survey, some five weeks after its release, “Psycho” finishes the chart week up 9-6.
No less than seven singles make a splash in the U.K. top 40 for the first time, including British rapper Central Cee, whose “One Up” (Central Cee) arrives at No. 17. “One Up” becomes the Londoner’s 14th U.K. top 40 hit.
The 1975 has the best-selling album in the U.K. this week with Being Funny In A Foreign Language (Dirty Hit). The British pop-rock outfit also bring up their 11th and 12th top 40 appearances, with album tracks “Oh Caroline,” new at No. 29 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and “I’m In Love With You,” at No. 34.
Lil Baby also snags two top 40 debuts on the Official Chart, published Friday (Oct. 21), with “California Breeze” (No. 26) and “Real Spill” (No. 36). Both are lifted from the U.S. rapper’s new album It’s Only Me (via Motown/Quality Control), which bows this week at No. 3, a new career high.
Labelmate Lil Yachty floats into the top tier with “Poland,” new at No. 30, for the U.S. rapper’s third top 40 appearance.
Blink 182 makes an immediate impact with “Edging” (Columbia), the U.S. pop-punk trio’s first recording with Tom DeLonge in a decade. The track, lifted from the reunited band’s forthcoming studio album, debuts at No. 31, for Blink’s 11th top 40 hit.
At the pinnacle of the U.K. chart is Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), which locks-in four-straight weeks at No. 1. The latest crown comes as Smith unveils the tracklist and release date for their fourth studio album, Gloria, due out Jan. 27, 2023.
Finally, two versions of the EDM tune “Miss You” are flying on the chart. Oliver Tree’s cut with Robin Schulz (via Atlantic) blasts 28-9, while German EDM producer Southstar’s “Miss You” (B1/Ministry Of Sound) rises 62-23. Both settle into peak positions.