Singles
Number one with Hallelujah in 2008 and Bad Boys (feat. Flo-Rida) in 2009, Alexandra Burke racks up her third number-one single, Start Without You.
The track, which also features a rap from US newcomer Laza Morgan, is the 18th number one spawned by The X Factor. Burke is now one of three X Factor acts to score a hat-trick of number ones, alongside Leona Lewis and JLS. In addition to her number ones, Burke reached number eight with Broken Heels and number four with All Night Long (feat. Pitbull). All previous hits were plucked from Burke’s debut album Overcome, which is set to be repackaged with Start Without You among the added tracks this autumn.
Start Without You is the 11th number-one single in as many weeks. The record of 14 was established in 2000, when there was also a run of 12. In 2000 as a whole, 43 singles took turns at number one (including a 1999 hangover) - a record. The digital age initially resulted in greater chart stability, with only 17 number ones in the Noughties’ least hectic year, 2007 - but 2008 brought 21 number ones, while 2009 saw another big leap to 32. With another 16 weeks to go, we have already had 27 number ones in 2010.
The X Factor remains unchallenged as TV’s pre-eminent source of major hits but despite drawing an audience approximately one thirtieth of the size of its rival (361,000 versus 10.6m), Sky 1’s talent contest Must Be The Music is showing promise as a source of repertoire. The franchise’s short first run reached second semi-final stage eight days ago and, as with the first semi-final the previous Sunday, the five acts in contention had the tracks they performed made available for download in studio versions immediately after the show.
Both acts through to the September 19 final - Emma’s Imagination and Pictures - sold enough copies of their songs to make the Top 40. Emma’s Imagination - 27-year-old Emma Gillespie from Glasgow - debuts at number 10 with This Day (26,942 sales), while London/Oxford quintet Pictures’ anthemic rock track Tears debuts at number 33 (7,874 sales). Kyle, The Trinity Band and The Ebony Steele Band were all eliminated and fall short of the Top 75 with their songs. The third and last semi-final took place yesterday, and can be expected to result in at least two more Must Be The Music chart entries.
Meanwhile, McFly are back with a new sound and a new hit. The band’s first 15 singles all made the Top 10 but they came a cropper with Do Ya/Stay With Me reaching only number 18 in December 2008, while follow-up Falling In Love reached only 87 in May 2009. Party Girl is the first single from the band’s upcoming, as-yet-untitled, fifth album and debuts at number six (40,020 sales).
Dublin band The Script made a huge impression with their self-titled 2008 debut album, which topped the chart and spun off four hit singles. Second album Science & Faith drops today (Monday) and ahead of its release introductory single For The First Time debuts at number five (52,125 sales).
The track has been getting massive radio exposure which, in turn, has galvanised sales of the band’s first album, which has climbed 111-94-74-39 in the last three weeks to achieve its highest chart position for more than a year. Sales of 3,495 last week lift the album’s overall tally to 936,749.
Alesha Dixon also has a new album due - her third since leaving Mis-Teeq - though The Entertainer is not out until November. Meanwhile, she racks up her fifth straight Top 20 with first single Drummer Boy (number 15, 21,129 sales).
Overall singles sales stand at 2,618,085 against same-week 2009 sales of 2,245,807, and are 1.7% up week-on-week.
1 Alexandra Burke/Laza Morgan 73,306
2 Katy Perry 61,835
3 Taio Cruz 57,368
4 Olly Murs 52,887
5 The Script 52,126
6 McFly 40,021
10 Emma's Imagination 26,942
15 Alesha Dixon 21,129
17 Greg Street 16,989
28 Hurts 10,903
33 Pictures 7,874
39 XX 6,255
40 Linkin Park 6,248
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Albums
As mentioned above, The xx’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize victory had an immediate and galvanising effect on their eponymous debut album. Debuting at number 36 in August 2009 on first-week sales of 4,180, it continued to sell well but did not eclipse that peak until its Mercury Prize nomination saw it jump 44-16 seven weeks ago.
It has remained in the Top 20 ever since, and climbed as high as number 10 four weeks ago. In the wake of its victory, it catapults 16-3, with sales up 269% week-on-week at 28,666. Overall sales of the album now stand at 212,835. Last year’s Mercury Prize winner, Speech Therapy by Speech Debelle, sold fewer than 2,000 copies before its nomination was announced and peaked at number 65 in the wake of its success.
Its overall sales of 15,077 are the lowest of the 19 Mercury Prize winners in the competition’s history, trailing a long way behind second-lowest achiever Talvin Singh's OK, the 1999 winner, which has sold 88,493 copies so far.
As impressive as The xx’s surge is, there was only ever going to be one album in the running for the number-one slot this week - Flamingo, the introductory solo set from The Killers’ main man Brandon Flowers. The Killers are one of the most successful rock acts of the 21st century, and all three of their studio sets to date sold upwards of a million and reached number one. Their introductory album Hot Fuss (2004) debuted at number six (29,359 sales) and took 32 weeks to reach number one but subsequent sets Sam’s Town (2006) and Day & Age (2008) both opened at number one, on sales of 268,946 and 200,299, respectively. Flamingo, which has already spawned the number-eight single Crossfire, sold 65,518 copies last week.
A fortnight after reaching number 21 with Wonderful Life, Mancunian duo Hurts’ debut album Happiness makes a strong first showing, arriving at number four (25,493 sales).
In other album chart action, two veteran groups - James and The Charlatans - who both landed their first Top 40 album in 1990 return to the fray.
James made their Top 75 debut even longer ago - in 1986 - and register their 14th chart album with The Morning After (number 19, 6,205 sales) arriving just 20 weeks after companion disc The Night Before debuted and peaked at number 20 (6,996 sales). Fellow Manchester scene survivors The Charlatans are right behind them - When We Touch (number 21, 5,696 sales) is their 15th chart album.
Now That’s What I Call Music! 76 spends its eighth straight week atop the compilation chart (20,869 sales).
Overall album sales, at 1,665,588, are 5.7% down week-on-week, and compare to same-week 2009 sales of 1,676,195.
1 Brandon Flowers 65,518
2 Katy Perry 32,135
3 The XX 28,666 (180,000+)
4 Hurts 25,492
5 Eminem 17,732
6 Stone Sour 14,646
17 Ray LaMontagne 6,770
19 James 6,205
21 Charlatans 5,696
23 Tom Jones 5,015
33 Muse 3,893
37 I Am Kloot 3,678
39 The Script 3,494
currently #13 on iTunes so we'll see where this heads next week 
Radio Airplay Top 50
well LTWYL is #2 right in the year or is it #1 with the estimate sales??