Singles
While indigenous acts fill all of the top three positions on the album chart, overseas acts dominate the singles medal positions, with Cee-Lo Green’s Forget You achieving a rare hold at number one (76,331 sales), while Bruno Mars’ former number one Just The Way You Are (Amazing) rebounds 4-2 (74,293 sales), and US/Canadian DJ duo Duck Sauce debut at number three with their Boney M sampling Barbra Streisand (66,964 sales).
Reigning X Factor champion Joe McElderry debuts at number six with Ambitions (43,034 sales), a cover of a 2009 single by Norwegian band Donkeyboy, which reached number one in both Norway and Sweden.
However, it seems likely Ambitions will be McElderry’s first single NOT to reach number one here, after a trio of chart-toppers, namely his debut single in his own right, The Climb, and his contributions to The X Factor Finalists number one You Are Not Alone and Helping Haiti’s Everybody Hurts.
McElderry performed the single on The X Factor eight days ago, without which it would have made a lesser chart impact. Numerous other singles in the chart are responding to use in the programme, most notably Travie McCoy’s Billionaire, which rebounds 15-11 (24,137 sales), after being covered on the show by F.Y.D, and Mad World by Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules.
The Christmas 2003 chart-topper was covered in their style by Aiden Grimshaw, and re-enters the chart at number 26 (12,110 sales). Colplay’s Viva La Vida – already their biggest selling single by some distance – leaps 84-42, with 6,481 sales taking its cumulative total to 487,345, not bad for a single which, even when it was number one, never sold more than 23,202 copies in a week.
Bruno Mars’ Just The Way You Are (Amazing) was, incidentally, already on track to rebound to number three, but Matt Cardle’s performace of the track at the conclusion of Saturday’s show gave the original a mighty kick, helping it to turn a week-on-week dip of more than 5% into a gain of 15%. The track sold 80% more copies on Saturday than could have been expected from its sales for the rest of the week – and I’m guessing it went stratospheric in two hours that elapsed between the end of X Factor at 10pm and the end of the sales week at midnight.
Two new entries to the Top 20 are taken from upcoming revamps of multi-platinum albums. Pixie Lott’s debut album Turn It Up expands from 12 to 22 tracks next Monday (25th), while changing its name to Turn It Up Louder. Among the added tracks is new single Broken Arrow, which debuts at number 12 this week (23,944 sales). It’s the seventh track from the expanded album to chart.
Canadian crooner Michael Buble’s Crazy Love album is being expanded to a double disc ‘Hollywood Edition’ (18th) with the addition of live tracks and new single Hollywood, which enters the chart at number 17 (17,166 sales). It’s the fourth hit from the album.
The Ting Tings are back with Hands, the introductory single from their yet to be named album, which is set for release next year. Debuting at number 29, it sold 9,873 copies.
In a move which echoes the way American Idol tracks are treated in the USA, downloads of songs performed by the X Factor finalists are now available via iTunes but to hide the relative popularity of acts from viewers, the sales are not eligible for the chart. At this point in time, neither are they included in the OCC’s assessment of sales, although they are expected to be integrated into the monthly, quarterly and annual data at a later stage. With that caveat in mind, 2,577,705 chart eligible singles were sold last week – 2.61% down week-on-week and 2.45% below same week 2009 sales of 2,642,426.
1 Cee Lo Green 76,331
2 Bruno Mars 74,293 (298,681)
3 Duck Sauce 66,964
6 Joe McElderry 43,034
9 Mike Posner 31,490
11 Travie McCoy 24,137
12 Pixie Lott 23,944
17 Michael Buble 17,166
26 Michael Andrews/Gary Jules 12,110
29 Ting Tings 9,873
42 Coldplay 6,481 (487,345)
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Albums
With Robbie Williams’ second hits compilation blasting its way to the top, leadership of the album chart changes hands for the 11th week in a row, but Cee-Lo Green’s Forget You remains atop the singles chart, where it is only the second title out of the last 14 number ones to extend its reign beyond a week.
Already the biggest selling albums artist of the 21st century – with sales of 13,339,555 up to last week, 24.19% more than runners-up Westlife’s 10,741,065 – Robbie Williams moves even further ahead, after landing his ninth number one solo album with In And Out Of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010 making an emphatic debut at the top, on first week sales of 121,688 copies.
Williams’ first number one since Rudebox (2006), it outsold its nearest challenger by a margin in excess of three to one. The only male soloist to have more number ones than Williams is Elvis Presley (10).
Securing the second highest weekly sale for an artist album thus far in 2010 - falling short of the mark of 139,438 set by Eminem’s Recovery 16 weeks ago - In And Out Of Consciousness has made a modest start compared to Williams’ previous compilation, Greatest Hits, and also many of his regular album releases.
Williams’ previous albums, in reverse chronological order, with first week sales and years shown in brackets, are as follows: Reality Killed The Video Star (238,126, 2009), Rudebox (147,236, 2006), Intensive Care (373,832, 2005), Greatest Hits (320,081, 2004), Live At Knebworth (117,863, 2003), Escapology (264,104, 2002), Swing When You’re Winning (295,024, 2001), Sing When You’re Winning (313,585, 2000), I’ve Been Expecting You (131,836, 1998), Life Thru A Lens (14,533, 1997). Williams has sold 17,285,422 albums since launching his solo career in 1997.
With Williams at number one on Virgin, Tinie Tempah’s Parlophone debut Disc-Overy dipping 1-2 (25,800 sales), and Cliff Richard’s Bold As Brass debuting at number three (22,076 sales) on its eponymous label, EMI has the top three albums – and all with homegrown talent – for the first time in the 2st century. Of the other big four, Universal has done the treble 11 times since 2000 and Sony four times while Warner Music hasn’t done it at all – and none of the 15 previous top three shutouts was achieved with an all UK roster.
The success of Bold As Brass is a major triumph for Cliff Richard – who turned 70 last Thursday (14th) - as well as EMI. It extends to seven decades his success in landing top five albums – a unique achievement. It’s his 26th top five album in all, made up as follows: 1950s – 2, 1960s- 9, 1970s – 4, 1980s – 6, 1990s – 3, 2000s – 1 and 2010s – 1. Elvis Presley has had more top five albums and a longer chart span but has missed out in the current decade. A collection of jazz and swing standards, Bold As Brass is Richard’s 63rd chart (Top 75) album in all, and his highest charting new album since 1993, when Cliff Richard: The Album reached number one.
With consecutive Top 20 singles in the form of I Need Air (number 10, feat. Angela Hunte) and Perfect Stranger (number 16, feat. Katy B ) in the last three months, dubstep trio Magnetic Man’s self-titled, introductory album debuts at number five (16,902 sales).
Glasgow band Belle & Sebastian rack up their eighth chart album with Write About Love (number eight, 11,319 sales). The album debuts at number four in Scotland.
American rock band Alter Bridge make their biggest impact yet, debuting at number nine (11,090 sales) with ABIII. Their 2004 debut, One Day Remains and 2007 follow-up, Blackbird, have each sold 34,000 copies, although One Day remains peaked at number 107, and Blackbird reached number 32.
Elsewhere in the Top 40, there are debuts for electronic/dance veterans The Orb and Pink Floyd legend David Gilmour’s Metallic Spheres collaboration (number 12, 9,411 sales); Jason Donovan’s remakes set Soundtrack Of The Eighties (number 20, 6,762 sales); Antony & The Johnsons’ Swanlights (number 28, 4,965 sales); and Sufjan Stevens’ The Age Of Adz (number 30, 4,822 sales). The latter album is the prolific and eclectic 35-year-old singer/songwriter’s 11th album release in the UK since 2004, and by far the highest charting, beating the number 84 peak of previous top title, The Avalanche (2006).
Overall album sales, at 1,729,966, are down 1.53% week-on-week and 6.83% below same week 2009 sales of 1,856,767.
1 Robbie Williams 121,689
2 Tinie Tempah 25,800
3 Cliff Richard 22,076
5 Magnetic Man 16,902
8 Belle & Sebastian 11,319
9 Alter Bridge 11,090
12 Orb/David Gilmour 9,412
20 Jason Donovan 6,762
28 Antony & The Johnsons 4,965
30 Sufjan Stevens 4,822
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