Taylor Swift will be crowned when the U.K. albums chart is published later this week.
The U.S. pop singer opens-up a monster lead in the U.K. chart race with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI), which is currently outperforming the rest of the top 40 combined, the Official Charts Company reports.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) reigns over the midweek chart, and is already the year’s best-selling album, amassing 148,000 chart units. That’s more combined units in just three days than Lewis Capaldi’s second LP Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent (95,000 combined units), the previous leader for 2023, clocked in its first full-week. And it’s roughly double the sum collected by Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds (Polydor), the current leader on the weekly chart and, until now, one of the three best-sellers of 2023.
When the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, Oct. 3, Swift will nab her 11th U.K. No. 1 album, a tally that includes the original recording of 1989, which ruled for a single week in 2014. That result would extend her record as the female solo artist with the most chart-topping albums this century. Only Madonna, with 12 U.K. No. 1s, leads Swift on the all-time tally.
The re-recorded edition of 1989 is the fourth of Swift’s six “versions,” and features three bonus tracks and five songs from the “Vault.”
Swift is likely to nab a chart double. Based on midweek singles sales and streaming data published by the OCC, “Is It Over Now” slides into pole position, ahead of “Slut” and “Style,” respectively.
Meanwhile, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) is on track for an eighth top 10 album with Bauhaus Staircase (100 Percent Records), new at No. 2 on the midweek tally, ahead of the Stones’ Hackey Diamonds, down 1-3 on the chart blast.
Duran Duran’s “ultimate Halloween party” album Danse Macabre (BMG) is forecast to enter the chart at No. 4, for what would be the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ 12th U.K. top 10 LP. The new set, a collection of covers, reinterpretations of DD songs, and three new numbers, is the followup to Future Past, which opened and peaked at No. 3 in 2021.
Also eyeing top 10 berths are new releases from James Blunt (Who We Used to Be at No. 5 via Atlantic), CASisDEAD (Famous Last Words at No. 6 via XL Recordings), Alfie Boe (Open Arms – The Symphonic Songbook at No. 7 via BMG); Simple Minds’ live recording New Gold Dream – Live from Paisley Abbey (No. 8 via BMG), Billy Bragg’s career retrospective The Roaring Forty 1983-2023 (No. 9 via Cooking Vinyl) and Gaslight Anthem (History Books at No. 10 via Rich Mahogany Recordings).
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