![]() Record-breaking heat wave in the forecast. (9/6a)
![]() This oughta be interesting. (9/6a)
![]() We're putting our asses in seats. (9/4a)
| ||
THE GRAMMY SHORT LIST
Who's already a lock?
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
ALL THE WAY LIVE
The players, the tours, the enormous beers.
|
Taylor Swift has scored the U.K. Official Charts double, topping the albums and singles chart simultaneously with Midnights (EMI) and “Anti-Hero.” The album posted biggest first-week sales and streaming numbers of the year.
Midnights is Swift’s fastest-selling album by far in Blighty, shifting 204k sales in seven days—more than double her previous personal best of 90.3k with 1989 in 2014. The set is this year’s biggest seller to date, surpassing the first week sales of 113k of Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (Columbia).
It’s the biggest first-week album sales since Adele’s 30 (Columbia) logged 261k in November. Swift also scores big on streaming: Midnights counted 72.5m streams in seven days, which is again the highest for an album first week this year.
With nine consecutive #1 albums under her belt, Swift has overtaken Madonna to set a new all-time Official Chart record, generating the fastest succession of nine U.K. #1 albums of any female artist. She scored her first 10 years ago with Red, while it took Madonna 21 years to reach the same tally.
Elsewhere on albums, Arctic Monkeys’ The Car (Domino) is #2 after generating more than 100k sales. Loyle Carner’s Hugo (EMI) debuts at #3, while Simple Minds’ Direction of the Heart (BMG) reaches #4. A 25th anniversary release of Kylie Minogue’s Impossible Princess (BMG) surpasses its original peak of #10 at #5 today.
On the Official Singles Chart, Swift has three tracks in the Top 5. “Anti-Hero” is her second U.K. #1, followed by “Lavender Haze” at #3 and Lana Del Rey collaboration “Snow on the Beach” at #4. Swift is the first female artist in nine years to top both charts; the last was Miley Cyrus in 2013.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ long-running #1, “Unholy” (Capitol), has moved down to #2. “I’m Good (Blue)” (Parlophone) by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha completes the Top 5.
Oliver Tree & Robin Schultz’s viral hit, “Miss You” (Atlantic), rises one to a new peak of #8. Arctic Monkeys have two tracks in the Top 40: “Body Paint” is up 38 to #22 while “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” debuts at #23.