ALBUMS
With lead singer Ricky Wilson's profile raised considerably by his role as a coach in The Voice UK - which finished on Saturday (5th), and on which they appeared to provide it with a late boost - the Kaiser Chiefs' fifth album Education, Education, Education & War sold 23,767 copies to become their second number one.
The first release on the band's eponymous Kaiser Chiefs label, it opened 90.61% higher than the first and biggest week's sales of its immediate predecessor The Future Is Medieval which debuted at number 10 on sales of 12,469 copies in 2011. The Future Is Medieval was the last of the band's studio albums for B-Unique/Polydor, although the subsequent compilation on the label - Souvenir: The Singles 2004-2012 - debuted and peaked at number 19 on sales of 6,723 copies in 2012.
Kaiser Chiefs' 2005 debut Employment was by far their biggest album, opening at number three (74,439 sales) and peaking 49 weeks later at number two. Spinning off three Top 10 hits and Modern Way (number 11), it has gone on to sell 2,048,266 copies. It also set up 2007 follow-up Yours Truly, Angry Mob to debut at number one on sales of 151,139, although it went on to sell less than half as well as its predecessor, with a to-date tally of 841,945. 2008 album Off With Their Heads sold 46,235 copies to debut at number two, and has gone on to sell 219,889 copies. Completing the to-date tallies, The Future Is Medieval has sold 46,235 copies, and Souvenir has sold 48,238 copies.
The only X Factor winner to open their album chart career with more than one week at number one is Leona Lewis, whose 2007 debut Spirit racked up seven straight weeks at the summit before being dethroned by Radiohead's In Rainbows. X Factor's reigning champion, Sam Bailey, made a valiant attempt to become the second, but her debut album, The Power Of Love, sold 21,812 copies - 8.23% fewer than the new Kaiser Chiefs album - as it slipped to number two. Bailey's runner-up Nicholas McDonald, continues his fast decline with debut disc In The Arms Of An Angel which dips 18-26 (3,526 sales) on its third frame.
More than a decade after his death, Johnny Cash scores his ninth Top 10 album - his third posthumously - with Out Among The Stars. Comprising 'lost' recordings made in 1981 and 1985, the album contains only two Cash compositions - I Came To Believe and Call Your Mother - among its 12 songs, alongside songs like Rock And Roll Shoes (a Ray Charles single penned by Brits Graham Lyle and Paul Kennerley), She Used To Love Me A Lot (a country hit for David Allan Coe) and Hank Snow's 1950 standard I'm Movin' On. Debuting at number four (19,347 sales), the album is Cash's highest charting studio album ever - only his 1969 live set Johnny Cash At San Quentin peaked higher, reaching number two.
In a market where 35.97% of overall album sales last week were digital, the album sold overwhelmingly (84.14%) in physical formats but Cash songs have down very well digitally since the format was first counted by the OCC in 2004, with Hurt - his spinechillining remake of a Nine Inch Nails song - selling a massive 306,913 copies although it peaked at number 39. The remainder of his catalogue has amassed digital track sales in excess of a million, with the rest of the top five being Ring Of Fire (184,.438 sales), I Walk The Line (112,850), A Boy Named Sue (67,684) and Folsom Prison Blues (62,548).
It's two and a half years since Christina Perri's debut album, Lovestrong, debuted and peaked at number nine on sales of 15,816 copies. Follow-up Hand On Heart debuts at number eight (11,577 sales) while first single Human - which debuted and peaked at number 14 - remains in the teens for a fourth straight week, moving 16-19 (17,384 sales).
Post Mother's Day, everything else in the Top 10 sees sales off at least 25% compared to a week ago, with George Michael's Symphonica falling 2-3 (20,600 sales), John Legend's Love In The Future holding at number five (13,945 sales), Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey's Going Back Home sliding 3-6 (12,367 sales), Pharrell Williams' Girl reversing 4-7 (11,685 sales), Elbow's The Take Off And Landing Of Everything fading 7-9 (10,876 sales) and Paloma Faith's A Perfect Contradiction descending 6-10 (9,659 sales).
Californian hard rock parodists Steel Panther pounce on the number 12 slot on the chart (8,475 sales) to score their highest charting album yet. They reached number 52 with Feel The Steel in 2009, and number 37 with Balls Out in 2011.
Southampton rockers Band Of Skulls make negative progress, however. A little over two years after their second album Sweet Sour secured their chart debut - reaching number 14 on first week sales of 9,175 - follow-up Himalaya found only 4,796 buyers last week, and consequently debuts at number 21.
There are also debuts for The Robert Cray Band's In My Soul (number 43, 2,248 sales), Lacuna Coil's Broken Crown Halo (number 45, 2,201 sales), the 40th anniversary edition of Runrig's Party On The Moor (number 51, 2,059 sales) and The Manchester Orchestra's Cope (number 67, 1,502 sales).
In a less competitive market than a week ago, several albums register gains of 10 places or more - Katy Perry's Prism (42-28, 3,236 sales), Gregory Porter's Liquid Spirit (53-30, 3,019 sales), Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Wanderlust (54-32, 2,859 sales), Engelbert Humperdinck's Engelbert Calling (47-34, 2,766 sales), Lorde's Pure Heroine (52-35, 2,665 sales), One Direction's Midnight Memories (56-39, 2,523 sales), Will.I.Am's #willpower (125-61, 1,701 sales), The Kings Of Leon's Mechanical Bull (87-64, 1,567 sales) and Bombay Bicycle Club's So Long, See You Tomorrow (82-68, 1,488 sales). Discounts and TV appearances play their part in some of these resurgences, among which the star performer is the Gregory Porter album, which eclipses its previous peak of number 40, the position in which it debuted 29 weeks ago. Porter's move is largely down to heavy Radio Two support for the single Hey Laura, which it aired 16 times last week, also helping it to climb 142-113 (1,914 sales) on the singles chart.
There are Top 10 exits for Kylie Minogue's Kiss Me Once (8-13, 6,769 sales), Gary Barlow's Since I Saw You Last (10-15, 5,898 sales) and Dr. Hook's Timeless (9-23, 4,491 sales) and big falls for Kian Egan's Home (19-49, 2,147 sales), My Chemical Romance's May Death Never Stop You (15-57, 1,857 sales), Robbie Williams' Swings Both Ways (29-60, 1,704 sales), Foster The People's Super Model (26-62, 1,642 sales), Tony Bennett's The Classics (35-81, 1,139 sales) Jimi Goodwin's Odulek (39-98, 1,007 sales), Avicii's True: Avicii By Avicii (61-104, 944 sales) and Magnum's Escape From The Shadow Garden (38-105, 943 sales).
With the DVD/Blu Ray release of Frozen selling 899,502 copies on its first week to debut atop the video chart, the publicity it generated - not to mention heavy discounting when the two were bought together - has caused a resurgence of interest in the soundtrack album, which bounces 5-1 to claim its third overall week at the summit, having topped eight weeks ago and four weeks ago. In the top five for the 12th straight week, the soundtrack sold 32,003 copies last week - far surpassing its previous best, beating the number one artist album by Kaiser Chiefs and raising its overall 18 week sales to 223,225.
Break-out single Let It Go by Idina Menzel climbs for the third straight week, and reaches a new peak, moving 27-17 (18,941 sales), while Demi Lovato's interpretation of the same song bounces 79-58 (4,798 sales). Available simultaneous with the album, the Menzel version of Let It Go has spent 17 weeks in the Top 75, the last 13 of them in the Top 40. Previously peaking six weeks ago at number 18, it has thus far sold 183,877 copies. Lovato's recording has been around longer - 23 weeks - but has done less well, peaking at number 42, spending 12 weeks in the Top 75 and selling 76,852 copies. Three other songs from the soundtrack also reach new peaks in the wake of the film's release - Do You Want To Build A Snowman dashes 59-40 (7,318 sales) for Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez, For The First Time In Forever jumps 102-56 (4,850 sales) for Menzel & Bell and Love Is An Open Door rises 112-64 (4,001 sales) for Bell & Santino Fontana.
Overall album sales are down 20.39% week-on-week at 1,384,610. That's 1.56% above same week 2013 sales of 1,363,325 - not much, admittedly, BUT it is only the second time in 33 weeks (and the first time for 14 weeks) that album sales have been higher than the same week of the previous year, so we'll take it.
SINGLES
The uncredited vocalist on Avicii's 2013 number one and million seller Wake Me Up!, American R&B singer Aloe Blacc gets a number one hit of his own this week, topping the chart with The Man (88,369 sales), the first single from his third album Lift Your Spirit, which is released today (7th).
Quoting lyrically and melodically from Elton John's 1971 hit Your Song it duly credits John and lyricist Bernie Taupin as its co-authors, and provides Blacc with only his second bona fide hit in the UK, making its debut three years to the week after his first, I Need A Dollar. The very epitome of an organically growing hit, I Need A Dollar took 52 weeks to open its Top 75 account at number 54, and then climbed for eight weeks in a row, ultimately peaking at number two behind Pitbull, Ne-Yo, AfroJack and Nayer's Give Me Everything. It has sold 695,210 copies to date.
The Man supplants Aussie trio 5 Seconds Of Summer's debut hit She Looks So Perfect which dives to number 10 (27,785 sales). It's the fastest fade from number one since McFly's Baby's Coming Back/Transylvania slumped 1-20 in 2007 to equal the record dip made in 2005 by Elvis Presley's One Night/I Got Stung reissue. 30 Seconds Of Summer's decline is the biggest ever experienced by a new act at the end of its first number one hit.
Meanwhile, a more bona fide hit - John Legend's All Of Me - bounces 5-2 (47,387 sales) to achieve its highest sales and chart position yet, narrowly overhauling I Got U, which slips 2-3 (47,043 sales) for Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones.
First coming to notice (or not, as he wasn't credited) as guest vocalist on Swedish House Mafia's 2011 number 10 hit Save The World, then gracing their 2012 chart-topper Don't You Worry Child, John Martin also made the Top 10 last year accompanying Sebastian Ingrosso and Tonny Trash on the number three hit Reload, and Tinie Tempah on the number six single Children Of The Sun. The 33 year old Swede now makes his solo chart debut, entering at number seven (32,024 sales) with Anywhere For You.
Three songs in the Top 10 retain their chart positions but experience double-digit dips in sales, these being My Love by Route 94 feat. Jess Glynne (4-4, 37,902 sales), Happy by Pharrell Williams (6-6, 33,735 sales) and Rather Be by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne (8-8, 30,715 sales). Completing the Top 10, Changes dips 3-5 (35,982 sales) for Faul & Wad Ad Vs. Pnau, and I'm A Freak recovers 11-9 (28,175 sales) for Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull.
Although preview track Better Man reached number 43 a fortnight ago, the first proper single from Paolo Nutini's third album Caustic Love is Scream (Funk My Life Up), which debuts at number 12 (21,518 sales) to provides the Scottish singer/songwriter with his highest charting single since 2006 debut hit Last Request reached number five.
Further down the chart, there are Top 75 debuts for There Is No Other Time (number 42, 7,088 sales) by The Klaxons, Coming Home (number 45, 6,683 sales) from The Kaiser Chiefs' new number one album, Brave (76-53, 5,197 sales) by Sara Bareilles, I Can't Make You Love Me by Jamie Johnson (number 62, 4,315 sales) and Believe In Me by The Pierces (number 66, 3,888 sales),
The Jamie Johnson track is the only one to make the Top 75 this week for a contestant from the final of BBC1's The Voice UK, which attracted a large audience on Saturday evening. It's a topsy-turvy chart result - because Johnson was the first of the four remaining contestants to be eliminated and theoretically the least popular. The competition was won by Jermain Jackman, whose version of Dreamgirls classic And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going manages to debut only at number 124 (1,714 sales) despite the fact he sung it twice on the show.
Jackman and Johnson have only one song in the Top 200 apiece but runners-up Christina Marie and Sally Barker (neither was credited with second or third place in the competition) have better chart profiles. Christina Marie debuts at number 127 with Bang Bang (1,661 sales), at number 147 with The Power Of Love (1,463 sales) and at number 118 with Fix You, while falling 58-173 with Everlong (1,206 sales). Barker debuts at number 102 (2,073 sales) with Dear Darlin', at number 126 (1,687 sales) with Whole Of The Moon and falls 81-150 (1,436 sales) with To Love Somebody.
House legend Frankie Knuckles' sad death last week brought about a big surge in sales of his 1989 singles Your Love and Tears. The former never previously advanced beyond number 59 in its own right but is an acknowledged classic and provided the crucial (uncredited) instrumental bed for You Got The Love - a smash hit for Candi Staton & The Source. Your Love re-enters the chart - and makes its Top 40 debut - at number 29 (10,079 sales), while Tears (number 50 in 1989) re-enters at number 105 (2,034 sales), You Got The Love doesn't re-enter the chart but its sales surged 101.70% week-on-week to 595.
Haim have had five chart hits in Britain, the latest of which, If I Could Change Your Mind, climbs 33-27 (10,400 sales). Undoubtedly helped by being priced at 59p last week, the track is also undeniably popular, and draws attention yet again to parent album Days Are Gone, which topped the chart on debut last September, and climbs 23-18 (5,526 sales) this week to achieve its highest chart placing for three weeks. Amazingly, although the album reached number six in America, the Californian trio - sisters Alana, Este and Danielle Haim - still haven't made their Hot 100 debut there.
Other songs within the Top 75 with new peaks not noted elsewhere: Loyal (15-13, 21,436 sales) by Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne, Empire (61-25, 10,851 sales) by Shakira, Sky High (47-33, 8,644 sales) by Tove Lo feat. Hippie Sabotage, Turn Down For What (66-63, 4,289 sales) by DJ Snake & Lil Jon and She Knows (75-68, 3,677 sales) by J. Cole feat Amber Coffman.
Overall singles sales are up 0.12% week-on-week at 2,949,645 - 7.86% below same week 2013 sales of 3,201,260.