Kasabian are heading for their third consecutive chart-topping album in the UK as former N-Dubz member Dappy looks set to start his solo career with a number one single.
Columbia-signed Kasabian’s newly-issued Velociraptor is outselling its nearest rival, Asylum/Atlantic artist Ed Sheeran’s +, by more than two copies to one at this stage of the week, according to Official Charts Company Data. XL act Adele’s 21 is currently third, while the top five is completed by Atlantic’s Christina Perri debuting at four with Lovestrong and the Sony-issued Duets II album by Tony Bennett in fifth place.
Two other brand new albums are at present among the Top 10 positions with supergroup SuperHeavy, whose line-up includes Mick Jagger, Dave Stewart and Joss Stone, in eighth position with their self-titled debut A&M album, while Roadrunner’s Opeth are a place below with Heritage.
It is a very busy week for new albums with another seven currently occupying places among the week’s 40 biggest sellers. They include the first Tori Amos album via Deutsche Grammophon’s and Waterboys whose Proper-issued An Appointment With Mr Yeats is the 17th top seller of the week so far. It is the Mike Scott-fronted act’s first studio album since 1993’s Dream Harder, which peaked at five.
Also set to chart this week are new albums from Speech Development-signed Scrobius Pip, Columbia’s Pearl Jam, Topic’s June Tabor & The Oyster Band and Cooking Vinyl’s The Subways.
On singles Dappy has opened up a 19,000 sales lead over Syco’s One Direction as he looks to launch his solo career with a number one single, although he did peak at five on Spaceship with Tinchy Stryder. If his All Around The World/Island-issued No Regrets makes it, it would be the ninth different number one in as many weeks. One Direction’s first single What Makes You Beautiful, which debuted at one last Sunday, is the new chart week’s second top seller, while Warner Bros act Jason Derulo’s newly-issued It Girl is third, A&M/Octone/Polydor’s Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera drops 2-4 and James Morrison’s first Island single I Won’t Let You Go is showing up as a new entry at five.
Singer-songwriter Damien Rice is on course to score his first-ever UK Top 10 single in the most unlikely circumstances with his 2002 cut Cannonball rocketing so far this week 39-6. It is all thanks to contestant John Adams covering the Atlantic-issued single during Cardiff X Factor auditions screened last Saturday. The track originally peaked at number 32 in 2003 and then returned the following year in a remix version at 19. The same show also looks like sending Ed Sheeran’s Asylum/Atlantic single The A Team back into the Top 10 after contestant Bradley Johnson performed it with its sales up 131% week on week to place it seventh in the week so far.
Sak Noel’s Loca People has already been a big hit across continental Europe and is shaping up to follow suit in the UK when it comes out next week. However, ahead of that a cover version by CDM Chartbreakers, issued on the CHV Music Factory label, is the week to date’s 20th biggest seller, placing it just behind A&M act Nicola Roberts’ newly-issued Lucky Day.
