One Direction lead Midweek Charts

One Direction’s Midnight Memories is leading a Sony domination of the UK artist albums chart as it heads for a second week at No 1.

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One Direction lead Midweek Charts | MarkMeets - Digital Entertainment website MUSIC NEWS | — One Direction – lead midweek charts – MarkMeets

The Syco release is one of seven albums from the major among the Top 10 artist sellers at this stage of the week, according to Official Charts Company data, leaving its arch rival Universal with only three titles in the 10.

Midnight Memories, which debuted at No 1 last Sunday with the highest first-week sales for an artist album of 2013, is around 20,000 sales in front in the new chart week with Universal acts Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow in second and third spots. However, most of the rest of the Top 10 comes from Sony.

Besides One Direction, Sony is boosted by having the only two brand new entries in the Top 10 at this stage of the week from respectively Il Divo and Rebecca Ferguson. Il Divo’s Syco album A Musical Affair is new at 4 and Ferguson’s second RCA set Freedom is new at 6 and follows her performing on The X Factor last weekend. Her first album Heaven debuted and peaked at No 3 in 2011.

The major’s hand also takes in Epic acts Olly Murs’ Right Place Right Time down 4-5, Celine Dion’s Columbia album Loved Me Back To Life, which holds at No 8, RCA’s Elvis Presley retrospective The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Songs, which falls 7-9, and Syco act Susan Boyle’s Home For Christmas, down a place to No 10.

Outside the 10, Sony highlights include James Arthur’s self-titled Syco debut up 18-13 with sales rising 116% following an X Factor performance, although two of its acts – Leona Lewis and Britney Spears – are facing their lowest-charting albums yet in the UK. Lewis’s Syco set Christmas With Love is new at 18 in the midweeks, following her previous albums charting at 1, 1 and 3, and RCA’s Britney Spears is new at 19 with Britney Jam. Her lowest-ranked album in the UK to date is In The Zone, which made it to No 13 in 2003. Also out this week are Syco duo whose The Christmas Album is new at 25 at this stage.

Robbie Williams is narrowly back in front in the battle of the Take That stars with his Island album Swings Both Ways up 3-2 to swap places with Polydor act Gary Barlow’s Since I Saw You Last. Universal’s other Top 10 album is Interscope/Polydor act Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which drops 5-7.

Sales of Rod Stewart’s Capitol/Decca album Time almost quadruple on the week to lift it 38-11 after he appeared on ITV’s Surprise Surprise last Sunday, while other big sales gainers include Reprise/Warner Bros’s Michael Buble with Christmas whose sales are up 85%, although it slips a place to 13 in the midweeks. Meanwhile, Muse are new at 30 with the Helium 3/Warner Bros-issued Live At Rome Olympic Stadium.

The singles market is very quiet at the moment with no brand new entries in the Top 10, while there are several tracks that could be No 1 this coming weekend. At present Parlphone’s Lily Allen leads with Somewhere Only We Know looking to return to the top with a 4-1 climb, but it is little more than 1,000 sales ahead of One Direction’s Syco track Story Of My Life progerssing 3-2, while around 2,500 sales behind No 1 at present is Columbia act Calvin Harris’s Under Control with Alesso and Hurts. This falls 1-3.

Also just a few thousand sales off the top spot, Virgin act Bastille’s Of The Night climbs 5-4 and Polydor-signed Gary Barlow falls 2-5 with Let Me Go. Interscope/Polydor’s Eminem is back up 7-6 with The Monster featuring Rihanna as Polydor’s Ellie Goulding regains a place to 7 with How Long Will I Love You. Avicii moves into the Top 10 with the Positiva/PRMD-issued Hey Brother up 14-8 as Positiva/Virgin act Martin Garrix’s former No 1 Animals reclimbs 10-9 and Interscope/Polydor act Lady Gaga’s Do What I Want with R Kelly is up 11-10.

Atlantic-signed trio All About She are new at 11 in the midweeks with Higher (Free), while Syco’s James Arthur is new at 12 with Recovery and RCA’s Rebecca Ferguson new at 14 with I Hope after X Factor performances last Sunday.

The X Factor is also responsible for a revival of Mumford & Sons’ Gentlemen Of The Road/Island single I Will Wait after it was covered by contestant Luke Friend. It climbs 82-25, while the show’s former winner Leona Lewis is new at 32 with her Syco single One More Sleep. Also with a brand new entry is Justin Bieber with the Def Jam/Virgin EMI-issued Change Me new at 21 in the week to date.

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