The U.K. singles chart sprang a surprise yesterday (April 20) when Madonna's "American Life" (Maverick), which had led the way in midweek sales, was beaten to No. 1 by the incumbent chart-topper of three weeks, "Make Luv" by Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham (Positiva).
Madonna had to settle for a No. 2 debut, and Room 5's achievement was made all the greater by the fact that it also outperformed new entries by Robbie Williams and Blur. Williams' "Come Undone" (EMI) entered the singles chart at No. 4, followed by Blur's "Out of Time" (Parlophone) at No. 5, marking the band's first appearance on the countdown since "Music Is My Radar" reached No. 10 in October 2000. There was also a No. 9 debut for "Speechless" by new Irish five-piece boy band D-Side (Blacklist/WEA).
Meanwhile, on the U.K. album chart, Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (Parlophone) flip-flopped 2-1 with the White Stripes' "Elephant" (XL Recordings), last week's No. 1. There were no top-10 entries this week, and only two in the top-20. Run-D.M.C.'s new "Greatest Hits" set (Arista) arrived at No. 16, a week after a remix of the classic rap act's "It's Tricky" featuring Jacknife Lee debuted at No. 20 on the singles chart. Anglo-German trance act Scooter debuted at No. 20 with "The Stadium Techno Experience" (Sheffield Tunes).
Linkin Park's "Meteora" (Warner Bros.) landed a third week at No. 1 in a static top-4 on Music & Media's European Top 100 Albums tally. It moved 2-1 in Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium, and holds at the top in Norway and Portugal. 50 Cent's "In Da Club" (Interscope) spent a second week atop the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles survey.
Madonna had to settle for a No. 2 debut, and Room 5's achievement was made all the greater by the fact that it also outperformed new entries by Robbie Williams and Blur. Williams' "Come Undone" (EMI) entered the singles chart at No. 4, followed by Blur's "Out of Time" (Parlophone) at No. 5, marking the band's first appearance on the countdown since "Music Is My Radar" reached No. 10 in October 2000. There was also a No. 9 debut for "Speechless" by new Irish five-piece boy band D-Side (Blacklist/WEA).
Meanwhile, on the U.K. album chart, Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (Parlophone) flip-flopped 2-1 with the White Stripes' "Elephant" (XL Recordings), last week's No. 1. There were no top-10 entries this week, and only two in the top-20. Run-D.M.C.'s new "Greatest Hits" set (Arista) arrived at No. 16, a week after a remix of the classic rap act's "It's Tricky" featuring Jacknife Lee debuted at No. 20 on the singles chart. Anglo-German trance act Scooter debuted at No. 20 with "The Stadium Techno Experience" (Sheffield Tunes).
Linkin Park's "Meteora" (Warner Bros.) landed a third week at No. 1 in a static top-4 on Music & Media's European Top 100 Albums tally. It moved 2-1 in Sweden, Switzerland, and Belgium, and holds at the top in Norway and Portugal. 50 Cent's "In Da Club" (Interscope) spent a second week atop the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles survey.
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