James Blunt’s “Back To Bedlam” (Atlantic) starts its second consecutive, and third aggregate, week at No. 1 on European Top 100 Albums. “Bedlam” this week climbs 2-1 in Sweden and improves 5-2 in Portugal, 3-2 in France and Switzerland, and 8-5 in Denmark. In the United Kingdom, where it slips 1-3, plans call for a remixed version of “Wisemen” to be the album’s next single, March 6.
The top three on the pan-European chart are unchanged, with two more long runners continuing to dominate the high ground, Madonna’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor” at No. 2 and Robbie Williams’ “Intensive Care” (Chrysalis) at No. 3. “Confessions” is up again 4-2 in Sweden, 6-4 in France and 5-4 in Italy, while Williams’ best ranking is No. 1 in Switzerland.
Additionally, Madonna’s “Hung Up” tops Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for an 11th straight week, a run stretching back to mid-November. It’s No. 1 again in Spain and Italy and now moves 2-1 in Sweden and Norway and 6-4 in Denmark.
Eminem’s “Curtain Call” compilation (Interscope) edges back 5-4 on Top 100 Albums, aided by climbs of 9-5 in Austria and 6-5 in the United Kingdom. Also showing renewed sales is Katie Melua’s “Piece By Piece” (Dramatico), which after 17 weeks is up 9-5 on the composite survey. The album has IFPI Platinum Europe certification for region-wide shipments of one million, and while it has dipped below the top ten in some markets, it’s No. 1 again in Holland and Denmark.
London rock band Hard-Fi reaches the pan-European top ten for the first time, climbing 13-10 with “Stars of CCTV” (Necessary/Atlantic). That happens as the album completes a long climb to the top in the United Kingdom, where in its 28th chart week it moves 4-1, following continuing aggressive discounting of the title. “CCTV” is also up 12-5 in Ireland and is set for U.S. launch by Atlantic in March.
The highest new entry to Top 100 Albums is “Longueur D’Ondes” (Columbia) by Canadian singer Natasha St.Pier. Born in the province of Bathurst in New Brunswick, 24-year-old St.Pier made her name via a television talent contest in 1993, on Quebec’s “Le Pouvoir de la Chanson.”
Her popularity in Europe has grown during the 2000s, notably after being chosen to represent France in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest. “Longueur D’Ondes” (Columbia) debuts on the French chart at No. 1 and the single “Un Ange Frappe a Ma Porte” climbs 6-3.
Will Young, one of the earliest British successes on the more recent spate of TV talent shows, 2001’s first “Pop Idol” series, climbs 40-15 on the aggregate chart with his third album “Keep On” (Sony BMG). That’s thanks to a 10-4 climb in the United Kingdom, where total sales of the album have reached 530,000, according to the label. The album’s latest single “All Time Love” debuts on the British chart at No. 3, and No. 11 on the Eurochart.
The two highest new entries on the Eurochart are also big new British hits. “Nasty Girl,” (Bad Boy/Atlantic) by the Notorious B.I.G. with P.Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge and Avery Storm, makes a No. 2 debut on the composite list. It is new at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 10 in Germany.
Hot British rock act Arctic Monkeys debuts on the Eurochart at No. 6 with “When The Sun Goes Down” (Domino), which becomes the band’s second consecutive British No. 1 with sales of 38,000 copies. The band’s first album “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” is expected to top the U.K. chart this weekend. First-day sales on Monday (Jan. 23) totaled more than 100,000 units, according to the Official U.K. Charts Co. “We knew day one sales were going to be big,” says HMV head of music Phil Penman, “but nobody could have expected them to be this huge.”
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