David Bowie achieved both his first U.K. No. 1 album for 20 years and the market’s fastest-selling artist album of 2013 as “The Next Day” debuted at the top yesterday (Sunday). Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” made it a double victory for the RCA label by starting a third week atop the singles chart.
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The Bowie album sold 94,000 copies last week, according to the Official Charts Company, easily outstripping the 71,000 total for Biffy Clyro’s “Opposites” in January. It’s Bowie’s ninth No. 1 on the U.K. album chart, a run started in 1973 by “Aladdin Sane.” His last bestseller was “Black Tie White Noise” in 1993.
Bon Jovi’s “What About Now” debuted at No. 2 with 37,000 sales on the new survey, which also had a 57-31 climb for their “Greatest Hits” set, also on Mercury. That meant a 2-3 dip for Emeli Sandé’s “Our Version of Events,” with labelmate Bastille’s No. 1 debut of last week, “Bad Blood,” down to No. 4.
Bowie and Bon Jovi are also duking it out for the crown on this week’s Billboard 200. In Australia, however, Bon Jovi has grabbed the new No. 1 album (9,910 units) ahead of Bowie at No. 2 (8,245). Still, it’s Bowie’s best result in Australia since “Let’s Dance” hit No. 1 back in 1983 – nearly 30 years ago.
Bowie and long-time producer Tony Visconti recorded “The Next Day” in total secrecy. Though the album was two years in the making, no word of the project leaked on the Net until Bowie’’s team revealed all on Jan. 8, when the first single “Where Are We Now” dropped. The single cracked the top 10 of the Official U.K. Singles chart.
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Meanwhile, Mumford & Sons’ former No. 1 “Babel” moved 8-7 and Pink’s “The Truth About Love,” another RCA/Sony title, 10-8, as her single “Just Give Me A Reason,” featuring Nate Ruess, climbed again, 4-3. Hurts, the British synth-pop duo of Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson, arrived at No. 9 with their sophomore album “Exile.” Their 2010 debut “Happiness” opened at No. 4. “The Trevor Nelson Collection” leads the compilation chart for a sixth aggregate week.
Timberlake’s third week at the singles summit, with 69,000 new sales, came as One Direction’s Comic Relief single “One Way Or Another (Teenage Kicks)” gained new impetus from last Friday’s Red Nose Day telethon on BBC1, in aid of the charity, to jump 6-2. Its total sales now stand at 292,000. Nicole Scherzinger’s “Boomerang” arrived at No. 6 and “White Noise” by Disclosure featuring Aluna George became a top ten single, climbing 11-10.