There’s a new No. 1 on European Top 100 Albums, as Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown” (Reprise/Warner Music) ascends 2-1 in its second week. But Lady Gaga is yet again Billboard’s pan-European singles queen, as “Poker Face” (Interscope/Universal) notches up a 14th consecutive week atop European Hot 100 Singles.
The Green Day album debuts at No. 1 in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Sweden, No. 2 in Ireland and No. 4 in Holland. But “Breakdown” is down 1-2 in France, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom. In each of those territories, it loses top spot to the title that arrives in runner-up spot on Top 100 Albums, Eminem’s “Relapse” (Interscope/Universal).
First-week U.K. sales of “Relapse,” Eminem’s fifth consecutive solo No. 1 there, are a hefty 166,000, the best figure of the year on the artist album chart, ahead of U2’s 157,000 for “No Line on the Horizon” (Mercury/Universal). The Eminem set is also new at No. 1 in Ireland, No. 2 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, No. 3 in Sweden and Holland, No. 4 in Italy and the Belgian region of Wallony, up 25-1 in neighboring Flanders and 30-5 in Finland.
The Green Day vs. Eminem battle relegates Depeche Mode’s “Sounds of the Universe” (Mute/EMI) to No. 3, after four weeks atop the composite chart. It holds at No. 2 in Wallony and Hungary, but dips 1-3 in Germany, 1-4 in Switzerland, 4-6 in Italy and 4-8 in France. The band’s new tour, interrupted by singer Dave Gahan’s illness, will resume in Leipzig, Germany on June 8.
Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” is down 3-4 on Top 100 Albums, 2-3 in Switzerland, 2-4 in Austria, 3-6 in the United Kingdom and 6-7 in Germany, but holds at No. 3 in Ireland. Bob Dylan’s “Together Through Life” (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment) and the U2 album are both also down one rung on the pan-European survey, at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively; Dylan holds at No. 3 in Norway, while U2’s one remaining top ten European berth is at No. 8 in Italy.
Durable Welsh rock act Manic Street Preachers opens at No. 7 overall with “Journal For Plague Lovers” (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment). That follows a No. 3 start on sales of 34,000 in the United Kingdom, extending the band’s album chart span there to more than 17 years, since “Generation Terrorists” hit No. 13 in 1992. “Journal” is the Manics’ eighth U.K. top ten album; its 2007 predecessor, “Send Away The Tigers,” started at No. 2 on 38,000 sales.
Beyoncé’s “I Am… Sasha Fierce” (Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment) falls 7-8 on the collective chart, despite a 15-8 climb in Portugal. But Walt Disney/EMI’s “Hannah Montana – The Movie” soundtrack makes the overall top ten for the first time, climbing 11-9 in its seventh week. It holds at No. 4 in Hungary, and on the U.K.’s separate compilation chart, but falls 2-4 in Norway. Finally, Lily Allen is down 6-10 on Top 100 Albums with “It’s Not You It’s Me” (Regal/Parlophone/EMI), although it’s up 5-4 in Ireland.
“Poker Face” draws level with the longest-running European Hot 100 No. 1 of recent times, Timbaland presents One Republic’s “Apologize” (Mosley/Blackground/Interscope), which completed 14 weeks at the summit in February of last year. That’s despite “Poker Face” losing its last two No. 1 European spots, in Germany and Austria.
Universal says that “Poker” has sold 630,000 in the United Kingdom alone. Lady Gaga starts a run of European dates at the Glastonbury Festival June 26, on an itinerary that also includes four stadium shows supporting Take That. Next single “Paparazzi” is released there July 6.
