As the pan-European album chart welcome new entries to the top five by Enya and System Of A Down, Madonna retains supremacy on both European Top 100 Albums and Eurochart Hot 100 Singles.
The veteran pop star’s “Confessions On a Dance Floor” (Warner Bros.) starts a second week at No. 1 on the aggregate album list, retaining top spot in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Norway and Finland. It’s also up 8-1 in Poland and new at No. 2 in Hungary; the album falls off the top in Denmark (1-5), Finland (1-3), and 1-2 in Italy, Sweden and Austria. In the United Kingdom, “Dance Floor” has second-week sales of 110,000 copies, according to the Official U.K. Charts Co., for a running total of 327,000.
With Robbie Williams’ “Intensive Care” (Chrysalis) steady at No. 2 on Top 100 Albums, perennial European favorite Enya returns to the composite survey at No. 3 with “Amarantine” (Warner Bros.). The artist from County Donegal in Ireland opened at No. 6 on the composite European chart exactly five years ago with the release of her last album, “A Day Without Rain.” Global sales of that album have reached a career-best 13 million, according to the label.
“Amarantine” is new at No. 3 in Germany and Switzerland, No. 4 in Austria, No. 5 in France and Holland, and No. 8 in Italy and the United Kingdom (with sales there of 55,000 units). The title track will be released as a U.K. single next Monday (Dec. 5). Warner Bros. puts Enya’s worldwide album sales tally at 65 million.
Six months after System Of A Down’s “Mesmerize” (American/Columbia) arrived at No. 1 on Top 100 Albums, its companion piece “Hypnotize” starts at No. 4. It’s new at No. 1 in Finland, No. 3 in Austria, No. 4 in Germany, France, Switzerland and Norway and No. 10 in Italy.
English singer-songwriter James Blunt, one of the year’s biggest new breakthrough artists, rises again 10-7 with his debut set “Back To Bedlam” (Atlantic). Its only current European top ten berth is at No. 8 in Portugal, but the album now has a double Platinum Europe Award for region-wide shipments of 2 million units; the album has certified six-times platinum in the United Kingdom for shipments there of 1.8 million.
Katie Melua’s “Piece By Piece” (Dramatico) also rebounds, 13-8, in its ninth chart week, after a 15-12 climb in the United Kingdom, where the set is double platinum (600,000 shipments). It’s No. 3 in Norway and No. 2 in Holland, where the single “Nine Million Bicycles” is up 10-5. Melua starts a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland Jan. 20 in Aberdeen, Scotland, and then begins a European leg Feb. 19 in Bielefeld, Germany.
Madonna’s “Hung Up” single is in its third week at the Eurochart helm, maintaining its lead in a string of markets: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Holland, Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary. Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” (A&M/Interscope) mounts a new challenge, rising 7-2 on the Eurochart after holding at No. 3 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and debuting at No. 5 in Germany.
