For the third straight week, Muse’s “Black Holes and Revelations” (Helium 3/A&E/Warner Bros.) leads Billboard’s European Top 100 Albums survey, despite a 1-5 fall in the group’s native United Kingdom. “Holes” is still No. 1 in Switzerland and Flanders and No. 2 in France and Wallony. The band’s last studio album “Absolution” debuted and peaked at No. 2 on Top 100 Albums in November 2003.
With Thom Yorke’s “The Eraser” (XL Recordings) falling away 2-8 in its second week on the aggregate chart, three established albums move up one spot each; Shakira’s “Oral Fixation Vol.2” (Epic) 3-2, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Stadium Arcadium” (Warner Bros.) 4-3 and Nelly Furtado’s “Loose” (Geffen) 5-4. Shakira holds at No. 1 in Greece, the Chili Peppers at No.2 in Flanders, and Furtado at No. 4 in Germany and Switzerland. Meanwhile “Hips Don’t Lie” (Epic) by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean leads Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for the eighth time in a
row and tenth altogether. It’s No. 1 in Ireland and No. 2 in Switzerland and Austria.
The top new entry on the collective album chart, at No. 5, is “Ich Denk An Dich” (Koch) by Semino Rossi, after No. 1 debuts in Germany and Austria and No. 2 in Switzerland. Rossi, born in Argentina in 1962, performs in the traditional song style known as schlagers.
British rock band Razorlight’s No. 1 local debut with its self-titled second album for Vertigo, on sales of 106,000, fuels a No. 7 start on Top 100 Albums. The set, which includes “In The Morning,” a No. 3 U.K. hit two weeks ago, is also new at No. 2 in Ireland, but can’t remove Johnny Cash’s “American V — A Hundred Highways” (American/Lost Highway) from No. 1 there. Two years ago this month, Razorlight’s first album “Up All Night” arrived at No. 3 in the United Kingdom on sales of 41,000.
English singer Lily Allen follows her chart-topping “Smile” single for the EMI imprint Regal with a No. 2 start there for her first album “Alright, Still.” Initial sales of 62,000 there lead to a No. 11 debut on Top 100 Albums. The final debut in an all-new U.K. top three, “These Streets” (Atlantic) by Scottish singer-writer Paolo Nutini, comes in at No. 16 on the aggregate chart. Its single “Last Request” reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom two weeks ago.
Sergio Mendes’ “Timeless” (Concord/UCJ) is enjoying success in several
European markets. It’s up 13-5 in Holland (where the single “Mas Que
Nada” featuring the Black Eyed Peas is No. 2) and 13-9 in Germany.
Although the album falls 19-27 in the United Kingdom, it’s certified
gold there for shipments of 100,000.
British boy band McFly is new at No.4 on Hot 100 Singles with a
double-sided single for the U.K.’s Sport Relief charity. It couples the
new song “Please Please” with a cover of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”
and sells 36,000 units to debut at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
Rihanna’s “Unfaithful” (Def Jam) leaps 50-5 on Hot 100 Singles after
improving 16-2 in the United Kingdom and 11-2 in Ireland.
