English singer/songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae continued her meteoric emergence in the U.K by debuting at the top of the album chart yesterday (March 5) with her self-titled debut set. The album opened at the top well ahead of its nearest rival and last week’s No. 1, Jack Johnson’s “In Between Dreams” (Brushfire/Universal Island), which slipped to No. 2.
Strong sellers by Arctic Monkeys, K.T. Tunstall and Kaiser Chiefs each fell a place to positions 3-5, with the Chiefs’ “Employment” (B Unique/Polydor) completing a year on the chart. Neil Diamond’s “12 Songs” (Columbia) also held up well, falling just one place from last week’s No. 5 entry.
Former Blue member Simon Webbe continued an impressive run with his solo debut “Sanctuary,” which in its 16th chart week moved 13-9 and into the top 10 for the first time. This follows a modest No. 28 debut last November. The only other newcomer in the top 20 was Ne-Yo’s “In My Own Words” (Def Jam) at No. 14.
“X-Factor” TV graduate Chico scored a No. 1 on the new U.K. singles survey, which featured new rock talent in the form of top 10 entries for Orson and the Feeling.
Chico, whose full name is Chico Slimani, took part in “The X-Factor” talent series on British television late last year and, despite losing to Shayne Ward, developed a following while he was being “mentored” by judge Sharon Osbourne. His single, named after his catchphrase “It’s Chico Time,” was released by Sony BMG last week and debuted ahead of “Beep” (A&M) by Pussycat Dolls featuring will.i.am, which entered at No. 2.
California band Orson made a strong No. 5 start with debut single “No Tomorrow” (Mercury), while British quintet the Feeling arrived at No. 7 with its first single, “Sewn” (Universal Island). Shakira also landed a British top 10 hit with “Don’t Bother” (Epic) at No.9.
On the European Top 100 Albums chart, James Blunt’s “Back to Bedlam” (Atlantic) wears the crown for a seventh consecutive week, in addition to the single week it earlier spent at the top last October. There’s a new entry at No. 1 on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles roundup for Madonna’s “Sorry” (Warner Bros.).
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