06 February 2023
Newsdesk
Giddy up! It’s a two-horse race for this week’s Official Number 1 album; with Shania Twain currently leading the charge against RAYE.
The Canadian singer-songwriter’s latest LP Queen Of Me – her sixth studio album – tracks to reach the summit the midweek point. Should it hold on, it’ll become Shania’s third UK Number 1 record, joining previous chart-toppers Come On Over (1998) and Now (2017).
It’s by no means a done deal, though, as RAYE is hot on Shania’s heels with My 21st Century Blues. The South London-born star’s much-hyped debut LP, the parent record to recent Number 1 single Escapism., looks set to enter at Number 2 on Friday.
Scottish indie trio Young Fathers could claim a career-best with their fourth studio album Heavy Heavy this week (3). The group – comprising Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham ‘G’ Hastings – previously saw Top 40 success with their 2014 debut, the Mercury Prize-winning Dead (35), and 2018 release Cocoa Sugar (28).
Elsewhere, The WAEVE look to mark their first-ever Official Albums Chart entry as a duo this week. The group – formed of Blur’s Graham Coxon and former The Pipettes singer Rose Elinor Dougall – eye a Top 5 record with their eponymous debut (5). As a member of Blur, Graham boasts 10 UK Top 40 albums to date.
Following the announcement of her RENAISSANCE World Tour, set to hit UK stadiums in May and June 2023, Beyoncé’s former Number 1 album RENAISSANCE could vault back into the Top 20 this week (19). And, finally, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ enduring 1984 collection Legend may see a return to the Top 40 (38).
