Hugh McIntyreContributor
This week in the U.K., nobody was going to beat K-pop superstars BTS to the top of the albums chart, as their new release Map of the Soul: Persona was simply too popular from the moment it arrived. The set quickly became the first album by a Korean act to reach the highest spot on the albums listing across the pond, and it’s one of four brand new titles that start their time on the ranking between Nos. 1 and 10.
After two stints in a row on the throne, teen pop singer Billie Eilish sees her debut full-length When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? dip, but only by one rung. Steady in third place is the Greatest Showman soundtrack.
New at No. 4 is No Geography, the latest release from electronic dance group Chemical Brothers. The record, their ninth proper studio album, is also their ninth to reach the top 10. It’s their first studio album to reach the charts, but not make it to No. 1, since their 1995 debut, and it ends an incredible winning streak for the producers.
Tom Walker’s What a Time to Be Alive settles at No. 5, while Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack holds at No. 6 once again.
While he may already be an absolute legend in the U.K. music industry, rocker Mark Wilde has only just landed his first top 10 album in the U.K. His new compilation Dreamboats and Petticoats Presents: The Very Best Of Marty Wilde starts at No. 7, giving the musician his highest placement, despite the fact that he collected his first top 10 hit single just over 60 years ago.
