With midweek sales already surpassing the 100,000 sales mark, Cowell's prediction looks spot on. Hero is holding a very comfortable lead ahead of its competition, and with four days of sales to come, the lead shows no sign of diminishing.

Elsewhere the top 8 shows very minor chart shuffles.

A hot flash of neon is shaking up the rock acts at the top of the midweek albums chart as Pink's new studio album, Funhouse (RCA), makes a firm impression at ...