Ariana Grande continues to set the pace globally with her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next continuing at No.1 in Australia, Austria, Canada, The Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, The UK and The USA. It also makes a belated debut at No.1 in Argentina and returns to No.1 in Ireland, but is knocked off the summit in Denmark (1-2) and Flanders (1-4), while falling 2-3 in Finland, 3-7 in France, 2-7 in Sweden, 4-9 in Germany, 3-9 in Spain, 6-10 in Wallonia, 8-11 in Italy, 3-13 in Poland, 20-26 in Japan and 11-34 in Hungary. It remains at No.2 in Slovakia and The Netherlands and completes its portfolio by debuting at No.2 in Portugal, No.8 in Greece and No.30 in South Korea.
No.3 in Germany, No.6 in Italy, No.7 in Japan, No.10 in The UK, No.12 in Flanders, No.18 in The Netherlands, No.21 in New Zealand and No.25 in Wallonia and Ireland last week, Canadian singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne’s sixth album, Head Above Water, is in decline everywhere. To counter that, however, it earns debuts at No.2 in Austria, No.4 in Switzerland, No.5 in Canada, No.9 in Australia, No.11 in The Czech Republic and Portugal, No.13 in The USA, No.18 in Spain, No.31 in Poland, No.34 in France and No.35 in Slovakia.
The Oscars are over for another year but their impact lingers and even increases, with Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody soundtracks again performing well.
A Star Is Born returns to No.1 in Flanders (5-1), Portugal (3-1) and Denmark (2-1) but is dethroned in Croatia (1-2) and Poland (1-3). It is also in the Top 10 in France (4-2), Canada (2-2), New Zealand (2-2), Norway (2-2), Austria (4-3), The UK (3-3), Australia (2-3), The USA (2-3), Wallonia (11-4), Germany (10-4), The Netherlands (8-4), Ireland (4-4), The Czech Republic (3-4), Italy (14-5), Argentina (8-5), Slovakia (5-5), Switzerland (3-5) and South Africa (8-7).
Bohemian Rhapsody reaches a new peak in The USA (3-2), and is also Top 10 in Australia (3-2), Argentina (2-2), The Czech Republic (2-2), Canada (4-3), Wallonia (4-3), The UK (4-4), New Zealand (3-4), Ireland (5-5), The Netherlands (6-5), Flanders (15-7), Slovakia (6-7), Spain (6-7), Portugal (7-8), Switzerland (4-9) and Italy (13-10).
UK acts Giggs and Sleaford Mods both debut in the Top 10 locally this week but make little impression internationally, where the biggest new arrival is US progressive rock band Dream Theater’s 14th studio album, Distance Over Time. It opens at No.12 in The UK, but does even better elsewhere, particularly in Germany, where it is their 22nd Top 100 album – every studio set plus live sets and compilations – and their first No.1. It also opens at No.3 in The Netherlands and Norway, No.4 in Italy and Sweden, No.8 in Flanders and Wallonia and No.10 in Japan.
Finally, after a bout of ill health grounded his tour last year, blues veteran John Mayall returns with his 36th studio album, Nobody Told Me. It falls short of the published (Top 75) portion of the UK chart, opening 98 places adrift at No.173, but it is a bigger success for Mayall – who turned 85 last November – elsewhere, opening at No.28 in Germany, No.69 in Flanders, No.76 in Wallonia and No.88 in The Netherlands, with success in more territories certain a week hance. Mayall racked up five chart albums in Germany in 14 months in 1969/70 but had only charted once since then, in 2001 with Along For The Ride.
