Ne-Yo is currentlly leading a tight, three-way battle to top this weekend's UK singles chart with The Script featuring wil.i.am and Pink also part of the chasing pack.
His newly-issued Def Jam/Mercury track Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love) had by the end of business on Tuesday opened up a lead of little more than 2,000 sales at No 1 with The Script's new Epic/Phonogenic single Hall Of Fame with will.i.am in second place, according to the Official Charts Company. Just a few hundred sales further behind in third spot is RCA act Pink's Blow Me (One Last Kiss), meaning the top three sellers at this stage of the week are all new entries.
If Let Me Love You does end up at No 1 when Sunday's final chart is published it will be Ne-Yo's fifth UK chart-topper, while The Script's best peak to date is second place, achieved by The Man Who Can't Be Moved in 2008. Pink has topped the UK chart twice in her own right and once as part of the multi-artist cover of Lady Marmalade in 2001.
The albums market is matching singles for big new releases this week, led by The Vaccines' second Columbia album Come Of Age, which by the end of Tuesday was just under 6,000 sales in front. The band's first album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines peaked at four and has sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK.
Kitsune-signed Two Door Cinema Club will easily beat the No 24 of first album Tourist History with their newly-issued follow-up Beacon ranked in second place on the midweeks. It is more than 12,000 sales ahead of its next challenger, Columbia/Roc Nation act Rita Ora's Ora, which debuted at No 1 last Sunday but is the third top artist seller in this new chart week.
Ronan Keating is on course for his sixth solo Top 10 album with the Polydor-handled Fires showing up as a new entry at four, while Mercury act Mark Knopfler should match that feat with Privateering, which is new at six in the midweeks. Completing the new Top 10 arrivals is Epic act Scouting For Girls' third album The Light Between Us, which is currently new at eight, significantly down on the chart-topping peak of their self-titled first album and the runner-up peak of follow-up Everybody Wants To Be On TV.
Now the year's top-selling artist album, Virgin act Emeli Sande's Our Version Of Events drops 2-5 in the midweeks, while Plan B's 679/Atlantic set Ill Manors holds at seven, although its sales are up 172% on the week after he chatted and performed on Jonathan Ross's ITV1 show last Saturday. Paloma Faith's RCA album Fall To Grace drops 5-9 and Universal Republic/Island's Of Monsters And Men 3-10 with The Light Between Us.
Atlantic's US rock band Matchbox Twenty are shaping up for their highest chart position yet in the UK with North, their first studio album in nearly 10 yars, new at 11 in the midweeks. Their current UK chart peak is 31, achieved by both their previous two albums: 2000's Mad Season and 2002's More Than You Are. Other albums yet to debut this Sunday include releases from Sony's Milk, Matador's Cat Power and Domino's Animal Collective.
Back on the singles chart and Syco act Little Mix's Wings drops 1-4 as One More Tune/Stiff's Sam and the Womp fall 2-5 with Bom Bom. Public Enemy's Slamjamz-issued Harder Than You Think declines 4-6 and Interscope/Republic's Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen 5-7, while Rita Ora's former Columbia/Roc Nation No 1 How We Do (Party) drops 3-8. As things stand at present, Mercury artist Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together slips 8-9 and Angel's Island single Wonderful single holds at 10.
Gainers outside the Top 10 in the week so far include Atlantic/Fueled By Ramen's Fun whose Some Nights progresses 14-11 with sales up 59% and Polydor's Cheryl whose Under The Sun moves 24-16 with sales lifting 67%. Meanwhile, there are brand new arrivals to the Top 40 from Atlantic's Flo Rida (I Cry at 22) and Columbia's The Vaccines (Teenage Icon at 35).
The full midweek singles and albums charts are on musicweek.com.
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