Twenty One Pilots are off to a flyer with Trench. The Ohio duo’s fifth album opens at No.1 in The Netherlands and New Zealand, No.2 in Ireland, Norway and the UK, No.4 in Germany, No.5 in Italy, Sweden and Wallonia and No.7 in Flanders. It is their highest-charting album in all and will likely be similarly superior to their other chart placings in a second slew of countries where it will debut a week hence. Ironically, however, projections suggest that in the US it will have to settle for a No.2 debut, whereas their last album, Blurryface, was a No.1 there in 2015.
The fly in their homeland ointment is Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born soundtrack, which is almost certain to open in pole position. A Star Is Born edged past Trench at the death to take the UK chart crown this week, and also debuts at No.1 in Ireland, No.4 in Flanders, the Netherlands and Wallonia, No.5 in Germany, No.6 in New Zealand, No.8 in Italy, No.15 in Norway and No.84 in South Korea. It is being treated as a multi-artist release in Sweden, where it duly opens atop the compilation chart.
Its initial slate of 10 international debuts, seven of them in the Top 10, itemised here last week, Lil Wayne’s 12th studio album, Tha Carter V, is now in decline in all of them but earns the rapper his fourth No.1 in the USA and third No.1 in Canada, while also debuting at No.5 in Slovakia, No.6 in Australia and Denmark, No.12 in Switzerland, No.13 in Finland, No.15 in Austria and No.21 in The Czech Republic.
No.2 in New Zealand and the UK, No.5 in Germany, No.7 in Flanders and Sweden, No.8 in Italy, No.10 in Ireland, No.18 in the Netherlands and No.19 in Wallonia last week, Cher’s Abba covers set Dancing Queen stumbles heavily in all. But it now opens at No.2 in Australia, Canada and Spain, No.3 in the USA, No.4 in Austria, No.5 in Hungary, No.6 in Switzerland, No.10 in The Czech Republic, No.13 in Slovakia, No.41 in Poland and No.70 in France.
No.1 in the UK and charted in six other territories last week, Rod Stewart’s Blood Red Roses is in a similar downward spiral in all but adds debuts at No.15 in Australia, No.18 in Austria and Switzerland, No.24 in Spain, No.31 in the Czech Republic, No.49 in Canada, No.62 in the USA and No.194 in France.
John Lennon would have been 78 on Tuesday (October 9), and just ahead of the day Apple Corps/Universal put out several new editions of his classic 1971 album Imagine, including a sumptuous six-disc box set which increased the number of tracks on the set from a paltry 10 to a bountiful 120. It precipitated a chart re-entry for Imagine in Germany (No.10), the UK (No.19), the Netherlands (No.27), Italy (No.28), Flanders (No.29), Japan (No.43), Sweden (No.43), Wallonia (No.44) and Ireland (No.67).
Shorts: Born in Canada, raised in France, 57-year-old Mylene Farmer scores her 14th No.1 in the latter country, with Desobeissance (Disobedience) achieving the rare tally of 100,000 paid-for sales (CD and download) in eight days…The death of Danish rock star Kim Larsen at the age of 72 has caused major changes to the country’s Top 40 album chart which is usually extremely hip-hop heavy but in which 14 Larsen titles are now featured…Eminem’s Kamikaze is still No.1 in Slovakia and Norway but falls 1-2 in New Zealand, 1-3 in Canada and 1-4 in Australia.
