Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (via Interscope) will be near-impossible to catch in the race to the U.K. chart title.
Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, Guts is currently outselling the rest of the top 10 combined.
At the halfway mark, Guts had accumulated over 33,000 chart units, the OCC reports. It’s virtually assured top spot when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, Sept. 15.
The followup to Sour, Rodrigo’s history-making debut from 2021, Guts has already yielded her third U.K. No. 1 single, “Vampire,” and a sixth top 10 hit, “Bad Idea Right?”
Rodrigo holds a stack of U.K. chart records. When Sour and “Good 4 U” reached No. 1 in the same week in May 2021, she became the youngest solo artist in history to nab the chart double, aged 18 years and 3 months.
Sour also set a U.K. benchmark for the most first-week streams for a debut album. The following month, in June 2021, Rodrigo became the first female solo artist to claim three simultaneous U.K. top 5 singles with “Good 4 U,” “Déjà vu” and “Traitor.” And when “Vampire” summited this year, she was anointed as the female solo artist with the most U.K. No. 1 singles this decade.
Guts isn’t the only new release on track to impact the U.K. top 10.
Former Moloko singer Roisin Murphy is set to start at No. 2 with Hit Parade (Ninja Tune), her sixth solo studio album. If it holds its course, it would give the Irish artist her first solo top 10 appearance.
Meanwhile, the Coral’s 11th album Sea Of Mirrors (Modern Sky/Run On) is close behind at No. 3 on the Official Chart Update. The Wirral, England band should add to their six U.K. top 10 appearances. A second entry from the indie act is approaching the top 10, Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, set to arrive at No. 13.
Electronic dance music veterans the Chemical Brothers could capture a 10th U.K. top 10 with For That Beautiful Feeling (EMI), new at No. 4 on the chart blast, while BTS singer V could complete an all-new top 5 with solo release Layover (Interscope), new at No. 5 on the midweek tally.
Finally, The xx’s Romy could land at No. 6 with her solo debut Mid-Air (Young), and Fleetwood Mac’s newly released concert recording from 1977, Rumours Live (Rhino), could score the Hall of Famers a 14th top 10 collection. It’s new at No. 9 on the chart blast.
