Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (Columbia) is the red-hot favorite for the U.K. chart crown.
The former One Direction singer has the fastest-selling album of 2022 so far, as it blasts to No. 1 on the midweek chart.
Styles’ third studio album notches over 61,000 chart sales after just one weekend of sales and streaming activity, the OCC reports, for a blockbuster start not seen in the U.K. since Adele’s 30 dropped in November 2021.
Harry’s House has already eclipsed the final opening week tally of his chart-leading self-titled debut (57,000 U.K. chart sales in May 2017) and 2019’s Fine Line (49,000 for a No. 2 debut).
When the Official U.K. Charts are published late Friday (May 27), expect the English star to stamp his name. Based on midweek data, Styles has the Top 3 best-selling singles in the U.K., led by “As It Was” (Columbia), which is on track for an eighth week at No. 1.
Coming in at No. 2 on the Official Albums Chart Update is The Heart is Strange (ZTT), the debut set from German synthpop group xPropaga — comprising Propaganda members Claudia Brücken and Susanne Freytag.
Another new arrival is Manchester alternative rock act Everything Everything, whose sixth studio effort Raw Data Feel (Everything Everything) is aiming for a No. 5 bow, while British rapper M Huncho’s full-length debut LP Chasing Euphoria (Island) could start at No. 6, for his third Top 10 appearance.
A handful of classic albums are set for a return to the Official U.K. Albums Chart, thanks to reissues. The Clash’s 1982 release Combat Rock (Sony Music CG) returns to No. 3 midweek, just one place below its best position, while Rick Astley’s 1987 album Whenever You Need Somebody (BMG) could return at No. 9.