The Beatles, The Monkees, Simon & Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, Men At Work, Michael Jackson and Beyonce remain the only artists in chart history to score simultaneous number one singles and albums in the UK and the USA, after Coldplay are knocked off the US singles perch.
Coldplay looked to be in with a chance of joining this most exclusive of clubs but lose their leadership of the US singles charts, even as their blockbusting fourth studio album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends continues at number one in the UK and debuts at number one in America.
The album sold more than 721,000 copies on its first week, to become the third number one album by a British act this year and the 100th in US chart history. Viva La Vida’s total was helped considerably by sales of 288,000 downloads – more than any other album has sold in downloads in an entire year, and more than the 248,000 that X&Y has so far sold digitally, from total US sales of 3.18m.
Coldplay were always on track to debut at number one but their margin over former incumbent Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III was much bigger than anticipated, with the rapper’s album experiencing a massive 69% dip in second week sales to 308,500 as it slips 1-2.
The new Disney TV movie soundtrack Camp Rock arrives at number three with first week sales in excess of 188,000. Four songs from the set also sold enough as stand-alone downloads to enter the Top 40 of the Hot 100 singles chart.
Also new to the Top 10 are Kate Perry’s debut album One Of The Boys at number nine on sales of 47,000, while first single I Kissed A Girl dethrones Capitol labelmates Coldplay on the Hot 100; and Offspring’s Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace, which debuts at number 10 on sales of 45,500 copies.
Source: MusicWeek
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