<\/p>\n
\n\tDua Lipa<\/a> is the new queen of the U.K.\u2019s albums chart<\/a>, as Radical Optimism<\/em> debuts at No. 1. <\/p>\n \n\tThe runaway leader at the halfway mark<\/a>, Radical Optimism<\/em> (Warner Records) collects 46,300 chart units in its first cycle, the most for any British female since Adele\u2019s November 2021 smash 30<\/em>, the Official Charts Company reports. <\/p>\n \n\tAlso, Radical Optimism<\/em> becomes the biggest opening week of any British act so far this year, eclipsing the 39,400 first-week total for Liam Gallagher and John Squire\u2019s eponymously title LP, which dropped in March. The likes of Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle and Tobias Jesso Jr. provided creative input on the new collection, while Tame Impala mastermind\u00a0Kevin Parker<\/a>\u00a0co-wrote and produced seven tracks, including the three U.K. top 10 singles \u201cHoudini,\u201d \u201cTraining Season\u201d and \u201cIllusion.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRadical Optimism i<\/em>s Dua\u2019s second U.K. No. 1 after 2020\u2019s Future Nostalgia<\/em>, and first to bow at No. 1; Future Nostalgia<\/em> climbed to the summit in its second week, and has logged 204 weeks at the top, including four stints at the top. Her self-titled 2017 debut peaked at No. 3 but has clocked 354 weeks on the Official Albums Chart.<\/p>\n \n\tWith her latest leader, confirmed Friday, May 10, Lipa knocks off Taylor Swift<\/a>\u2019s The Tortured Poets Department<\/em> (EMI), down 1-2 after two weeks at the chart zenith.<\/p>\n \n\tClosing out the podium is Frank Turner<\/a>\u2019s Undefeated<\/em> (Xtra Mile), new at No. 3. It\u2019s the sixth U.K. top 10 appearance for the English singer and songwriter following 2013\u2019s Tape Deck Heart<\/em> (No. 2 peak), 2015\u2019s Positive Songs For Negative People<\/em> (No. 2), 2018\u2019s Be More Kind <\/em>(No. 3), 2019\u2019s No Man\u2019s Land<\/em> (No. 3) and 2022 chart-topper FTHC<\/em>. <\/p>\n \n\tAlso netting a U.K. top 10 debut is Stereophonics<\/a> frontman Kelly Jones, whose second solo studio effort Inevitable Incredible<\/em> (Ignition) starts at No. 6. That\u2019s a career solo best for the Welshman, bettering the No. 8 peak for his debut solo LP Don\u2019t Let The Devil Take Another Day<\/em> from 2020. As a member of Stereophonics, Jones has eight U.K. No. 1s.<\/p>\n \n\tFinally, as ABBA<\/a> celebrates the 50th anniversary of their Eurovision Song Contest win with \u201cWaterloo,\u201d the Swedish pop group\u2019s juggernaut Gold: Greatest Hits<\/em> (Polydor) rebounds into the top 10, up 11-9 in its 1,149th week<\/a>. Britain can claim a small part in ABBA\u2019s early success. The group won Eurovision in Brighton, England back in 1974, though the Swedish entry received nil points from the U.K. voting jury. Viewers of the 2024 Eurovision final, hosted in Malmo, Sweden, were treated to a surprise on Saturday night when ABBA\u2019s digital avatars were beamed to the studio from the ABBA Voyage stage show in London. The pop megastars\u2019 early breakthrough is retold in ABBA: Against the Odds<\/em>, streaming in the U.S. on the CW Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n