If 2022 was the year of Taylor Swift in the U.K., the New Year appears much the same as Swift’s Midnights (EMI) takes pole position on the midweek chart.
Based on data published by the Official Charts Company, Midnights is on track for the first No. 1 of 2023, and land a fourth non-consecutive week at the summit.
If it keeps its momentum, the OCC notes, Midnights will eclipse Swift’s 2020 LP Folklore to become her longest-reigning album in the U.K.
Meanwhile, SZA’s sophomore album SOS (RCA/Top Dawg) is set to lift 8-2, and the Weeknd’s career retrospective The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) could bounce 15-4 following the release of “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” the Canadian R&B singer’s single from Avatar: The Way of Water. The Highlights is one of five greatest hits compilations impacting the top 10s, a list that includes sets by Elton John, ABBA, Eminem and Fleetwood mac.
Also, Eurovision contestant Sam Ryder’s former chart-topper There’s Nothing But Space, Man! (Parlophone) is on the up following the BBC’s Sam Ryder Rocks New Year’s Eve TV special.
The start of a New Year is typically a slow time for new releases. 2023 is no different, as modern-day pop classics (Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide‘, Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour), and compilations (Oasis’ Time Flies, George Michael’s Twenty Five, Elvis Presley’s ELV1S – 30 Number 1 Hits, Michael Jackson’s Number Ones) ready for a top 40 return.
Finally, the release of Kasi Lemmons’ Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody is giving a lift to the 2012 best-of collection, I Will Always Love You. It’s on track to return at No. 14, for what would be a new peak. The Arista album has a U.K. chart best position of No. 27.