John Newman’s Tribute leads Official Albums Chart race

Love Me Again singer John Newman is heading for his first Number 1 album this weekend, while Cher returns to the Top 10 with new music for the first time in 15 years.

By Daniel Lane

Love Me Again singer John Newman is heading for his first Number 1 album this weekend, while Cher returns to the Top 10 with new music for the first time in 15 years.

John Newman topped the Official Singles Chart last summer providing the vocals for East London collective’s Rudimental’s breakthrough hit, Feel The Love, before topping the chart again with Love Me Again earlier this year. Now he looks set to add a Number 1 album to his growing list of accolades.

The 23-year-old singer / songwriter from Settle, Yorkshire leads the charge on today’s Official Albums Chart Update with his debut full-length, Tribute. John is currently outselling his closest competitors, US band Pearl Jam’s Lighting Bolt (Number 2), by more than 3,000 copies.

Meanwhile, Cher is on track for a return to the Top 10 for the first time since 1998’s Number 7 hit Believe, with her latest offering, Closer To The Truth (Number 3). If it maintains its momentum, Closer To the Truth will be Cher’s highest charting studio album since Love Hurts some 22 years ago.

Sir Paul McCartney is all set to debut one place behind her with his sixteenth solo album, New (4), while Britain’s Got Talent finalists Jonathan and Charlotte, complete today’s Official Albums Chart Update Top 5 with their second album, Perhaps Love (5). Their 2012 debut, Together, also peaked at Number 5.

New Entries

In addition to releases from John Newman (Number 1), Pearl Jam (2), Cher (3), Paul McCartney (4) and Jonathan and Charlotte (5), there are nine other new entries on today’s Official Albums Chart Update.

The Saturdays are heading for their fourth Top 10 album this weekend with Living For The Weekend. The album - which features their recent hits 30 Days, Gentleman, Disco Love and their first ever Number 1 single, What About Us - is at Number 6 today.

Industrial pioneer Gary Numan is at Number 10 with his 20th studio album, Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind), while rising US folk rock star Lissie is heading for the Top 20 with Back To Forever (11).

Florida rockers Trivium are at 14 with Vengeance Falls, UK rapper Giggs is eyeing up a personal best with When Will It Stop? (15), while Will Young’s new greatest hits collection, The Essential Will Young, enters at 19 midweek.

And finally former Bros vocalist Matt Goss’ Life You Imagine (20), Eliza Doolittle’s In Your Hands (23) and Jonathan Wilson’s Fanfare (34) complete this week’s new entries.

You can watch an interview with Matt Goss talking about his new album below:

The Official Albums Chart Update Top 40 is as follows. The Official Albums Chart Top 100 will be posted in full, here, on Sunday at 7pm.

1	TRIBUTE	JOHN NEWMAN
2	LIGHTNING BOLT	PEARL JAM
3	CLOSER TO THE TRUTH	CHER
4	NEW	PAUL MCCARTNEY
5	PERHAPS LOVE	JONATHAN & CHARLOTTE
6	LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND	SATURDAYS
7	AM	ARCTIC MONKEYS
8	BANGERZ	MILEY CYRUS
9	BRAND NEW MACHINE	CHASE & STATUS
10	SPLINTER (SONGS FROM A BROKEN MIND)	GARY NUMAN
11	BACK TO FOREVER	LISSIE
12	MECHANICAL BULL	KINGS OF LEON
13	IF YOU WAIT	LONDON GRAMMAR
14	VENGEANCE FALLS	TRIVIUM
15	WHEN WILL IT STOP	GIGGS
16	HALCYON	ELLIE GOULDING
17	NOTHING WAS THE SAME	DRAKE
18	DAYS ARE GONE	HAIM
19	THE ESSENTIAL	WILL YOUNG
20	LIFE YOU IMAGINE	MATT GOSS
21	ALL THE LITTLE LIGHTS	PASSENGER
22	NATIVE	ONEREPUBLIC
23	IN YOUR HANDS	ELIZA DOOLITTLE
24	ALIVE	JESSIE J
25	THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE - 2 OF 2	JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
26	JOIN THE CLUB	LUCY SPRAGGAN
27	JAKE BUGG	JAKE BUGG
28	TRUE	AVICII
29	OUR VERSION OF EVENTS	EMELI SANDE
30	TO BE LOVED	MICHAEL BUBLE
31	HOME	RUDIMENTAL
32	UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX	BRUNO MARS
33	TATTOOS	JASON DERULO
34	FANFARE	JONATHAN WILSON
35	SETTLE	DISCLOSURE
36	BABEL	MUMFORD & SONS
37	TIME	ROD STEWART
38	BAD BLOOD	BASTILLE
39	FORTRESS	ALTER BRIDGE
40	TAKE ME HOME	ONE DIRECTION