Let's hear it for the girls: the charts have been in a fairly deep slumber in recent weeks but there's a flurry of activity, with new albums from Barbra Streisand, Britney Spears and Celine Dion all opening atop the list in at least one country, and making wider incursions elsewhere.

Streisand's latest duets set, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, has a clumsy title but still manages to deliver her seventh UK No.1 at the age of 74, making her the second ...