Its existence revealed only two days before its release on Friday, rapper J. Cole’s fifth album, KOD, is nevertheless an instant success, topping the chart in 40 countries on iTunes within hours of release. Whether or not it stays the course in most countries to become an official No.1, there seems little doubt that it will do so in the 33-year-old’s native US, where all of his previous albums have done so.
Staying with rap, Cardi B’s first album Invasion Of Privacy’s debut in nine countries was fully documented hereabouts last week. Building on that start, the album now debuts at No.1 in Canada and The USA, at No.6 in Australia, No.7 in Denmark, No.10 in Finland, No.20 in Switzerland, No.35 in France and No.41 in Slovakia. It is rare for any album to secure widespread improvements in global chart positions on its second week, and almost unheard of for a rap album, but Invasion Of Privacy does just that in Ireland (3-2), New Zealand (3-2), Norway (6-3), The UK (6-5), Sweden (8-7), Flanders (15-10) and Wallonia (53-43). It completes its portfolio by falling in The Netherlands (7-10), Italy (37-47) and Germany (39-53).
After opening at No.1 in The UK., No.2 in Ireland, No.3 in Germany, No.4 in Flanders, No.12 in Wallonia, No.14 in Italy, No.16 in New Zealand, No.18 in The Netherlands, No.38 in Sweden and No.64 in Japan last week, Kylie Minogue’s Golden is in decline in all of them. But it now debuts at No.1 in Australia – becoming her fifth chart-topper in her country of birth – while opening at No.4 in Switzerland, No.5 in Austria, No.6 in The Czech Republic, No.8 in Spain, No.10 in Hungary, No.23 in Poland, No.33 in Canada and France, No.47 in Finland and No.64 in the US.
Manic Street Preachers came close to securing their second No.1 in the UK this week, but the Welsh band eventually had to settle for a No.2 debut for their 13th studio album, Resistance Is Futile. The album also opens at No.5 in Ireland, No.20 in Germany, No.45 in Flanders, No.73 in The Netherlands and No.107 in Wallonia. Its German debut is the most impressive, bearing in mind they have had only one Top 20 album there before, reaching No.13 in 2001 with Know Your Enemy.
On a similar note, The Damned – who secure their first ever UK Top 10 album after a gestation of 41 years with Evil Spirits opening at No.7 this week – almost made the German album chart for the first time with the set. It was at No.84 in the official midweek chart but sadly fell short of the published Top 100 in the end. For the record, Evil Spirits also debuts at No.88 in Ireland.
Finally, Ed Sheeran’s Divide is No.1 in New Zealand for the 36th time but slips 1-2 in The Czech Republic, where it has spent 21 weeks at No.1 and 1-3 in Australia, where it has spent 27 weeks at No.1. It is also in the Top 10 in Greece (3-2), Ireland (5-3), Denmark (3-3), Flanders (7-4), Canada (4-5), South Africa (7-6), The UK (7-6), Norway (5-6), Slovakia (3-7), Germany (14-9), The Netherlands (10-9) and Italy (10-10).
