Rap is on a roll, and has supplied the most eagerly awaited new albums of each of the past three weeks, via Cardi B’s Invasion Of Privacy, J Cole’s KOD and Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys.
 
The latter album dropped on April 20 and, on the day of release, was already at No.1 on iTunes in 27 countries. While that’s not quite as big an initial response as Cardi B’s and J Cole’s albums received, it should make quite a big splash next week, when official chart tabulations of its first week begin to filter through.
 
No.1 on 40 iTunes charts a week ago, the aforementioned KOD now makes official chart debuts at No.1 in Ireland and New Zealand, No.2 in Flanders, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK, No.5 in Sweden, No.16 in Germany and No.30 in Wallonia. It is guaranteed a slew of further international incursions, and is certain to become his fifth straight No.1 in his US homeland.
 
Perhaps the most surprising collaboration of a year that is already a third of the way done, is that of chief of Police, Sting and the man who once claimed ‘It wasn’t me’, Shaggy.
 
The 65-year-old Geordie and the 49-year-old Jamaican apparently made sweet, slightly tropical music together in the form of 44/876, which has already attracted more attention than any album from either man for well over a decade. It opens at No.9 in the UK, No.12 in Wallonia, No.22 in Flanders, No.30 in Japan and No.94 in Ireland – but, most impressively, it debuts at No.1 in Germany. Surprisingly, The Police never had a No.1 album in the country, but Sting has two previous chart-topping solo albums in Germany, most recently in 1999 with Brand New Day. Shaggy’s only previous No.1 album in the country was Hot Shot in 2001.
 
Avicii’s death in Oman a week ago resulted in a surge in sales for his back catalogue, with re-entries to both singles and albums charts in most countries. The effect was keenest, naturally, in his native Sweden, where this week finds him occupying the entire top three of the album chart, and seven of the top eight places in the singles chart. In fact, he has 26 songs in the Swedish Top 100, with Sandro Cavazzi collaboration Without You – which previously spent five weeks at No.1 last August/September – rebounding 60-1. The EP from which that is taken – Avici (01) – tops the Swedish album chart, while his debut album True re-enters at No.1 in neighbouring Norway, where it previously spent four weeks at No.1 in 2013/4.  
 
Finally, after debuting at No.2 in the UK, No.5 in Ireland, No.20 in Germany, No.45 in Flanders, No.73 in The Netherlands and No.107 in Wallonia last week, Manic Street Preachers’ 13th studio album, Resistance Is Futile, now debuts at No.18 in Switzerland, No.23 in Austria, No.31 in Spain, No.39 in Japan, No.50 in Poland and No.140 in Australia.  

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