UK Chart Notes

Leona Lewis claimed #1 on the UK singles chart this week in magnificent style with her second single, "Bleeding Love," the first release from her forthcoming debut album, Spirit. Not since Will Young has a British reality TV act emerged with such potential to actually make it big.

While many X-Factor and other reality TV winning acts have been able to transform their TV fame into an initial #1 hit, prospects after that often fall quickly. Take Michelle McManus, winner of Pop Idol's second season, who hit #1 with her first single "All This Time," but was dropped by her record label after her second, "The Meaning of Love," failed to hit the top 10. Lewis, who last year won the third season of X-Factor, is in fact the show's first alum to score a second #1. I'm hopeful that her album, which attracted the assistance of Clive Davis as co-executive producer (with Simon Cowell).

Lewis didn't just top the chart though, she did it with by far the best sales figure of the year, moving over 218,000 copies of "Bleeding Love," more than double the year's previous best sales week for a single, the nearly 86,000 copies The Proclaimers featuring Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin moved of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in its first week in March.

In any other week this year then, the single at #2 this week, Take That's "Rule the World," would have been the single with the biggest one-week sales total, for it moved almost 98,000 copies. Still, although it was kept from #1 by a monster hit, the single is a vast improvement over the #17 performance of their last single, "I'd Wait for Life," which ended their run of six consecutive #1 hits.

Another act kept from #1 that is likely accustomed to be there by now is McFly, who lands at #3 with their 13th single, "The Heart Never Lies." Seven of the band's singles have hit the top spot, including their last, "Baby's Coming Back," with 9000 sales fewer than their latest hit. I'll say it again: It was an amazing sales week for the UK singles chart.

Oasis debuts at #10 with their latest, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down," ending their run of 18 consecutive top 5 hits. Not since "Live Forever," their classic 1994 release, have they charted so low.

While next week can't possibly be as grand as this, it's shaping up to be pretty exciting too, as Westlife will go head-to-head with Leona with their latest, a remake of Michael Buble's "Home," which they are hoping will be their 15th #1 hit. Also out are new singles from Timbaland, Samim, Robyn, Keane, Avril Lavigne, Akon and Celine Dion.