HAPPY COLDPLAY DAY

BBC Radio 1 has declared today Coldplay Day on the eve of the release of the Parlophone band’s new album. An intimate gig will take place this evening in London, which will be broadcast live from 8pm GMT, and Chris Martin and co. played a Live Lounge session today. So how are the numbers looking?

A Head Full of Dreams is currently sitting at #5 on the U.K. iTunes album charts, and lead single "Adventure of a Lifetime" has had 1.9k plays across all U.K. radio this week. It hit #14 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart on its 11/6 release.

The band's European and South American 2016 stadium tour, which went on sale last week, has enjoyed huge initial ticket sales. So much so that extra dates have been added, including a third at London's Wembley Stadium (90k cap.) on 6/19.

If Adele carries on selling just a quarter of what 25 (XL/Columbia) has been shifting daily so far in the U.K. (the album hit the 1m mark after 10 days on sale), she’s likely to hold on to #1 next Friday too, three weeks after the release of 25. Coldplay’s last album, Ghost Stories, shifted 168k in Blighty in its first week in May 2014 (383k in the U.S.). First-week sales for AHFOD in the U.S. project to 150-200k.

The band have little competition from elsewhere, however. Aside from the debut album from last year's X Factor runner-up Fleur East, Love, Sax and Flashbacks (SYCO), and dance duo Sigma with Life (3Beat/UMTV), other priority releases are coming from ex-U.K. acts that have yet to gain notable traction in Blighty. These include Rick Ross with Black Market (Virgin EMI U.K., MMG stateside) and the debut from Aussie newcomer Troye Sivan, Blue Neighbourhood (out via Universal’s Polydor in the U.K).

Of course, if Rihanna unveils the long-awaited ANTI (Roc Nation) tomorrow, the stakes get much, much higher.