U.K. CHARTS: HOMEGROWN COUNTRY HITS #1

It's another good week for Jason Iley's Sony Music U.K., as the label now boasts the first album from a British country music act to reach #1 in Blighty: Ward Thomas’ Cartwheels. Over on the Official Singles list, The Chainsmokers f/Halsey have logged a second week at #1 with “Closer” (RCA).

Cartwheels is the second studio album from twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas, who signed to Phil Savill’s Sony Music Commercial Group in March. It follows their debut, From Where We Stand, which reached #41 in 2014.

The second highest chart position achieved by a British country music act is The Shires who hit #10 with their debut via UMG U.K. imprint Decca last year.

The next new entry in the Official Albums Chart is this week’s #2: The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Songs (A&M), a greatest hits collection by The Carpenters released alongside an ITV documentary.

Jamie T's fourth studio album, Trick (Virgin EMI), lands at #3, becoming his fourth Top 5 album in a row. Rounding out this week's Top 5 are last week's #1, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway (Columbia) by Barbra Streisand, and new entry Growing Over Life (Polydor) by Wretch 32, his second Top 5 album.

U.S. rock act A Day To Remember grabs their first U.K. Top 40 album at #6 with Bad Vibrations (ADTR), closely followed by The Divine Comedy’s self-released Foreverland at #7.

Over on the Official Singles Chart, it's all non-movers in today’s Top 5, although there are seven new entries in the Top 40 following a grand total of none last week.

The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” logs at second week at #1 with combined sales of 92k. That’s 12k higher than their total last week and 31k more than their nearest rival this week, DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s Let Me Love You (Polydor) at #2.

Completing this week’s Top 5 are Major Lazer f/Bieber & MO’s “Cold Water” (Because Music) at #3, Calum Scott’s “Dancing On My Own” (Virgin EMI) at #4 and Twenty One Pilots’ Heathens (Atlantic) at #5.

The seven new entries are Ariana Grande f/Nicki Minaj’s “Side To Side” (Island) rising 72-24; Zara Larsson’s “Ain’t My Fault” (Black Butter) debuting at #30; Offaiah’s “Trouble” (Virgin EMI) leaping to #3 from #60; and Matoma & Becky Hill’s “False Alarm” (Parlophone) up 11 places to #35.