U.K. MIDWEEKS: KENDRICK TO TAKE SECOND?

There are only 5k sales separating four tracks battling for the Official Singles Chart #1 at midweek stage in Blighty as Harry Styles moves down to #4. Kendrick Lamar, meanwhile, is #2 on albums with DAMN (Polydor).

Ben Cook’s Warner imprint Atlantic has the top three spots on singles: Ed Sheeran is back up to #1 with “Shape of You,” followed by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson with “Symphony” and Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” at #3. After last week’s #1, Styles’ “Sign of the Times” (Columbia), Drake is at #5 with “Passionfruit” (Island).

Lamar has five tracks in the Top 40 midway stage as “HUMBLE.” rises 22 places to #9, while “DNA.” is at #22, “LOYALTY.” f/Rihanna is #27, “ELEMENT.” hits #33, “LOVE.” is #39 and “YAH.” is #40. Lady Gaga, who has scant radio support in Blighty nowadays, is at #25 with new track “The Cure” (Polydor).

On the Official Albums Chart, Sheeran looks set for a seventh week at #1 with ÷ while Lamar could settle for second place on Friday.

Rag’n’Bone Man is #3 with Human (Columbia), Drake is #4 with More Life (Island) and Take That are #5 with Wonderland (Polydor).

Three more albums are expected to debut inside the Top 40 this week. Tinie Tempah's third studio album, Youth (Parlophone), starts at #8, John Mayer's The Search For Everything (Columbia) is at #11 and The King Blues' The Gospel Truth (Cooking Vinyl) is currently #30.