U.K. MIDWEEKS: AN ABNORMAL RACE 

The Strokes are battling Dua Lipa for the U.K.’s Official Albums #1 this week with The New Abnormal (RCA) currently sitting at #2. Over on singles, The Weeknd looks set to claim an eighth week at the top with “Blinding Lights” (Island).

The New Abnormal sits just 250 chart sales behind Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (Warner Records) at the midweek point, and claims the most physical and download sales so far.

Torey Lanez is on track for his highest U.K. chart entry with The New Toronto 3 (Interscope) at #3, while British rapper Cadet, who died in a car crash last year, starts at #10 with his posthumous debut, The Rated Legend (Underrated Legends).

Laura Marling's seventh studio album, Song for Our Daughter (Chrysalis/Partisan), is on the cusp of being her sixth Top 20 album at #16, while the deluxe edition release of Selena Gomez’s Rare (Polydor) boosts the album back into the Top 40 at #28.

Over on the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, The Weeknd is ahead of his closest competitor, SAINt JHN, by 4,000kcombined sales. JHN sits at #2 with “Roses” (HITCO/Ministry of Sound).

Mabel’s “Boyfriend” (Polydor) is up one place to #9, while “Falling” (Columbia) by Harry Styles is also up one to #15. The highest climber is “Tequila” (Polydor) by Jax Jones, Martin Solveig and Raye, rising 14 places to #18.

Outside the Top 20, the most downloaded song so far this week is “Everyday Heroes” (Tyree Records) by Scottish rock band Skerryvore at #38. The track has been released in aid of the NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal, and features a variety of Scottish acts who recorded their contributions in isolation.