U.K. MIDWEEKS: POWERED BY AC/DC

AC/DC are heading toward the U.K. Official Albums #1 on Friday, 11/20, with Power Up (Columbia) outselling the rest of the Top 5. Over on singles, this year’s BBC Children in Need charity outing looks set for the top, with Billie Eilish right behind.

Should it hold onto its midweek peak, Power Up will be AC/DC’s first U.K. #1 in a decade. With 47,000 combined sales already claimed, the album could beat the record set last week by Kylie Minogue as 2020’s fastest seller.

McFly’s first new album in a decade, Young Dumb Thrills (BMG), is heading for #2, followed by Paloma Faith’s Infinite Things (RCA), at #3.

Andrea Bocelli is on the cusp of a 12th Top 10 album with Believe (Decca), Dutch conductor Andre Rieu’s Jolly Holiday (UMG), at #6, puts him in line for an 11th Top 10 album and at #7, the Sophie Ellis-Bextor compilation Songs From the Kitchen Disco (Cooking Vinyl) is on course to be her highest-charting album in six years.

Finally, songs by the late Johnny Cash have been given a new lease on life by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Johnny Cash and the RPO (Sony), which lands today, 11/16, at #9.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, the BBC Children in Need single “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” (Decca) is on course to top the chart following Friday’s annual television event, which raised £37m. The track is a cover of the Oasis single, performed by BBC Radio 2 Allstars, comprising 24 artists, including Minogue, Cher, Robbie Williams, Mel C, Paloma Faith and Nile Rodgers.

Eilish is also set for a big new entry this week, with “Therefore I Am” (Polydor) currently 8,000 in sales behind the midweek #1, at #2.