U.K. MIDWEEKS: TAYLOR'S ON TRACK

Taylor Swift looks set to top the U.K. Official Albums Chart on Friday, with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (EMI) currently ahead of its closest competitor by 11k in sales. Over on singles, “RAPSTAR” (Columbia) by Polo G is new at #2.

Swift's collection of newly recorded versions could become her seventh #1 in the U.K. and, should it hold onto its midweek apex, Swift will take third place on the list of female artists with the most chart-topping albums, behind Madonna (12) and Kylie Minogue (8). The original, 2008 version of Fearless peaked at #5.

Following its vinyl release, Ariana Grande’s Positions (Island) is on track to return to the Top 40 at #2, while French composer Jean-Michel Jarre is heading for his highest-charting album since 1988, with Amazonia (RCA) at #4.

Following his death Friday, DMX's two greatest-hits collections could enter the Top 10 for the first time; The Best Of (UMG) is #6 and The Definition of X: The Pick of the Litter is #10.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, Polo G’s “RAPSTAR” is challenging Lil Nas X for the top spot, though at the halfway point, “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” (RCA) is still leading the way at #1. Rag’n’Bone Man and P!nk’s new collaboration, “Anywhere Away From Here” (Columbia), is also eyeing up a Top 10 debut, opening at #10.

Elsewhere in the Top 20, TikTok track “Astronaut in the Ocean” (Parlophone) by Masked Wolf continues to climb, so far up five places to #13, and Ava Max’s “My Head & My Heart” (Atlantic) is on course for a new peak, up five spots to #14. Finally, Doja Cat’s new single, “Kiss Me More” f/SZA (RCA), is in line to become her sixth U.K. Top 40 hit, starting at #9.