U.K. MIDWEEKS: A SWIFT RETURN TO #1

Taylor Swift is set to secure the first U.K. Official Albums #1 of 2023 with Midnights (EMI), while RAYE is on track for her first chart-topper at singles.

Should Midnights hold onto its midweek lead, Swift will score a fourth non-consecutive week at the top—a career best.

SZA’s SOS (RCA/Top Dawg) is lifted one spot to #2. The Weeknd’s The Highlights (Island) could rebound into the Top 5, at #4.

Sam Ryder’s former #1, There’s Nothing But Space, Man! (Parlophone), is up four places to #6 thanks to a BBC New Year’s Eve TV special and the release of a super-deluxe edition.

ABBA’s Gold–Greatest Hits (Polar Music) also eyes a return to the Top 10, at #8, alongside Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years–Don’t Stop (Warner Records), at #10.

Whitney Houston’s posthumous 2012 collection, I Will Always Love You–The Best Of (RCA), could reach a new peak of #14 following the release of the Kasi Lemmons-directed biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweeks, RAYE’s “Escapism.” (Human Re Sources) could become her first #1 single. The streaming hit has risen 12 places as Christmas tracks drop down the chart.

SZA’s “Kill Bill” is up 30 places and, at #2, on track to become her first solo U.K. Top 10 hit.

Three more cuts are pacing to reach new peaks: Central Cee’s self-released “Let Go” at #3, Rema’s “Calm Down” (Jonzing Worldwide/Mavin) at #4 and “Out of Nowhere” (B-Somebody) by Bugzy Malone & TeeDee at #5.

“Creepin’” (Republic) by Metro Boomin’, The Weeknd and 21 Savage gains significant new ground, rising to #8 from #45.