PAUL HEATON, CHARLI XCX VIE FOR U.K. CHART PEAKS

Paul Heaton is heading towards his first solo U.K. Official Albums #1 with The Mighty Several (EMI), while on the midweek singles update, Charli xcx (pictured) is providing strong competition for Sabrina Carpenter.

As a former member of The Beautiful South and The Housemartins, Heaton has three prior #1 albums and three Top 10s to his credit. He’s also topped the chart twice with albums released with his former Beautiful South bandmate, Jacqui Abbott.

Elsewhere on today’s albums tally, BRAT (Atlantic) by Charli xcx could return to its previous peak of #2 thanks to the release of the remix project featuring such artists as Ariana Grande, The 1975 and Shygirl. James Blunt’s debut, Back to Bedlam (Atlantic), could return to the Top 10 for the first time in 18 years, at #4, following its 20th anniversary reissue.

After its arrival on physical formats, Lady Gaga’s soundtrack album, Harlequin (Polydor), is set to land at #5. A final new entry in this week’s Top 10 could come courtesy of indie rock trio Skinny Living, whose debut, Day by Day (Polydor), is set to land at #9.

On the U.K.’s Official Singles midweek chart, “Sympathy Is a Knife” by Charli xcx is a little over 1k in sales from unseating Carpenter’s “Taste” (Island) from #1.

Xcx's “365,” boosted by the remix featuring Shygirl, could make its chart debut at #11 on Friday. Carpenter, meanwhile, is on track to score a fourth Top 10 from Short n’ Sweet with “Bed Chem” due to debut at #10. “i love you, i’m sorry” (Interscope) by Gracie Abrams is up eight to #3, while “Somedays” (Solotoko) by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D climbs three to #5.

Other tracks on the rise include “Thick of It” (Atlantic) by KSI and Trippie Redd, which ascends six to #8, and Teddy Swims’ “The Door” (Atlantic), rocketing seven to #9.