U.K. MIDWEEKS: ELTON EYEING NINTH #1

With Diamonds, Elton John could score his ninth #1 on the Official U.K. Album Chart, while Gracie Abrams is locked in a tight battle with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars for the top of the Singles tally.

John's 2017 hits collection, Diamonds (Mercury/UMR), has already spent an astonishing 325 weeks in the Top 40. Its latest rise is due to the release of a super-deluxe-edition Blu-ray and limited-edition LP, which propelled it to #6 last week.

Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet (Island) is only 1,100 in chart units behind Sir Elton at #2. It has already spent two weeks at #1.

Ed Sheeran's +–=÷× (Tour Collection) (Asylum) is likely to slide 1-3 as SZA's SOS (RCA) drops 3-4 and Billie Eilish's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (Darkroom/Interscope) climbs 7-5.

Meanwhile, Fontaines D.C.'s Romance (XL) is heading for a third week in the Top 10, with a 19-7 move.

On the singles chart, Abrams' "That's So True" (Interscope) is less than 50 chart units ahead of ROSÉ and Mars' "APT." (Atlantic). The 2-8 slots will likely remain unchanged from last week. Carpenter's "Bed Chem" inches up 11-9.

Lil Baby, Young Thug and Future’s "Dum, Dumb and Dumber" is set for the week's top debut, at #26.