Travis Scott defeated Anne-Marie to achieve his first UK number one album with Utopia, his solely digital release.
With Sprinter, fellow rappers Dave and Central Cee claimed the longest run in UK rap at the top of the singles chart.
Following Sinéad O’Connor’s passing last week, Nothing Compares 2 U reentered the top 40 on Friday for the first time since 1990.
Pink by Lizzo rose 12 spots to position 27 despite claims of misbehaviour. Three of the singer’s former dancers are suing her over allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, which she denies. Her most recent song is on the soundtrack for the Barbie movie.
Famous Prince cover by late Irish singer O’Connor climbed 15 spots to take up position 30.
Travis Scott, 32, grew up in Houston like Lizzo and had his first UK number one album, which also had the largest streaming week for an album this year.
The Essex pop singer Anne-Marie’s album, Unhealthy, came in second place, but it was still the fastest-selling album of the year so far by a female solo artist from the UK.
One week after promising his fans that his postponed live performance in front of the Egyptian pyramids would eventually take place, Scott released his record. Due to “complex production issues,” the sold-out desert concert that was scheduled to coincide with the release of the record was postponed at the last minute, according to the promoters.
Delresto (Echoes), Meltdown, and K-pop, which features Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, are among the songs on his new concept album. Meltdown is this week’s highest new entry at number 10. On Friday, the charts also included FE!N feat. Playboi Carti and HYAENA, two additional Utopia songs.
Last week saw the release of the album and the movie Circus Maximus. Instead of the scheduled Pyramids of Giza event, Scott will instead perform next week in the Roman chariot-racing arena of the same name.
Entire paradise
The “rap superstar” was “lost amid sublime soundworld,” according to the Guardian’s Shaad D’Souza, who also felt that his new album was far from faultless.
“Scott’s rhyming isn’t strong enough to distinguish him from his A-list guests,” D’Souza wrote in a two-star assessment.
The album was referred to be a “empty paradise” by Andre Gee in his review for Rolling Stone. He is a brilliant curator but lacks intriguing things to say.
“In an attempt to give the world a true blockbuster rap album, the Houston rapper delivers a shiny, empty spectacle loaded with pop superstars who rarely make an impact,” wrote Alphonse Pierre for Pitchfork.
Nathan Evans of the NME gave it three stars, calling it a “lofty concept” but with “shaky execution”. He said that the Houston rapper’s first record since 2018 “teeses a brave new sonic world, but has little to say about what might happen if we get there.”
On Friday, Dave and Central Cee, two of Scott’s fellow rappers, set a new mark for the longest-running UK rap number one with their duet, Sprinter, remaining at the top of the UK singles chart for a ninth consecutive week.
The Londoners will match Miley Cyrus’ 10-week run with Flowers – the year’s longest-running number one single overall – if they can maintain their current pace at the top for one more week.
After his song Starlight spent four weeks at the top of the charts last year, it became the longest-running solo rap number one in the nation. This is Dave’s second foray into the record books.
Alongside Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, and Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX’s appearance on the Barbie soundtrack propelled her to her first top 10 finish in almost a decade with the song Speed Drive.
