Album, single holding down No. 1 spots
LONDON -- Coldplay's international chart domination was extended Sunday as it scored a double triumph on the new U.K. sales charts. As "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Parlophone/EMI) started a second week as Britain's No. 1 album, "Viva La Vida" debuted atop the singles survey to become the band's first U.K. No. 1 hit.
The album stayed ahead of Duffy's "Rockferry" (A&M/Universal), which moved back from No. 3 to No. 2 in its 16th chart week, changing places with Neil Diamond's "Home Before Dark" (Columbia). Northern dance label All Around the World won another notable chart victory as hardcore DJ-producer Darren Styles' "Skydivin'" entered at No. 4.
U.K. rock trio Feeder debuted at No. 8 with its sixth studio album, "Silent Cry" (Echo), and Sara Bareilles' "Little Voice" (Columbia/Sony BMG) made its U.K. debut at No. 9, as the single "Love Song" moved up again from No. 5 to No. 4.
There was a No. 11 start for critically lauded Seattle band Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut on Bella Union and a remarkable No. 16 start for late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's revived 1977 solo set "Pacific Ocean Blue" (Epic/Sony BMG). Veteran English entertainer Petula Clark's "Then & Now -- The Very Best Of" (UMTV/Universal) came in at No. 17 and "Strength in Numbers" (Polydor), the third album by Leeds rock band The Music, at No. 19.
Coldplay's No. 1 start on the singles chart follows the recent No. 8 peak for first single "Violet Hill," and is the band's eighth U.K. top 10 hit. It outdoes their previous highest-ranking releases "In My Place" and "Speed of Sound," which peaked at No. 2 in 2002 and 2005, respectively. "Violet Hill" rose 12-11 on the new chart as another track from the "Vida" album, "Lost!", climbed 62-55 on download sales.
The new singles chart also saw Ne-Yo's "Closer" (Def Jam/Universal) climbing 3-2 and Chris Brown's "Forever" (Jive/Sony BMG) 8-5. Brown has two concurrent top 10 titles, as Jordin Sparks' "No Air" (RCA/Sony BMG), on which he features, jumped 22-10. There was a No. 14 entry for "We Made It" (Interscope/Universal) by Busta Rhymes featuring Linkin Park, as the Jonas Brothers' first European single "SOS" (Hollywood/EMI) came in at No. 16.
Duffy continues her reign on Billboard's pan-European sales charts, with "Rockferry" in a third consecutive and sixth aggregate week atop European Top 100 Albums. "Mercy" leads Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for a second straight week, and third overall.
