{"id":567890,"date":"2026-05-05T19:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567890\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:02:09","slug":"kneecap-and-fenian-in-pole-position-for-number-1-album-as-three-way-chart-battle-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567890\/","title":{"rendered":"KNEECAP and FENIAN in pole position for Number 1 album as three-way chart battle begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fenian, a word used to describe warriors from medieval Ireland,\u00a0captures the erratic energy of their live performances,\u00a0with the record\u00a0including\u00a0features from the likes of\u00a0Kae Tempest<\/a>\u00a0and Fawzi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Kneecap\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melanie\u00a0C is also fighting for her first\u00a0solo\u00a0Number 1\u00a0LP\u00a0with\u00a0Sweat\u00a0(2).\u00a0Sporty Spice\u2019s\u00a0current\u00a0personal best\u00a0came courtesy of\u00a0her 1999 debut\u00a0Northern Star<\/a>,\u00a0which landed at Number 4.\u00a0This week, her ninth studio cut\u00a0could\u00a0become the first solo album from a Spice Girl to hit the summit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But can Michael Jackson\u00a0top the chart once more with\u00a0The Essential<\/a>\u00a0(3)?\u00a0The 2005 compilation\u00a0hit\u00a0the top spot\u00a0in July 2009, the month of his death,\u00a0and stayed\u00a0there\u00a0for seven consecutive\u00a0weeks.\u00a0Will\u00a0The Essential\u00a0replicate its prior success\u00a0almost 17 years later?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Overall, according to Official Charts data,\u00a0just\u00a0less than 3000\u00a0units\u00a0separate\u00a0third place from\u00a0the\u00a0top spot, so\u00a0the race is well and truly ON!\u00a0<\/p>\n

MJ\u2019s 1987 classic\u00a0Bad<\/a>\u00a0may also break the Top 10 this week,\u00a0currently up four places (9).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking at the rest of the\u00a0chart, Texan singer-songwriter\u00a0Kacey Musgraves<\/a>\u00a0eyes her fourth\u00a0Top 10 with\u00a0Middle of Nowhere\u00a0(4). This would join 2018\u2019s\u00a0Golden Hour<\/a>\u00a0(6)\u00a02021 release\u00a0star-crossed<\/a>\u00a0(10) and her current personal best, 2024\u2019s\u00a0Deeper Well<\/a>\u00a0(3).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The legendary\u00a0Tori Amos<\/a>\u00a0could clinch her highest-charting album since 1998\u2019s\u00a0From the\u00a0Choirgirl\u00a0Hotel<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0latest project,\u00a0In Times\u00a0Of\u00a0Dragons\u00a0(7).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After\u00a0Billie Eilish<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Hit Me Hard\u00a0And\u00a0Soft: The Tour\u00a0(Live in\u00a03D)\u00a0dropped in cinemas last week, the\u00a0film\u2019s\u00a0soundtrack\u00a0could\u00a0land inside the Top 20 (11).\u00a0<\/p>\n

American rockers\u00a0The Black Keys<\/a>\u2019\u00a0Peaches!\u00a0looks\u00a0to place\u00a0strongly for duo Dan Auerbach and Peter Carney, currently sitting at Number 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Nigerian rapper-songwriter\u00a0Asake<\/a>\u00a0is on track for a fourth Top 40 with\u00a0M$NEY\u00a0(25),\u00a0as Zara Larsson<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Midnight Sun<\/a>\u00a0looks set\u00a0for a main chart\u00a0reappearance\u00a0and a new personal best, following the release of\u00a0Midnight Sun:\u00a0Girls Trip, a remixed version of the original record (28).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And\u00a0finally,\u00a0as\u00a0she continues her blockbuster tour,\u00a0Olivia Dean<\/a>\u2019s 2023 album\u00a0Messy<\/a>\u00a0could re-enter the\u00a0main standings (37).\u00a0<\/p>\n

See the full Official Albums Chart Update Top 100 here from 5.45pm.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fenian, a word used to describe warriors from medieval Ireland,\u00a0captures the erratic energy of their live performances,\u00a0with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,3703,168694,15741,128,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-567890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-kneecap","tag-melanie-c","tag-michael-jackson","tag-music","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}