Cole's Rain set to begin at top of chart

Cheryl Cole is on course to lead a top three of brand new albums this Sunday with her second solo set Messy Little Raindrops heading towards number one.

The Polydor release has opened up a gap of around 11,000 sales over Mercury’s newly-issued Bon Jovi Greatest Hits album, while Rumer’s debut Atlantic offering Seasons Of My Soul is the third biggest seller so far this week, according to OCC sales.

Another four newly-issued albums could also fill Top 10 slots this coming weekend, including Jamiroquai whose first Mercury album Rock Dust Light Star is ranked fifth. Like Bon Jovi, Jamiroquai performed on The X Factor’s results show last Sunday.

Rod Stewart’s new J/RCA album Fly Me To The Moon – The American Songbook 5 is currently in sixth position, while Neil Diamond’s new Columbia album Dreams is eighth and Ne-Yo’s Def Jam/Mercury album Libra Scale is 10th.

The sheer number of high new entries will result in a big clearout of last Sunday’s Top 10, although Columbia’s Kings Of Leon should retain a place in the top five. Their album Come Around Sundown, which secured a second week at one last Sunday, is presently the week’s fourth top seller.

Outside the Top 10 positions also expect Top 40 entries on Sunday from Conehead’s Peter Andre, Paul McCartney & Wings with Concord/UMTV’s Band On The Run re-issue, 4th & Broadway/Island’s Devlin, Pet Shop Boys with a new Parlophone best of, a Rhino Elaine Paige album, Polydor’s Bryan Adams and Suede with a Ministry of Sound retrospective.

While Cheryl Cole looks very likely to top the new albums chart, she will almost certainly lose her singles crown after just a week. Promise This is in third place at this point in the week with Def Jam/Mercury’s Rihanna, another X Factor performer last Sunday, expected to climb from two to one with Only Girl (In The World). In between Rihanna and Cole currently is Happiness, a new entry from Alexis Jordan.

Shakespears Sister’s 1992 chart-topper Stay last week returned to the chart at 62 after the song was covered by X Factor contestant Cher Lloyd and could well be back in the Top 10 on Sunday. It is now in eighth place on midweek sales.

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