Beyoncé has earned her fourth number one album this week with ‘RENAISSANCE‘ while The Cribs have entered the top 40 with reissues of their first three releases.
Beyoncé’s ‘RENAISSANCE’ is her first number one album in six years and outsold its nearest competition by three to one, according to The Official Charts Company.
Bey’s other number one albums include her debut album, ‘Dangerously in Love’ (2003), ‘4’ (2011) and ‘Lemonade’ (2016). As a member of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé boasts another chart-topper with ‘Survivor’ reaching number one in 2001.
‘RENAISSANCE’ also tops the Official Vinyl Albums Chart while lead single ‘Break My Soul’ becomes Beyoncé’s highest-charting solo hit on the UK Official Singles Chart in 14 years.
Elsewhere in the charts, the reissues of The Cribs first three full-length albums all enter the top 40. The band, comprising brothers Gary, Ryan and Ross Jarman, match their original 2007 Number 13 peak with third studio album ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever.’
Two of the indie-rock outfit’s records score new peaks on the Official Albums Chart with 2005 release ‘The New Fellas’ at number 20 and their eponymous 2001 debut ‘The Cribs’ going in at at Number 23. The group also dominate this week’s Official Vinyl Albums Chart, with ‘Men’s Need’s, Women’s Needs, Whatever’, ‘The New Fellas’ and ‘The Cribs’ charting at Numbers two, three and four respectively.
Maggie Rogers also earned her first top ten spot on the chart, with ‘Surrender’ entering at number six. Orbital meanwhile earned their tenth Top 40 album with greatest hits collection ’30 Something’, which went in at number 19.
In other news, Beyoncé also released a surprise four-song EP of remixes for her ‘Renaissance’ cut ‘Break My Soul’.
Comprised of four revamped cuts of the titular lead single, the EP enlists Honey Dijon, will.i.am, Terry Hunter and Nita Aviance, who each offer different versions of the song.
For his part, The Black Eyed Peas frontman distills the track’s core bounce beat, while Hunter adds church organs for a more ethereal take on the album’s distinct ballroom sound.
Meanwhile, both Aviance and Dijon extend the original song’s runtime beyond the six minute mark, offering trance cadences and tribal drum beats, respectively. Dijon’s track adds to her previous involvement with the album, having featured as a producer on fellow ‘Renaissance’ tracks ‘Cozy’ and ‘Alien Superstar’.
The EP’s inclusion of notable names in the dance music scene is in-keeping with the album’s sonic focus. Saying as much in a four-star review for NME, Kyann-Sian Williams wrote that ‘Renaissance’ is “indebted to house music and New Orleans bounce”, and pays “homage to that scene’s unique spirit”.
