Alexandra Burke Is #1 And Hurts Find Happiness On The UK Album Chart

While I'm glad Alexandra Burke has largely steered away from the deadly-dull ballad trap that many of her fellow X Factor alums have fallen into and it's super swell her Ace Of Base-y RedOne-produced single "Start Without You" has debuted at #1 in the UK this week, I'm more jazzed about the fact that Hurts' Happiness landed at a solid #4 on the Brit album chart.



Of course, raise a flag also for Brandon Flowers hitting #1 with his own debut solo album Flamingo. I'm crazy curious to see how that one's going to fly here in the U.S. when it's released this week. XOLondon did up what I'm sure is a brilliant song-by-song review of Brandon's LP, but I've thus far managed to steer clear of all leaks and write-ups. I guess I'll just be surprised once my copy of the deluxe edition arrives. Hopefully I'm not chucking it in the recycle bin come week's end.

Back on the UK singles chart, The Script's bland new dirge "For The First Time" sleepwalks its way in at #5, while the once-golden McFly have a ho-hum #6 entry with "Party Girl." Guess it's not enough to just whip your clothes off and pose for the cover of Attitude anymore. Some amount of decent music must actually now be required to maintain chart success. Better luck next time, lads.

And then there's Alesha Dixon, who, let's face, probably has her best days, hit-single-wise, behind her. There's not much about her in this era of Leona, Gaga, Ke$ha and Alexandra that really stands out. Here's hoping she can ably avoid the Sophie Ellis-Bextor curse of decent songstress/lack of fanbase. But for now, her latest single, "Drummer Boy," has debuted at #15.

The U.K. Top 10:

1. "Start Without You" - Alexandra Burke *new* *1 week*
2. "Teenage Dream" - Katy Perry
3. "Dynamite" - Taio Cruz
4. "Please Don't Let Me Go" - Olly Murs
5. "For The First Time" - The Script *new*
6. "Party girl" - McFly *new*
7. "Love The Way You Lie" - Eminem feat. Rihanna
8. "Katy On A Mission" - Katy B
9. "Club Can't Handle Me" - Flo Rida feat. David Guetta
10. "This Day" - Emma's Imagination *new*