Olly Murs Holds Tight To Number One Spot while Katy Perry Secures First Number One Album

05/09/2010

Olly Murs may have been runner up in last year’s X Factor competition but today the Official Charts Company confirms he’s ahead of the pack as his debut single Please Don’t Let Me Go enters the Official Singles Chart at number one denying Katy Perry a third number one single with Teenage Dream.

A delighted Murs said: "I'm absolutely over the moon that my debut single has reached number one! Especially since I was up against such stiff competition. Thank you so much to all my fans and everyone who bought the single."

It took the 26-year-old, former telesales-worker-turned-recruitment-consultant from Essex three separate attempts to win a place on X Factor before losing out in the 2009 final to Joe McElderry.  But by that time Murs had done enough to convince X Factor supremo Simon Cowell that he should hold on to his protégé despite his myriad other commitments. A joint venture earlier this year between Epic Records and Cowell’s lable Syco set the stage for the launch of Olly Murs’ pop career.

Please Don’t Let Me Go was co-written by Murs with Steve Robson (Take That, James Morrison) and Claude Kelly (Jason Derulo, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson).  Murs’s debut album is set for release later this year.

Aside from Olly Murs and Katy Perry’s new entries at one and two, there is one other new entry in this week’s Official Singles Chart Top 10; Manchester duo Katie Pepper and Emma Alkazraji who perform as Pepper & Piano are straight in at number seven with You Took My Heart following their appearance on Sky 1’s reality show Must Be The Music.

In the Official Albums Chart, Katy Perry’s new album, also called Teenage Dream, is straight in at number one, selling over twice as many copies as its nearest rival, Eminem’s Recovery.  Teenage Dream is Perry’s first number one album in the UK and includes the number one hit single California Gurls as well as this week’s number two single Teenage Dream.  Perry’s 2008 debut album One Of The Boys peaked at number eleven and included the hit singles I Kissed A Girl (number one) and Hot N cold (number four).

There are three other new entries in the Official Albums Chart this week; Biffy Clyro’s Only Revolutions is at number three from last week’s twenty-seven, Pretty Reckless’s debut album Light Me Up is straight in at number six, following their number sixteen hit single Makes Me Wanna Die, and Chicago rock band Disturbed are straight in at number seven with fourth album Asylum.

Notes to Editors

1.   Chart information quoted from this release must be credited to The Official Charts Company

2.  The Official Charts Company (OCC) is a joint venture between record labels’ body the BPI and ERA, the Entertainment Retailers Association.   The OCC is responsible for the commissioning, marketing, distribution and management of the UK’s industry standard music and video charts and is endorsed by the BVA (British Video Association).

3. The Official Charts Company compiles its charts from sales information gathered across all key distribution (or entertainment) channels including all major high street retail chains, independent stores, supermarkets, mail order internet retailers and digital music service providers. This market research sample equates to 99% of the total UK Singles market; 98% of the total UK Albums market and 90% of the total UK DVD market.

For further information contact:
Amy Howard, Official Charts Company.
M. 07768 891 264
E: amy@theofficialcharts.com
W: www.theofficialcharts.com

The Official Chart Update with Greg James, Wednesday 3.30pm-4pm, BBC Radio 1
The Chart Show with Reggie Yates, Sunday 4pm-7pm, BBC Radio 1.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/

Ends.              

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