Sam Fender performs on stage during Day 1 of Fusion Festival 2019 on Aug. 30, 2019 in Liverpool, England.
Joseph Okpako/WireImageSam Fender is cruising to a second No. 1 in the U.K. with Seventeen Going Under (Polydor), the British singer and songwriter’s sophomore album.
Fender's young career has been going in the right direction. Early on, he won The BRITs Rising Star Award (previously known as the Critics' Choice Award), and converted the hype when his debut album Hypersonic Missiles blasted to No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart in September 2019.
It’ll take a hypersonic missile to stop Seventeen Going Under from reaching its target.
It’s the outright leader on the midweek chart, and is outselling the rest of the Top 10 combined, according to the OCC.
Fender's set has a lead of 20,000 chart sales over his closest competitor, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy (OVO/Republic Records).
Also impacting the Official Chart Update is Trivium, whose tenth album In The Court of the Dragon (Roadrunner) swoops in at No. 3. If it holds its course, Dragon will give the U.S. metal band their second U.K. Top 10 and a peak entry.
Electronic artist James Blake could also net a career-best chart position with Friends That Break Your Heart (Polydor), new at No. 5.
Based on midweek data, fresh sets from Johnny Flynn (Lost In Cedar Wood at No. 11 via Transgressive) and We Are Scientists (Huffy at No. 15 via 100 Percent Records) are eying Top 20 debuts, while The Charlatans' self-titled album starts at No. 17, powered by its first vinyl pressing in 20 years.
The Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, local time.
NEWS
Live from London, it is Saturday Night Live.
The legendary sketch comedy institution officially launched its UK edition on March 21 with Saturday Night Live UK, featuring former SNL cast member Tina Fey as host and British indie rock group Wet Leg as the episode’s musical guest.
This global expansion of Lorne Michaels’ famous NBC program began with Fey’s opening monologue, which included unexpected cameos from Michael Cera and UK television personality Graham Norton.
“It’s an absolute honour and kind of historic,” Fey told the crowd. “Guys, I am the youngest person to ever host SNL UK!”
During the broadcast, Wet Leg delivered performances of two songs taken from their second album Moisturizer, which opened at Number 6 on Billboard’s Top Rock and Alternative Albums chart and also climbed to Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart in the United Kingdom.
The band first appeared performing the record’s fourth single “Mangetout,” a Grammy nominated song that also earned a place on Billboard’s list of the 20 best UK and Ireland songs of 2025. Later in the show they returned to play the album’s lead single “Catch These Fists.”
After their appearance on SNL UK, Wet Leg will travel back to the United States for a series of major festival dates including Coachella, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. Their US tour is scheduled to begin April 15 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California.
Upcoming episodes of SNL UK have also been confirmed. Wolf Alice will serve as musical guest on the March 28 episode hosted by Jamie Dornan, while Kasabian will perform on the April 2 show with Riz Ahmed as host.
The show is broadcast on Sky in the United Kingdom and is available to stream on Peacock in the United States. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first episode attracted more than 220,000 viewers on Sky. It was released in the US on March 22 via Peacock.
You can watch Wet Leg’s SNL UK performances below.
