'Talk That Talk' Tops UK Charts With Lowest-Selling No. 1 Album

Rihanna's "Talk That Talk" (Def Jam/Universal) returned to the top of the U.K. album chart on Sunday (Aug. 12), as "Heatwave" (One More Tune/Warner Bros./Warner Music) by British rapper Wiley featuring Ms D started a second week at No. 1 on the singles survey.

Though "Talk That Talk" is now nearing one million U.K. sales, according to the Official Charts Company, its sales this week of 9,578 copies breaks the lowest weekly sale for a number one album. The previous record, as the UK's Music Week noted this morning, was set just 11 weeks ago by Emeli Sande's whose "Our Version of Events sold only 13,430 copies when it too returned to the pole position. Though Great Britain might have had its mind and pocketbook on other things -- such as the rather spectacular London Olympics - the dwindling numbers for No. 1 UK albums points to a larger trend of falling sales. The last two quarters have seen albums sales drop by 15% and 13% in the first and second quarters, respectively.