Tension by Kylie Minogue debuts at number 1 with first week sales 53,000 chart sales.

Editor Stephen Hill  29th September 2023

Pop princess Kylie Minogue has secured her ninth UK number one album with Tension this week, the was outselling the entire top five albums combined to reach the chart’s summit.  

The star’s 16th studio album shifted  over 53,000 units in its first week, beating off fierce competition from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd, Headie One & K-Trap and Doja Cat.

The singer latest album now joins her 1988 debut Kylie, 1989’s Enjoy Yourself, 1992 collection Greatest Hits, 2001 record Fever, 2010’s Aphrodite, 2018 release Golden, 2019’s Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection and 2020 LP Disco as Kylie’s chart-topping albums in the UK. 

 Taylor Swift and Madonna are now the only female solo artists with more number one records than Kylie, at 10 and 12, respectively.  

Tension has also debuted at the top the Official Vinyl Album Chart and the Official Record Store Chart, which compiles the most purchased albums in independent record stores this week.

Since its release last week, Kylie’s new album has quickly become a fan favorite.  It has also received universal acclaim from critics, achieving an excellent score of 87/100 on Metacritic.  ‘Padam Padam’, Tension’s lead single, instantly went viral after its release and has been declared a gay anthem.  It saw Kylie dominate charts over the summer, peaking at number eight in the UK and giving the living legend her first top 10 single in the region since 2011’s ‘Higher’.  Its follow-up, ‘Tension’, debuted at number 19 – seven spots higher than where ‘Padam Padam’ entered.

Kylie has proved that she can continually reinvent herself and create music that is popular with core fanbase and new fans.