'Rent' Has Lease On No. 1 On Euro Chart

Dido's "Life for Rent" (Cheeky/Arista) continues its reign on European Top 100 Albums, while holding at No. 1 in the U.K. and France, climbing 3-1 in Germany and debuting at No. 1 in Sweden. Second-week sales of 199,000 units in the U.K. take the album's total there to 599,000. "Life for Rent" also holds at No. 2 in Italy and Holland and climbs 5-2 in Norway and 5-4 in Portugal. "White Flag," No. 2 on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles for a third week, continues to climb in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Robbie Williams climbs 3-2 on Top 100 Albums with "Live at Knebworth" (Chrysalis/Capitol), aided by 3-1 jumps in Denmark and Norway. Meanwhile, a fourth U.K. single is planned from his studio set "Escapology," in its 46th week on the chart there. The cut "Sexed Up" is due Nov. 3 in the territory.

The big mover in the pan-European top 10 is "Seal IV" (Warner Bros.), climbing 15-4, thanks largely to a 14-4 jump in Germany. In the U.K., however, the album has rapidly dropped from a No. 4 start to No. 16, No. 22 and, this week, No. 40.

BMG's "Elvis 2nd to None" opens at No. 7 on Top 100 Albums, vs. the No. 2 debut of "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits" a year ago. In the U.K., the new set bows at No. 4 with 33,000 units.

Belgian classical vocalist Helmut Lotti, a favorite in Germany, is up 12-8 there with "Pop Classics in Symphony" (Piet Roelen), fueling a 24-17 move on Top 100 Albums.

On the Eurochart, Black Eyed Peas' "Where Is the Love?" (A&M) holds at No. 1 for a third week. It also tops the British chart for a sixth week, moves up 7-4 in Italy and debuts at No. 4 in Portugal. A seventh week on top in Britain would tie the 1998 run of Cher's "Believe." However, "Where Is the Love?" is being outsold in mid-week sales data by Sugababes' "Hole in the Head" (Universal Island) and Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On" (Atlantic).

Beyonce's "Baby Boy" with Sean Paul (Columbia) has the top Eurochart debut, at No. 7. It opens at No. 2 in the U.K. on sales of 24,000.

Also in the U.K., Canadian vocalist Michael Buble's self-titled Reprise set, issued in June, explodes onto the chart for the first time at No. 6, after his visit to the area for concerts and promotional work generated sales last week of 28,000.