Kylie well ahead in pop battle

The pop princesses: Battle is joined

The chart battle between Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham is turning into a walkover, according to midweek sales figures.

Beckham's first solo release Not Such An Innocent Girl sold just 9,274 copies on the first day of release, while Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head sold 77,174.

Kylie's single is a throbbing dance tune

Minogue's sales have already made her single one of the biggest first-day sellers of the year, after Hear'Say and Shaggy.

Even if Beckham's single continues to sell at the same rate industry analysts say that she would be unlikely to improve on a number five placing for the week.

'Massive sales'

Last year's chart battle between Beckham, who teamed up with Dane Bowers and Truesteppers, and Spiller with Sophie Ellis Bextor was a close one - but no such battle is likely this time.

Chart expert Gennaro Castaldo of record chain HMV said: "We had a feeling Kylie was going to be huge, but these are absolutely massive day one sales.

"There has been a real buzz on this song for weeks now."

Posh has been diplomatic about her chart rival

Minogue herself had her doubts about the release date when she realized she was going to be up against the solo Spice Girl.

"When I first heard that my single was being released in the same week as hers I called my manager and asked if anyone had thought about moving it forward or delaying it," she said.

"But then I thought, everything has been planned for this particular week, and if I release mine a week early or a week later I am still going to be in competition with someone so I thought, it will be OK."

If its sales continue at this rate, Can't Get You Out Of My Head could have sold more than 200,000 copies by Saturday and would land straight in the number one position.

Kylie Minogue's new album, Fever, is released on 1 October.