Well, this is a chart with a theme, isn’t it?

1. Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso”

Two weeks, and still doing very well. The Taylor Swift tracks are on their way down the chart, which means that Hozier returns to number 2, but the obvious challenger is Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, which is up to 3.

10. Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
11. Kendrick Lamar – “Euphoria”
17. Drake – “Family Matters”
28. Kendrick Lamar – “Meet The Grahams”

That’s on top of Drake’s “Push Ups” at number 30, and “Like That” by Future & Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar at number 20 (back up ten places – it doesn’t count towards his three song limit because he’s only a guest).

Diss tracks used to be of interest mainly to the hardcore fans who could actually be bothered keeping track of this stuff; and besides, they tended not to be promoted as regular singles. This mess, on the other hand, seems to have attracted more attention than anything else that’s been going in hip hop for ages. The general consensus seems to be that Lamar is coming out of this better, and that while “Not Like Us” can pass for a relatively normal single, “Meet The Grahams” is almost unlistenably bleak – which is presumably why it’s down at number 28.

And that’s pretty much it for this week’s singles chart, because nothing else is getting any traction in the face of all this.

40. Dua Lipa – “These Walls”

The only other new entry this week is a random album track from Dua Lipa’s album “Radical Optimism”, which enters at number 1. This is a rather underwhelming impact on the singles chart, since her only other track on the top 40 is the current single “Illusion”, currently at 16. Still, it’s her third album and her second number 1.

This week’s climbers:

• “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey climbs 6-3.
• “Million Dollar Baby” by Tommy Richman climbs 31-7. That’s not a typo. It’s being overshadowed this week, but it’ll probably stick around.
• “Like That” by Future & Metro Boomin featuring Kendrick Lamar climbs 30-20 – I don’t normally list the rebounds by records on their way out, but that’s clearly more than a dead cat bounce.

There are five records leaving the top 40:

• “Prada” by cässo featuring Raye & D-Block Europe is finally out, having been around since August with a brief interruption over Christmas. Even on its post-Christmas run, it got another 8 weeks in the top 10.
• “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse was a re-entry at 39 last week.
• “End of Beginning” by Djo peaked at 4 back in March.
• “Cry No More” by Headie One, Stormzy & Tay Keith entered at 33 two weeks ago.
• “Alibi” by Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental made it to number 10 and lasted 15 weeks on the top 40.

The longest running track on the top 40 is “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan with 31 weeks and counting; it’s currently at number 19.

On the album chart, “Radical Optimism” by Dua Lipa is number 1, knocking Taylor Swift down to 2 on her third week.

3. Frank Turner – “Undefeated”

That’s about standard for him – all of his studio albums since 2013 have reached the top 3.

6. Kelly Jones – “Inevitable Incredible”

This is the third solo album by the lead singer of the Stereophonics. He released a live album in 2020, “Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day”, which got to number 8. He also released a studio album, “Only the Names Have Been Changed”, back in 2007, which failed to make the top 100 – all the stranger because the Stereophonics released a number one album that year.

17. Rachel Chinouriri – “What a Devastating Turn of Events”

Debut album – she’s been around since 2019 but an entire first album seems to have been recorded and ditched at some point.

19. The Karma Effect – “Promised Land”

UK trad rock. This is their second album – a self-released debut came out in 2022 and didn’t chart.

39. Camera Obscura – “Look to the East, Look to the West”

Glasgow indie band who haven’t released an album since 2013. They released five albums in their first run; the first three didn’t chart, the other two made the 30s.

37. Kaymuni – “Signed to the T”

And finally, a UK rap debut. He’s from Birmingham, and this is his first appearance on either chart.