Back to another quiet week, then.

1. Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please”

That’s five weeks in total. It’s hanging on there by default more than anything else, but it’s still 5% ahead of Chappell Roan at number 2, and everything else in the top 10 has been around even longer than it has. “Espresso” is still at number 8

26. Post Malone featuring Luke Combs – “Guy For That”

Another single from Post Malone’s country album, though the change of genre hasn’t persuaded him to get rid of that awful vocal processing he insists on using. The previous track, with Blake Shelton, only got to number 34. Luke Combs has a bit more of a UK profile, since his version of “Fast Car” was a minor hit last year. The most notable thing about this, though, is that we’ve now reached the point where routine country-pop records are a regular feature on the UK chart, when for years they were quarantined within the USA.

30. *NSync – “Bye Bye Bye”

Because it’s in the opening of Deadpool and Wolverine. This was a number 3 hit in 2000, though it’s not their biggest UK hit – “Girlfriend” got to number 2. Justin Timberlake’s last single “Selfish” only managed one place higher than this…

34. Central Cee – “Gen Z Luv”

If you’re going to do a video full of product placement for the iPhone, that’s certainly a creative way of doing it. Number 34 is low for Central Cee, but he does have “Band4Band” at 17 and “Did it First” at 21, so it looks like this just got overshadowed.

36. Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding – “Free”

These two have collaborated several times before. “I Need Your Love” reached number 4 in 2013, “Outside” got to number 6 the following year, and “Miracle” was a number 1 last year. Obviously, by their standards this is quite a low placing, though Harris’s chart record has been getting patchier in recent years. Ellie Goulding hasn’t had a top 40 hit without Calvin Harris since 2019.

This week’s climbers:

• “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan climbs 3-2. It’s been on the top 40 for 16 weeks now, but it could yet get to the top.
• “Stargazing” by Myles Smith climbs 5-4; it’s been in the top 10 since the start of June.
• “Austin” by Dasha climbs 8-5, which is absolutely bizarre. This record reached its previous peak of number 7 back in April, since when it’s been setting unlikely records by spending thirteen consecutive weeks hovering between 9 and 10.
• “Kisses” by Bl3ss, CamrinWatsin & Bbyclose climbs 13-9 to enter the top 10.  Technically this has been out longer than “Please Please Please”, but it spent its first few weeks in the lower reaches, so in that sense it’s the new blood at the top end of the chart.
• “360” by Charli XCX climbs 18-12, while “Apple” climbs 23-14. She does finally seem to be getting her moment in the sun, beyond the confines of her (admittedly large) cult following.
• “Kehlani” by Jordan Adetunji climbs 17-15. There’s now a remix featuring the actual Kehlani, which has its own video, a rather more expensive one than the supposed lead version.  It’s not credited as the lead version, though, so Kehlani doesn’t officially get a chart credit.
• “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv, Keinemusik, Orso & Malachiii climbs 25-18.
• “The Door” by Teddy Swims climbs 29-24. It reached its previous peak of number 26 in June and it’s been hovering around the low 20s and high 30s ever since.
• “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen has crossed over from the initial surge of interest linked to the Euros, and climbs 37-35 in its third week on chart.
• “Set my Heart on Fire” by Majestic, Jammin Kid & Celine Dion climbs 40-39.

The four records leaving the top 40 are:

• “Devil is a Lie” by Tommy Richman, with five weeks and a peak at 21.
• “Chk Chk Boom” by Stray Kids, after a single week at number 30.
• “Habits” by Eminem featuring White Gold, which got to 11 as an album track and lasted two weeks.
• “Brand New Dance” by Eminem, another album track which got a single week at 38.

The longest-running track on the top 40 is still “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, at 43 weeks and counting. It’s currently at number 32.

On the album chart, “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)” by Eminem is number 1 for a third week. Of note, “Brat” by Charli XCX rebounds to 3 (admittedly, it never dropped below 6), and “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” by Chappell Roan continues to climb, reaching a new peak of number 4.

6. Blur – “Live at Wembley Stadium”

Exactly what it sounds like. Blur usually get to number 1 with studio albums, but this is a live album recorded in 2023. I can’t say the snippet above gives me any desire to hear the rest.

8. Sam Tompkins – “Hi, My Name is Insecure.”

His debut album, although an EP called “Who Do You Pray To?” reached number 7 in 2022.

10. Ghost – “Rite Here Rite Now – OST”

Ghost’s last three albums made the top 10, and apparently their popularity extends to the soundtrack of this… well, it’s mostly a live album, but it includes some other narrative framework too. And some of the concert footage is apparently replaced by animated videos like this one.

30. The Police – “Synchronicity”

Deluxe reissue. This the final Police album, which reached number 1 on release in 1983. Its best known track is “Every Breath You Take”, but who wants to hear that again?