I remember the days when there were more than two new entries a week on the singles chart…

1. Chase & Status and Stormzy – “Backbone”

Two weeks, though the gap is closing. Number 2 is “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan, which has been at that position before, three weeks ago. “Hot to Go” also climbs 12-10 to become her second top 10 hit. And let’s take a moment to acknowledge that “Austin” by Dasha is spending its twentieth week in the top 10; it’s currently at number 6, and it peaked at 5.

7. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”

Although Lady Gaga’s name comes first in the credit, this really feels more like a Bruno Mars song to me – it’s a soft rock ballad which is a little too interested in faithfully recreating the past to quite work for me as a song, but only because the strings seem a bit too visible for my liking. If you don’t mind that, then it’s a good single.

Bruno Mars hasn’t had a hit since 2021, when Silk Sonic had a couple of top 20 hits; he was last in the top 10 in 2018, when “Finesse” reached number 5. Lady Gaga’s last top 40 hit was in 2022, but she hasn’t been in the top 10 since “Rain On Me” was a number 1 during the pandemic in 2020.

35. Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”

Debut hit. She’s from Brooklyn, and it’s not a single that I’d have expected to make the top 40 – it’s pleasant enough, but very much a track that feels like it’s building to a chorus that never comes. Mind you, you could say that about “Kehlani” and it’s been in the top 10 for three weeks. Vibes can take you a long way. It’s been climbing from the lower reaches over the last three weeks, so it does have some momentum.

There are no other new entries, although Post Malone’s “Pour Me a Drink” re-enters at 39 following the release of his album. This week’s climbers:

• “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan returns to its previous peak of 2 and “Hot to Go” climbs 12-10. (Her third track, “Red Wine Supernova”, holds steady at its peak of 31.)
• “Kisses” by Bl3ss & CamrinWatsin featuring Bbyclose climbs 6-5.
• “Kehlani” by Jordan Adetunji climbs 9-8.
• “Bye Bye Bye” by NSync returns to its number 12 peak from two weeks ago.
• “Big Dawgs” by Hanumankind & Kalmi climbs 21-15.
• “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy & DOD climbs 19-16.
• “The Door” by Teddy Swims returns to its number 23 peak from two weeks ago.
• “Guy For That” by Post Malone featuring Luke Combs rebounds 37-25, which is one place higher than its initial entry point three weeks ago.
• “I Love You I’m Sorry” by Gracie Abrams climbs 38-37.

The three tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Free” by Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, which lasted three weeks and peaked at 35.
• “Birds in the Sky” by NewEra, after a four-week re-entry run in the low thirties.
• “Who” by Jimin, which peaked at 4 and managed to hang around for four weeks – unusual for a K-pop single.

The longest running track on the top 40 is still “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan, at 46 weeks and counting. It’s currently at number 32.

On the album chart:

1. Post Malone – “F-1 Trillion”

His sixth album, his third number 1. The other two were in 2018-2019, though his two following albums still got to number 3, so it’s not like he fell off a cliff. Three tracks are on the singles top 40.

There’s an asterisk next to this number one, though…

2. The Script – “Satellites”

The Script would have been number one, except that they somehow managed to breach the chart rules. I’m not entirely clear what happened there – it seems to have only come to light during the week, which resulted in the official sales flashes on Monday and Wednesday appearing to show that 4,000 customers had returned their Script albums to the shop. The prevailing theory seems to be that it was something to do a contest incentive. Anyway, Post Malone’s eventual lead over the Script in eligible sales was only just over 1,000 copies, so this is what tipped the balance. As a result, it’s only the second Script album to miss number 1 – their third album also reached number 2 in 2012.

15. Scarlet Rebels – “Where the Colours Meet”

Welsh rock band. Their debut album reached number 7 in 2022.

21. Royal Blood – “Royal Blood”

Tenth anniversary reissue. It was number 1 for a week in 2014.

22. Hamish Hawk – “A Firmer Hand”

Scottish songwriter, on his fifth album and his first to chart. Never heard of him, to be honest, but the single above is great. Bold move to perform in the style of a threateningly furious English teacher, but it seems to work for him.  The YouTube algorithm is, perhaps understandably, keen to draw my attention to his 2021 single “The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973.” I should listen to more of this guy.

29. Falling in Reverse – “Popular Monster”

US rock band. It’s their fifth album and their first to chart, though this one has been plagued by line-up instability and the death of one member, leading to a seven year gap between albums. “Zombified”, above, is the AEW entrance music of Saraya – she’s the lead singer’s partner.

36. The Stranglers – “Fifty Years in Black – The Anniversary”

Live album from their 50th anniversary tour. There doesn’t seem to be anything official for this album that I can embed, so here’s a trailer for the tour itself.