I’m starting to think that the state of the singles chart might be less than healthy.

1. Sabrina Carpenter – “Taste”

Yeah, that opening caption isn’t kidding about the violence. It’s cartoon violence but it does merit a parental warning when it comes from a mainstream pop act. Anyway, Sabrina Carpenter’s album “Short N’ Sweet” is out this week and enters at number 1. To put in context what a good year this has been for her career, this is her sixth studio album and her first to even make the albums top 40. Granted, some of those records were made for Disney, but 2022’s “Emails I Can’t Send” was on Island, and it only got to number 41.

A surge of interest in the previous singles is strong enough to cancel the downweighting rule (I think you need to increase sales/streams by something like 25% week on week), and so “Please Please Please” is at number 2 and “Espresso” is at number 3. Clean sweeps of the top 3 have happened before, but rarely, since in practice it wasn’t possible until the digital age. Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles have all done it.

It’s Sabrina Carpenter’s third number one of 2024, which is quite something. The charts company is claiming her as the first female solo artist to have three number 1s in a single calendar year, but on inspection, that turns out to be one of those records that comes with quite a lot of asterisks:

• It depends on the words “calendar year”. Madonna and Ariana Grande both had three number one singles within a twelve month period that straddles two years.
• It requires you to ignore number ones scored as featured guests on other people’s records. If you count those, Jess Glynne did it in 2015 and Rita Ora did it in 2012.
• It requires you to strike out number ones which had credited guests on them, no matter how minor. If you count those, Lady Gaga did it in 2009.
• The word “solo” is also important. Three girl groups have had three number ones in a single year – the Spice Girls (twice), All Saints, and B*Witched.

Still, while it’s overselling it to suggest that it’s unprecedented, it’s undeniably impressive.

16. Oasis – “Don’t Look Back in Anger”
17. Oasis – “Wonderwall”
19. Oasis – “Live Forever”

Apparently people really are interested in the Oasis reunion tour. The Oasis back catalogue springs back to life with the maximum three tracks in the chart. They also have three albums in the album top 10. You’d think they were dead.

“Don’t Look Back in Anger” was their second number one, getting a single week in 1996. “Wonderwall” reached number 2 in 1995. It was held off the top by Robson & Jerome’s double A-side “I Believe” / “Up on the Roof”. And “Live Forever”, released as a single in 1994 just as they were moving up a league, only got to number 10. Nonetheless, they’re the recognised standards. I never much liked Oasis even in the 1990s, but I can get the appeal of their best songs. I wouldn’t honestly put “Live Forever” in that category, mind you. (Surely the best early Oasis single is “Cigarettes & Alcohol”?)

There are no other new entries on this week’s chart, which is… not very healthy seeming? If it hadn’t been for the three Oasis tracks, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren would have scraped in at number 39, for whatever that’s worth.

This week’s climbers:

• “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter rebounds 17-2, and “Espresso” jumps 14-3. Both have been number 1s, so these aren’t peaks, but they’re big enough jumps to be worth mentioning.
• “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy & DOD climbs 16-14.
• “The Door” by Teddy Swims climbs 23-22. This track has been in the top 40 for 14 weeks now but is still, very very slowly, making its way up.
• “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish climbs 36-34.

The four tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Nights Like This” by the Kid Laroi, which peaked at 28 and lasted 8 weeks.
• “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen, after an unexpected football-prompted six week run, peaking at 35.
• “Pour Me a Drink” by Post Malone & Blake Shelton, which re-entered at 39 last week.
• “I Don’t Wanna Wait” by David Guetta & OneRepublic, which peaked at 19 but hung around for 20 weeks.

The longest running track in the top 40 is still “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan at 47 weeks and counting, but it falls to 37 this week. Could it finally be on its way out?

On the album chart, “Short N’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter is number 1.

2. Fontaines DC – “Romance”

Their fourth album; the last one reached number 1, the one before was also number 2. The video above is the one that implausibly crosses over with Jade’s “Angel of my Dreams”. (Really, it does, though only after 3:19.)

13. Lainey Wilson – “Whirlwind”

Country singer. It’s her fifth album, but her first to chart in the UK.

15. Travis Scott – “Days Before Rodeo”

Tenth anniversary release of a mixtape he posted on Soundcloud in 2014; it hasn’t been available on regular streaming services before.

33. Louis Tomlinson – “Live”

Physical issue of a collection of live tracks that have been available on streaming for months.

39. Cassyette – “This World Fucking Sucks”

Debut album, though Cassy Brooking has been around for a few years now. She co-wrote the Bambie Thug track that Ireland entered for Eurovision this year. She was also the support act for a Bryan Adams tour earlier this year, which might sound like a baffling administrative error, but actually reflects the fact that her live act (or at least one version of it) bears no resemblance to the video above.