The top end of the singles chart remains logjammed with Mostly Sabrina Carpenter – the top six are all non-movers this week. So…

1. Sabrina Carpenter – “Taste”

That’ll be six weeks.

7. The Weeknd & Playboi Carti – “Timeless”

This is the second single from the upcoming Weeknd album. The first one was “Dancing in the Flames”, which entered at number 12 a fortnight ago. It’s not doing well – after two weeks, it’s currently at number 36.

“Dancing in the Flames” was a standard Weeknd 80s-throwback synthpop track. “Timeless” isn’t, which is somewhat reassuring, except that it’s a chorus-free piece of mumble rap propped up by an electro beat. I’ve seen mixed reactions to this one, and it’s certainly a curious choice of single. Presumably the idea is to signal that the new album won’t just be more of the same. It’s the highest position yet for Playboi Carti as a collaborator (he’s never got above number 32 as a solo artist), beating his previous peak of number 10. That was on another Weeknd track, “Popular”.

18. Linkin Park – “Heavy is the Crown”

I was slightly surprised when one Linkin Park comeback track entered at number 4. I’m even more surprised to find a second one in the top 20, while “The Emptiness Machine” is still holding on at a respectable number 14 after four weeks. Linkin Park are wildly out of kilter with current singles chart fashion, but that track seems to have some genuine crossover appeal beyond their fan base. This one might also have benefited from being  the official theme for League of Legends Worlds 24. Hence the 100% product placement video. (There’s also a live version available if you want to skip that stuff.)

39. Nines – “Going Crazy”

When Nines makes the top 40 at all, it tends to be down at the lower end of the top 40. His last two top 40 hits got to 35 and 37. This is from his album “Quit While You’re Ahead” which enters at number 4 – marginally on the low side for him, but he’s released six albums/mixtapes since 2017 and they’ve all made the album top 5.

There’s also a re-entry at number 40 for “Stick Season”, because we were all missing it. As a result, it manages a 50th (non-consecutive) week in the top 40.

This week’s climbers:

• “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish climbs 23-20.
• “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae climbs 37-22.

Ah. That’s it.

The four tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Who” by Jimin, which was a re-entry at number 40 last week.
• “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone, which only got to number 14 but lasted 26 weeks.
• “Wonderwall” by Oasis, with five weeks and a peak at 11.
• “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis, with five weeks and a peak at 9.

The longest running track on the top 40 is “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, which has been on for 40 consecutive weeks. It’s currently at number 29.

On the album chart:

1. Shed Seven – “Liquid Gold”

Because you demanded it: Shed Seven re-record their greatest hits, but this time with an orchestra! To be fair, the version of “Getting Better” above is actually quite decent, but… the very concept of Shed Seven with an orchestra feels terribly inessential. It’s their seventh studio album and their second number one – following “A Matter of Time”, which only came out in January.

2. Bring Me The Horizon – “Post Human – Nex Gen”

Physical release of the album that they released digitally in May; it got to number 5 at that point.

4. Nines – “Quit While You’re Ahead”

We’ve covered the single already.

5. Ed Sheeran – “+–=÷× – Tour Collection”

For those of you who like to read things aloud, that’s “The Mathematics Tour Collection”. Despite the title, this isn’t a live album – it’s just a greatest hits collection drawing from the various Mathematics albums. It’s the first Ed Sheeran album to miss number 1 since 2011, but given that there’s no new material on it, that’s hardly surprising.

7. Ezra Collective – “Dance, No One’s Watching”

Their third album and easily the highest placing – their previous best was number 24 with 2022’s “Where I’m Meant To Be”. That album won the Mercury, though, so evidently a Mercury win still has some impact.

13. Pale Waves – “Smitten”

Their fourth album and the first to miss the top 10. The single above is very Cranberries.

21. Maximo Park – “Stream of Life”

That’s surprisingly low. Maximo Park’s last album reached number 2 in 2021; they’ve never previously placed below number 15, and that was in 2005.