Already? Already?!?

1. Gracie Abrams – “That’s So True”

Two weeks, with a widening gap over the number 2 single, Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song”; “APT” by Rosé and Bruno Mars fills out a static top 3. “I Love You I’m Sorry” drops to 20, while “Close to You” re-enters at 31 to give her a third hit. That’s a new peak for it; it previously got a single week at 35 in June.

12. Myles Smith – “Nice to Meet You”

Well, at least someone has released a regular old single and seen it enter at a reasonably high position. This piece of MOR jauntiness is the second top 40 hit for Myles Smith, after “Stargazing”, which peaked at number 4 in October and is still on the chart at 24. His overall chart record is rather mixed: the follow-up to “Stargazing” was “Wait for You”, which missed the top 50. And the parent album “A Minute” is also out this week, but it only reaches number 63.

22. Paris Paloma – “Labour”

This originally reached number 29 in April 2023, and left the chart after two weeks. As a feminist anthem, it’s had a surge of viral interest in response to the US election result, and this does represent its highest position. It remains Paloma’s only UK hit; the album “Cacophony” came out in September but missed the top 100.

38. Mariah Carey – “All I Want for Christmas Is You”

Monstrous. A week later than last year, but still monstrous.

Oh well, here we go again: “All I Want for Christmas is You” reached number 2 on release in 1994, when it was held off number 1 by East 17’s “Stay Another Day”. It’s been back every year since 2007, and it reached number 1 in 2020 and 2022. Last year, it peaked at number 2.

39. Chrystal – “The Days”

She’s from Bolton, and this is her first hit. You have to admire the nerve of a record that clocks in at 2:50 and still spends its first 30 seconds on a minimal drumbeat.

This week’s climbers:

• “Hot to Go” by Chappell Roan climbs 5-4, but it’s actually slightly down in streams, and due to hit the downweighting rule next week. So barring a miracle, this is as high as it’s getting.
• “The Door” by Teddy Swims climbs 8-5, while current single “Bad Dreams” climbs 15-8 to become his third top ten hit.
• “Prada” by cässo, Raye & D-Block Europe climbs to 29 after three weeks at number 31, in what’s turning out to be a more substantial revival than I’d expected.
• “Close to You” by Gracie Abrams re-enters at 31, which is a new peak; it only had a single week at number 35 in June, but it’s been hanging around the lower reaches ever since.
• “Love Somebody” by Morgan Wallen re-enters at 40, matching its original peak from three weeks ago.

We have two new entries plus five re-entries (Paris Paloma, Mariah Carey, Gracie Abrams, Morgan Wallen, and “Austin” by Dasha is back at 37). The seven records making way for them are:

• “Sympathy is a Knife” by Charli XCX featuring Ariana Grande, which peaked at 7 three weeks ago.
• “Apple” by Charli XCX, which peaked at number 8 and had 16 weeks on the top 40.
• “Story of my Life” by One Direction, which re-entered at 9 three weeks ago.
• “Like Him” by Tyler, The Creator after a single week at 45.
• “Darling I” by Tyler, The Creator after two weeks, peaking at 24.
• “Sao Paolo” by The Weeknd & Anitta, after a single week at 22.
• “Embrace It” by Ndotz, peaking at 20 and with an 8-week run.

“Lose Control” by Teddy Swims remains the longest-running track on the top 40,at 46 weeks and counting.

On the album chart…

1. Michael Ball & Alfie Boe – “Together At Home”

Their fourth number one as a duo. Michael Ball & Alfie Boe are very much an act targetted at the Christmas gift market – over 80% of the chart points for this record are from CD sales.

4. Massive Wagons – “Earth to Grace”

Lancashire rock band. It’s their seventh album, their fourth to chart, and the chart places keep going up – 16, 9, 6, 4.

23. Fimiguerrero, Len & Lancey Foux – “Conglomerate”

UK rap collaboration. None of the three have charted before.

24. Primal Scream – “Come Ahead”

Their first album in eight years. Absence has apparently not done much to build interest; this is their lowest position for a studio album since their self-titled second album missed the top 100 entirely in 1989.

26. Nathan Evans – “1994”

Finally, a genuinely unexpected comeback. This is the same Nathan Evans who had a novelty number 1 hit with a dance remix of the sea shanty “Wellerman” in 2021, putting him on the list of true one-hit wonders – a number one hit single and nothing else. An accompanying album failed to chart. Three years later, though, he shows up in the album chart. There was a clumsily dance-y lead single, which got to number 42, but he might actually be better placed going for a second life as a folk-pop artist.