Don’t get too comfortable.  We won’t be here long.  The singles market remains weirdly moribund as we head into February, with only a single new entry on this week’s chart.  We do have some big climbers, but in terms of actual new records, you’ll have Fall Out Boy or you’ll have nothing.

40.  Jake Bugg – “Lightning Bolt”
38.  Nickelback – “How You Remind Me”
36.  One Direction – “Little Things”
30.  The Fray – “How To Save A Life”

Since something’s got to replace the records dropping out of the charts, we have a few re-entries down at the bottom.  Jake Bugg was still floating around just outside the top 40.  “Little Things” is probably here because it was used on Dancing on Ice last weekend.  I’ve no clue what the others are doing here.  The Fray made number 4 with this single six years ago; Nickleback’s “How You Remind Me” dates back to 2002.  Something has suddenly made them pick up sales again but I honestly don’t know what.  Any suggestions, let us know in the comments thread.

12.  Little Mix – “Change Your Life”

And breathe out.

When this entered at number 36, the group can’t have been thrilled; when it showed up the week after at 31, they should have been downright worried.  But at last, it leaps 19 places up the chart.  This coincides with the release of the proper video, so perhaps Little Mix fans spend a lot of time watching the music channels and not so much listening to the radio.

The video naturally plays up the “ordinary girls who won X Factor and became pop stars” angle, though there’s still a nagging voice at the back of my head saying that if you’re going to do songs like this, you really do have to make the top ten with them.  There’s something a little bit presumptuous about songs like this that’s exposed if they don’t actually do well – from the look of the midweek chart, it’s going no further.

And that “Become what you’ve always known” line is still dire.

10.  Dizzee Rascal – “Bassline Junkie” 

Finally making the top ten after over a month on sale.

5.  Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark”

It’s not often that you can compare Fall Out Boy to David Bowie, but they do have one thing in common here: they both suddenly announced a comeback single out of nowhere, and saw it sail into the top ten.  Fall Out Boy had eight hits between 2006-8 but haven’t done anything as a group since then – nor have any of their solo projects registered on the singles chart.  Their biggest UK hit was “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race”, which made number 2; this one is their second-biggest.

Fall Out Boy have often given the impression that they start with the track listing and work back from there.  Other singles have included “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me'”, “Thnks fr th Mmrs” and (no, really) “I’m Like A Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)”.  This one isn’t quite so knowingly quirky as those, but it’s still feels like they’ve come up with a great title and then padded out the rest of the lyrics with assorted vaguenesses along the same general theme.  On the other hand, it’s got a great chorus, and being a nicely radio-friendly single in a quiet week, it should probably be no surprise that it’s done this well.

4.  Emeli Sande – “Clown” 

Since it’s a quiet week, let’s note that this one’s also been a slow burner – it’s been hanging around since just before Christmas, but it’s kept scaling.  Now it finally clambers from the bottom end of the top 10 – possibly because an EP has been released with a live version.

2. Disclosure (featuring AlunaGeorge) – “White Noise” 

Climbing from 28 now that it’s got a full seven days of sales (it was a midweek release last week).  Their previous single is still hanging in at the bottom end of the top 40, so their chart career is off to a pretty stellar start.

1.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (featuring Wanz) – “Thrift Shop”

Climbing to the top in its third week on the chart.  And while it’s hardly another “Gangnam Style”, this track is turning out to be another example of how very unlikely singles can sometimes break out in the digital era, without anyone really trying to promote them in this country.  It’s self-released (though he does have a distribution deal in the US), it floated around in total obscurity for the first few months on release, but now it’s suddenly gone viral and reached number one in seven countries.  Whether you like the record or not, the very fact that that can happen is something to be celebrated.

Over on the albums chart:-

• The Les Miserables soundtrack is still at number 1.
  
• “Anna” by the Courteeners at number 6.  Third album for the Manchester indie band, all of which made the top 10.  (It’s going to plummet next week, though – the midweeks have it at 33.)
• “Pedestrian Verse” by Frightened Rabbit at number 9.  For some reason the only time I ever see these guys is when they crop up on BBC Scotland’s Hogmanay show to bring a little angst to the proceedings.  Their last album only made 61, so this is a definite commercial breakout for them, even if it plunges next week.  (And it will – it’s not even on the midweek chart.)
• “Romantique” by Richard Clayderman at number 13.  In times of financial hardship, people need easy listening piano.
• “Wonderful Glorious” by the Eels at number 14.  Their first album in three years, and actually their highest chart placing since “Souljacker” back in 2001 (though not by much).
• “Centre Stage” by Kimberley Walsh at number 18.  Girls Aloud member makes a solo album of West End standards.  An odd thing to have out alongside the group’s reunion.
• “A Moving Picture” by Devlin at number 19.  Probably more of a singles artist.  His debut made number 21, so this is a minor improvement.
• “In Time” by The Mavericks at number 37.  The country band are best (let’s be honest, almost entirely) known in the UK for their 1998 hit “Dance The Night Away”.