Why, this is almost like old times.  Six new entries!  We haven’t had that in ages.  The chart compilers will be relieved about that.  It’s something to talk about in the press release.

1.  Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – “Closer”

But it’s not all good news for them.  “Closer” gets a second week at number 1.  That’s not the problem.  Two weeks is fine, especially since it’s still growing.  The problem is that it heads a completely static top 7, and this is no longer all that unusual – in muting the impact of first-week fan sales, the streaming era seems to be illustrating that commercial radio was right all along about just how long it takes for the public to lose interest in a hit.

10.  Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha – “In The Name of Love”

Up from 17, giving Garrix his fourth top 10 hit, and Rexha her second.  I think I said before that this was her first credit hit, but it turns out the Chart Company’s search engine has a glitch and doesn’t reliably pick up credited guest appearances.  She’s had two of those, one of which was on Cash Cash’s 2014 hit “Take Me Home”.  (The other was on G-Eazy’s “Me, Myself and I” from the spring, which she overtakes this week.)

11.  Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons with Logic, Ty Dolla $ign and X Ambassadors – “Sucker for Pain”

Back on the climb, having moved 28-16-13-13-11.  This is Lil Wayne’s biggest hit as a lead artist, though he’s been in the top 10 several times as a guest.  And since they’re given co-billing, it technically now overtakes “Radioactive” to become Imagine Dragons’ biggest hit too..

15.  Olly Murs – “You Don’t Know Love”

A second rebound, and another new peak – this has moved 23-34-30-32-35-19-31-27-15.  This time, it’s because he performed on the Strictly Come Dancing launch show, which caused a surge in sales (but not streams, which is why he isn’t in the top 10).

16.  Bob Marley featuring Lvndscape & Bolier – “Is This Love (Remix)”

After six weeks hovering outside the top 40, this has taken off, moving 39-20-16.

19.  Ellie Goulding – “Still Falling For You”

Rebounding after a one-place slip in its second week out.  It now overtakes the number 20 peak of her previous single “Army”.

24.  Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj – “Side to Side”

This has been out as an album track since June, but they’ve cut the price, which has helped sales enough to get it into the top 40.  (On the sales chart, it would be in the top 10.)  Ariana Grande is one of those odd acts who can regularly get her records into the middle of the chart but needs a high profile guest star to get much beyond that.  Technically she has two number 1s to her name, but both of them had vastly bigger names attached, including (in the case of “Bang Bang”) Nicki Minaj.  So chances are Minaj is a big part of the draw here too.  The song is perfectly serviceable pop reggae; the video is desperately unsubtle in a way that usually feels a bit forced unless you’re, well, Nicki Minaj.

30.  Zara Larsson – “Ain’t My Fault”

Probably the best of this week’s six new entries, though admittedly they’re a rather uninspiring and samey bunch.  Still, MNEK has a hand in this, and it’s got some swagger to it.  This is the lead single from her upcoming album, but it’s her fourth hit of the year, and her second as the lead artist.  The previous one, “Lush Life”, peaked at 3 and hung around the top 40 for 28 weeks.  This is charting in its first week, and without a video yet, so we’re still in the early stages of promotion.

31.  Offaiah – “Trouble”

Decent enough house record which has been pushed by Radio 1.  There doesn’t seem to be any information about this guy beyond the fact that he’s supposedly a producer from Argentina, but you should probably take that sort of thing with a pinch of salt.

35.  Matoma & Becky Hill – “False Alarm”

Bubbling under for a month now.  It’s the first hit for Matoma; Hill had a number 1 in 2014 as the added singer on Oliver Heldens’ “Gecko”.  This one is made squarely to the 2016 template – bit tuneful, bit obvious, bit heartfelt, midpaced, irritating noise used for the instrumental hook.

36.  Digital Farm Animals & Cash Cash – “Millionaire”

This is on Simon Cowell’s label, though it’s another of his rare attempts to diversify into actual pop.  Digital Farm Animals is a London producer; in one of those happy coincidences, Cash Cash are the people I mentioned earlier on who worked with Bebe Rexha on “Take Me Home” (number 5 in 2014).  Nelly is on this as well, though for whatever reason the Chart Company aren’t currently giving him a credit.

38.  Cheat Codes & Dante Klein – “Let Me Hold You (Turn Me On)”

This entered at 40 two weeks ago, and it’s now edging up.

39.  Mike Perry featuring Shy Martin – “The Ocean”

Debut hit.  This was a number 1 in Perry’s native Sweden.  It’s another very, very 2016 record.

On the album chart, it’s a busy week too.

• “Cartwheels” by Ward Thomas at 1.  The official line is that this is the first number 1 album by a British country act, though you have to wonder quite what definition of “country” would cover this but not (say) Texas, who had two number 1s in the 90s.  Single: “Carry You Home”.
• “The Nation’s Favourite Carpenters Songs” by the Carpenters at 2.  Greatest hits album spinning off an ITV special.  According to ITV, the Nation’s Favourite Carpenters Song is “Please Mr Postman” (number 2 in 1975), but I’m going to go with 1977’s “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft”, since CBeebies use it in trailers.  Though I suppose that was a cover, so…
• “Trick” by Jamie T at 3.  His fourth album; they’ve all landed between 2 and 4.  Single: “Power Over Men”.
• “Growing Over Life” by Wretch 32 at 5.  His second major label album; the last one got to 4.  (His 2008 independent release, “Wretchrospective”, has never charted.)  Single: “Antwi”.
• “Bad Vibrations” by A Day To Remember at 6.  Bit odd.  This is a guitar band from Florida who are on their sixth album, but they’ve never made the album top 40 before.  Quite why they’re suddenly making the top 10, I don’t know.  Single: “Naivety”.
• “Foreverland” by The Divine Comedy at 7.  The first album to be released under the Divine Comedy name in six years, though Hannon also put out a Duckworth Lewis Method album during that time.  Remarkably, this is the highest chart placing for a Divine Comedy studio album, though their 1999 greatest hits album got to number 3.  Single: “Catherine the Great”.
• “Familia” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor at 12.  She’s stopped having hit singles, but the albums are still doing okay.  The Wikipedia article for this album is three paragraphs long and still finds space for the information that the lead single was added to West Hull FM’s playlist on 1 August.  That single: “Come With Us”.
• “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” by Travis Scott at 19.  He’s on Kanye’s label.  Second major label release, doing slightly better than the last one.  Single: “Pick Up The Phone”.  (NSFW.)
• “Astronaut Meets Appleman” by King Creosote at 25.  Veteran songwriter who finally reached the album chart (after 40+ releases) last time round.  Not a blip, apparently.  Single: “You Just Want”.
• “A Moment of Madness” by Izzy Bizu at 28.  Soul singer who was on some of the people-to-watch-in-2016 lists.  Single: “Mad Behaviour”.
• “Messenger of the Gods” by Freddie Mercury at 31.  A singles collection, celebrating what would have been his 70th birthday.  His two biggest solo hits were both posthumous – the 1992 re-release of “Barcelona” (which the BBC used as the Olympics theme that year), and the 1993 remix of “Living On My Own”, which reached number 1.  During his life, his biggest solo hit was his cover of “The Great Pretender”, which reached number 4 in 1987.
• “Going Going” by the Wedding Present at 35.  That’s their highest placing since “Hit Parade 2” (the collection of the second half of their monthly singles project) back in 1993.  Single: “Bear”.