The post-Christmas lull is definitively over this week, as 2011’s first wave of major releases results in ten new entries.  Despite that, Bruno Mars clings on at the top for a second week with “Grenade”.  Since he was at number 2 in the midweeks, it’s fair to assume that it was a close run thing.

The unfortunate single which was number one on the midweeks only to fall short at the end of the week is “Rolling in the Deep”, the lead single from Adele‘s second album.  And it’s really very good.

Adele Adkins was supposed to be the next big thing of 2008. Her debut single “Chasing Pavements” made number 2, and it was kind of diminishing returns from there.  It’s been over two years since she last released anything but, fortunately for her, the last series of X Factor made extensive use of her cover version of “Make You Feel Me Love”, which returned to the top ten several times over the last few months, reminding everyone that she existed, just in time for her to release what’s easily the best single of her career.  For once, this isn’t a case of X Factor cross-promoting Simon Cowell’s own acts; Adele is signed to the indie label XL Recordings.

This is her sixth hit single (the first album was pretty much stripmined for them), and while it technically equals “Chasing Pavements” as her biggest hit, apparently it sold way more copies.

There are four other new entries in the top ten, making this the busiest week in months.  Number 4 is “Coming Home” by Diddy – Dirty Money featuring Skylar Grey. Diddy – Dirty Money is, in theory at least, not the same thing as P Diddy.  Heavens no, it’s a band.  A band which just happens to give him top billing.  There are other members – Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper – but it’s doubtful that anyone is paying that much attention to the difference.  Still, if you want to play along, this is the group’s second UK hit, easily beating the number 22 peak of “Hello Good Morning” last July.  Skylar Grey is not, as you might think, a minor character from Blake’s Seven, but the stage name of songwriter Holly Hafferman, who is presumably trying to launch a solo career through the now standard string of guest appearances.  It’s her first UK hit.  As for the single, it’s radio friendly, it’s perfectly listenable, and it’s rather instantly forgettable.

Number 5 is “Traktor” by Wretch 32, the debut hit for a London rapper who’s also cropping up on those tipped-for-2011 lists.  It’s at the less commercial end of the spectrum (by current standards, at any rate), and I can’t quite shake the feeling that whoever produced this has been listening to a lot of Major Lazer.  It’s pretty good, and I’m glad to see it getting this far up the chart.

Number 6 is “Hold It Against Me” by Britney Spears, the lead single from her next album.  It’s been rush-released after initial radio play got more interest than the label was expecting, and there isn’t a video for it yet.  (It’s still being edited.)  And yes, the lyrics are  indeed based around that old gag.  It’s her first single in over a year, and her highest chart position since “Womanizer” in 2008.  Her 26th top 40 hit in a career which, however erratically, has been going since 1999.

Number 8 is “Like U Like” by Aggro Santos featuring Kimberley Walsh.  Santos is a Anglo-Brazilian rapper (born in Sao Paolo, grew up in London) who’s at the more commercial end of the spectrum of London rappers who’ve crossed over to the mainstream over the last couple of years.  This is his third hit, but it’s arguably more notable for featuring the first solo credit for Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud, who’s presumably figured out that it’s time to start planning for the future now that Cheryl Cole’s priorities evidently lie elsewhere.  Judging from the midweeks, this single is going to flare out pretty quickly.

Proving that persistence sometimes pays off, number 14 is “Now or Never” by Jodie Connor featuring Wiley.  Jodie Connor was a contestant in the second series of Pop Idol back in 2003, who got voted off almost immediately and has stubbornly refused to give up.  She was the guest vocalist on Roll Deep’s number 1 “Good Times” last year, and now finally gets her very own hit, albeit a rather middling pop-R&B number.  Roll Deep’s frontman Wiley crops up to do a guest rap, for his sixth solo hit.

“Hello” by Martin Solveig & Dragonette is still climbing at 16, and “Let it Rain” by Tinchy Stryder featuring Melanie Fiona is up to 25.  Number 29 is Avril Lavigne’s comeback single “What The Hell” – still in the early stages of promotion, with the video only released at the weekend, so it’s got a fair chance to go further.  That said, the midweeks have it dropping to 39, which isn’t what you’d call encouraging.

It’s along similar lines to the dreaded “Girlfriend”, a song rather neatly demolished by the answer song from Everybody Was In The French Resistance Now, with a dash of… well, Ke$ha, or something.  To be fair, this is apparently the token “Hey, remember Avril Lavigne?” track from the album, and she says it’s not especially representative.  The video is actually rather less obnoxious than the song itself.  And much as I wish I could deny it, it is catchy.  Stupid.  But catchy.

This is her first proper single since 2007, though she did make a video for “Alice”, a track from the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack that reached 59 last year.  To be fair, it is quite different from her previous singles, though the vocal production doesn’t do it any favours.  It’s… er, shouty, let’s say.  Anyway, “What The Hell” is Lavigne’s 12th UK hit.

Number 37 is “Higher” by Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy, an unlikely collection if ever there was one.  And a slightly odd credit, because there are multiple versions of this.  If you prefer a bit of rapping, there’s the Travie McCoy version; if you’d like a straight electropop version with veteran endorsement, there’s the Kylie version.  And if you’d like both, you can have that too.  They’re really covering all their bases here.

It’s a slow start, but judging from the midweeks it’s going to shoot up on Sunday.  Cruz’s twelfth hit, Kylie’s (ahem) forty-seventh, and McCoy’s second as a solo artist (the other being “Billionaire” from last August; he also had three hits with Gym Class Heroes).

Number 38 is “Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)” by Pitbull featuring T-Pain, a straight dance record with all the lyrical nuance you’re probably expecting from that title and those artists.  It’s passably catchy but it shows no sign of breaking from the pack.  The video suggests that Pitbulll is now going for the Grant Morrison look, which is interesting.  Pitbull’s eighth hit, T-Pain’s seventh.

And finally, at number 40, it’s the obligatory Glee single for this week – their version of Toxic – bringing their total of top 40 hits to twenty .  Their version of “The Only Exception” just missed the chart, at number 45.

So, tons of new entries this week.  Judging from the midweeks, which have only six new entries, it’s a blip and things settle down again on Sunday – which is for the best, I think.  And don’t hold your breath for Bruno Mars getting a third week at number 1.