After the epic ten-week run of Dave & Central Cee’s “Sprinter”, we seem to be in a phase of the records it held off taking their turn at number one. Two weeks ago we had Billie Eilish. Last week it was Dua Lipa. And now, a record that wasn’t even number 1 in the midweeks…

1. Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire”

This is the third number one for Olivia Rodrigo, following “Drivers Licence” and “Good 4 U” from her previous album. It’s not even the current single – that’s “Bad Idea Right”, which is a non-mover at 11 this week. “Vampire” is on its ninth week, and it spent the first four stuck at number 2 behind “Sprinter”. It’s never dropped before 5, but it’s still impressive for it to fight its way back to number 1.

The record at number 1 in the midweeks was “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat, which winds up at number 2. It must still be in with a shot next week. And if you’re wondering what happened to Dua Lipa, she gets hammered by the downweighting rule this week and drops straight to number 15.

12. Miley Cyrus – “Used To Be Young”

This is the bonus track from the expanded version of her current album. I was going to say “last album”, but it only came out in March. It’s a straight ballad, and clearly intended as something of a chapter ender. It’s kind of a song you make when you assume your audience aren’t young any more either, but as a singer she can really sell this stuff.

19. Burna Boy featuring Dave – “Cheat On Me”
31. Burna Boy – “City Boys”

Two tracks from his album “I Told Them…”, which enters the album chart at number 1. Oddly, he doesn’t max out his three songs – there isn’t another track from the album in the top 100. It’s his seventh album, the fourth to chart in the UK, and his first number one. The last one reached number two, though. (EDIT: Apparently the chart compilers are treating “Talibans” by Byron Messia as his third track, because the remix with Burna Boy also appears on “I Told Them…”, even though he doesn’t get a credit for it on the singles chart. Okay then.)

The sample in “Cheat On Me” is from “Cheating On Me”, a fairly obscure single by Kwabs, inexplicably released in December 2015. The hook in “City Boys” is a sample from “Birthday Sex” by Jeremih, which reached number 15 in 2009.

21. Selena Gomez – “Single Soon”

Technically, this is the first time we’ve seen Selena Gomez in the singles chart since 2021 (and her highest position since 2019), but in practice she’s on the version of Rema’s “Calm Down” that got most of the airplay in the UK, and that was a huge hit. “Single Soon” is… boy, really underwhelming. Feels terribly middle aged.

This week’s climbers:

• “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat climbs 4-2. That’s her second number 2, after “Say So”; she’s yet to have a number 1.
• “Disconnect” by Becky Hill and Chase & Status climbs 7-6. Chase & Status have never got above number 5, and they haven’t done that since 2013. Could this be the one?
• “Desire” by Calvin Harris & Sam Smith climbs 8-7.
• “Prada” by cässo x Raye x D-Block Europe climbs 20-8, somewhat unexpectedly becoming Raye’s fifth top 10 hit, and D-Block Europe’s fourth. The sampled track, “Ferrari Horses”, only got to 15.
• “Baddadan” by Chase & Status featuring Bou and Flowdan climbs 14-9. Yes, two Chase & Status singles in the top 10 at the same time. Wouldn’t have seen that coming a month ago.
• “Asking” by Sonny Fodera & MK featuring Clementine Douglas climbs 21-20.
• “Bittersweet Goodbye” by Issey Cross climbs 31-28.

If you were wondering, “Rich Men From Richmond” is a non-mover.

The four tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Meltdown” by Travis Scott featuring Drake, which peaked at 10.
• “Little Things” by Jorja Smith, which got to 11.
• “Dancing is Healing” by Rudimental featuring Charlotte Plank & Vibe Chemistry, peaking at 5.
• “Chemical” by Post Malone, which reached number 11 in the spring.

The longest running track in the top 40 is “Miracle” by Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding at 25 weeks, currently at number 32 – at least if we’re going by uninterrupted runs.

On the album chart, “I Told Them…” by Burna Boy is number 1.

2. Claire Richards – “Euphoria”

Yes, that’s Claire from Steps. This is her second solo album; “My Wildest Dreams” reached number 9 in 2019. I’ve heard better productions of “Enough Is Enough” but she’s a much better singer than I remembered.

6. Digga D – “Back To Square One”

His fourth album – mixtape, officially. Its predecessor reached number 1 last year, so this is a definite step back. One of the singles, “Energy”, made number 15.

7. Ashnikko – “Weedkiller”

Strobe warning on that video. Officially her debut album, but the mixtape “Demidevil” reached number 19 two years ago. She got a minor hit single off that one, but not so this time round.

8. Alice Cooper – “Road”

His 22nd studio album. He’s now 75. His last album, in 2021, reached number 4.

40. Hot Milk – “A Call to the Void”

Manchester rock band; it’s their debut album.