Well, Ed Sheeran’s got a new album out. But…

1. Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red”

That’s five weeks. It’s very, very unlikely to make six, because it’s way past its peak and so it’s due to be hit by the downweighting rule next week.

5. Jung Kook featuring Jack Harlow – “3D”

A second solo hit for BTS’s Jung Kook, following “Seven”, which reached number 3 earlier in the year. “Seven” had Latto on it, and this has Jack Harlow – they’re clearly aiming for the international audience here, and it’s working. K-pop tracks tend to be heavily frontloaded, with a lot of actual first-week sales to the fanbase. Still, “Seven” had enough wider appeal to stick around in the top 40 for ten weeks, so while I’d be surprised if “3D” climbed, I don’t expect it to plummet either.

26. Ed Sheeran – “American Town”

So, Ed Sheeran has a new album out, and it’s his second of the year. “Autumn Variations” is on his own record label (though you’ll note the Warner logo on the video above). It’s his seventh number one album, but it doesn’t get the juggernaut sales we’ve come to expect, and it seems to have been viewed by his audience as a side project. He hasn’t done the normal promotion for this record, either. But let’s not overstate that point. It’s not a surprise release – he announced it in August, and while he claims that there are no singles or videos to promote it, he has in fact posted several versions of this song to YouTube with actual videos – a “live acoustic” version, and a version filmed in a fan’s living room (which is part of an alternative version of the album where all the tracks were recorded in different people’s houses – honestly, the video comes across as an excuse for Sheeran to film people being in awe of him, which is a bit off brand). In fact, there are videos for all of those alternate versions, plus another two acoustic versions, so… yes, there are videos for this. And lyric videos for everything. And an Amazon Music show where he did some of the songs…

But still, it’s being positioned as a side project, and so you wouldn’t expect it to get the normal sales. Number 1 for an album where you’re making much less promotional effort than usual isn’t bad at all.

33. Suicidal-Idol – “Ecstacy”

TikTok digs up some odd stuff sometimes. This was a Soundcloud track from two years ago, and it’s been climbing from the lower reaches for several weeks. Yes, the 90 second pitched-up version is the original. It’s, um, lyrically questionable, but let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and file it somewhere between “emo” and “parent-baiting”. It’s presumably a chart debut, although there’s very little out there about who Suicidal-Idol actually is.

34. Troye Sivan – “Got Me Started”

The follow-up to “Rush”, except that that track is still hovering in the high 20s, and the market may not be ready to move on. Quite good, though.

36. Jungle – “Back on 74”

This is a track from the album “Volcano”, which reached number 3 in August. I’m pretty sure I played it then, but it’s been climbing from the lower reaches for five weeks, and it’s pretty great. That’s the second week running that a track from a top 10 album has unexpectedly crossed over into the singles chart, after Mitski did it last week.

38. 163Margs featuring Digga D – “Hide and Seek”

Debut hit. Apparently it’s had some traction on TikTok a while back. There’s also a solo mix available, but this is the lead version.

This week’s climbers:

• “Greedy” by Tate McRae climbs 5-3, to match the peak of her biggest hit “You Broke Me First”.
• “Water” by Tyla climbs 16-10, and now finally has a proper video.
• “Asking” by Sonny Federa & MK featuring Clementine Douglas climbs 14-11, a month after it first reached number 14. (It’s been hovering between 14 and 16 since then.)
• “City Boys” by Burna Boy climbs 17-14.
• “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski – which I thought was a fluke scrape into the top 40 last week – climbs from 34 to 15 and seeks to be a genuine hit. It’s very good.
• “DNA (Loving You)” by Billy Gillies featuring Hannah Boleyn climbs 30-18.
• “Bittersweet Goodbye” by Issey Cross climbs 25-19.
• “Liquor and Cigarettes” by Chase & Status and Hedex featuring ArrDee moves 31-35-29 to enter the top 30 in its third week.

There are six new entries, plus a re-entry for Rema’s “Calm Down” at number 40, as it continues to waver around the number 40 mark. The seven tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Park Chinois” by Headie One & K-Trap got a single week at 39.
• “Triple Threat” by Headie One & K-Trap featuring Clavish got a single week at 31.
• “So Much in Love” by D.O.D. peaked at 15 but got 13 weeks in the top 40.
• “One More Time” by Blink 182 got a single week at 28.
• “Speed Drive (From Barbie the Album)” by Charli XCX got to number 9 and lasted 10 weeks.
• “Closer” by Bou featuring Slay peaked at 24 and got 12 weeks on chart.
• “Fast Car” by Luke Combs only got to number 30 but lasted 7 weeks in the top 40, which is unusual for anything country-related.

The longest uninterrupted run on the singles chart still belongs to “Dance the Night (From Barbie the Album)” by Dua Lipa, sitting at number 21 with a 19-week total.

On the album chart, “Autumn Variations” by Ed Sheeran is number 1.

3. Jorja Smith – “Falling or Flying”

Her third top ten album, matching the peak of her 2018 debut. (The 2021 album only got to 9, and dropped out of the top 100 after two weeks.) The single “Little Things” got to 11.

4. Steven Wilson – “The Harmony Codex”

Matching the position of his last album from 2021. It’s his third straight top 5 album.

6. Black Stone Cherry – “Screamin’ At The Sky”

That’s their highest position since 2016 (their all time record is number 5), although the 2018 album got to 7 and the 2020 album reached 11.

7. Lana Del Rey – “Ultraviolence”

Vinyl reissue of her 2014 number 1 album. For its ninth anniversary, I suppose.

20. Haim – “Days Are Gone”

Actual tenth anniversary reissue. It was a number 1 in 2013 (and lasted 25 weeks in the top 40).

26. Gunship – “Unicorn”

Synthwave. Their last album, 2018’s “Dark All Day”, got to 34.

33. Mae Muller – “Sorry I’m Late”

The UK Eurovision entrant, and her debut album. Of course, “I Wrote A Song” was a hit single.

39. Beverley Knight – “The Fifth Chapter”

Something’s gone badly wrong here – she released a live album in 2019 that did nothing, but her previous studio album in 2016 reached number 9. She hasn’t missed the top 20 with a studio album since her debut in 1998.

40. Green Day – “Dookie”

And finally, a 30th anniversary reissue for Green Day’s 3rd album, and their first UK success. It reached number 13 on release in 1994.