Alexandra Burke tops the singles chart for the second time and Editors have their second number one album. Plenty of new entries in both charts.

The X Factor invasion begins in earnest this week in the singles chart and Editors have their second number one album.

Even the BBC have now started to refer to “the run-up to Christmas” so it must have started although these days it might more accurately be called “Line Simon Cowell’s pockets season”. It officially gets under way this week as last year’s Fix Factor winner enters at number one with Bad Boys. All too predictably, it’s typical generic R ‘n’ B designed to appeal to the American market. Equally predictably, the British record buying public have shown their ovine side and have bought it in large numbers.

Robbie Williams has been absent from the top 40 singles for 2 ½ years after She’s Madonna dropped out. Bodies is the first single from the new album due out next month and enters at number two, following a performance on some popular ITV programme. It’s well short of his best but at least it’s a good deal better than Rudebox. It is his 24th top ten hit and looks set to be the fourth to peak at number two.

Last week’s number one from Chipmunk falls to number three. Oopsy Daisy. Black Eyed Peas continue to do a very good impression of a yoyo as I Gotta Feeling goes back up again this week. Their top ten chart run is now 10-3-3-1-2-1-2-3-5-5-7-6-5-8-6.

Canada has produced some pretty awful acts over the years including Celine Dion, Bryan Adams and Alanis Morissette. Fortunately they have redeemed themselves somewhat with Neil Young and Arcade Fire. That said, I’m not sure they should be forgiven for Michael Bublé. This week he has his fourth top 40 hit and his first top ten single at number nine with Haven’t Met You Yet which is every bit as bland as his previous output. The title contains more words than all his previous top 40 hits combined as they all had single-word titles.

In 1991 REM told us It’s the End of the World. This week, Lostprophets offer a more upbeat view as they insist It’s Not the End of the World, But I Can See It From Here. This continues a bit of an obsession with time-related matters following previous hits Last Summer, Goodbye Tonight (which just missed the top 40), Can’t Catch Tomorrow and 4 a.m Forever. I suppose when the end of the world does come, Can’t Catch Tomorrow might be an appropriate choice of song. The Welsh band end a near 2 ½ year absence from the top 40 by entering at number 16.

Mr. Hudson replaces himself in the top 40 with White Lies entering at number 20 as Supernova drops out. That gives me an excuse to give a plug for the band White Lies who embark on a UK tour next month, kicking off with a date in Bournemouth which I’m looking forward to.

Editors had an unusual start to their singles chart career with each of their first three singles making the top 75 (and in two cases the top 40) twice within a year or so. Bullets and Munich both hit a new peak second time round while Blood did less well although that had out-performed the other two on initial release. This week they return to the singles chart for the first time since the end of 2007 at number 23 with Papillon, their first single from their new album (of which more later) and their first single to have a French title.

I mentioned the Big Pink last week only to say at the end that they had just missed out on a top 40 place. Happily, Dominos have climbed a further 13 places this week to enter the top 40 at number 29. Better late than never and let’s hope it can continue to climb.

Black Eyed Peas enter at 26 with Meet Me Half Way while yet another new entry, at number 32, comes from Jennifer Hudson who proclaims And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going. Pity.

Before today the word Medina conjured up images of ancient North African cities for me. Now it will also remind me of a pretty poor song by some female singist who has a new entry at 39 with You and I.

Sex On Fire stays in the top 40 for a 43rd week. Only four songs have now spent longer in the chart. Kings of Leon are four weeks behind Englebert Humperdinck’s Release Me. Jason Mraz has a second week back in the top 40 with I’m Yours bringing the total up to 28 weeks. For the first time since the start of the year, the top 40 singles chart is a Lady GaGa-free zone as Lovezone and Paparazzi both bow out.

The average age of acts in the top ten albums falls this week with Cliff Richard and the Shadows and Chris Rea among those dropping out to make way for four new entries and one climber back in to the top ten. Like their singles chart career, Editors albums chart career got off to a relatively slow start. Their initial entry position of number 13 in August 2005 with debut The Back Room was decent enough but it lasted only one more week in the top 40 and after four more weeks dropped out of the top 75. However, it returned in January 2006 and embarked on a four week climb to an eventual peak of number two. The follow-up was a more instant success, going straight to the top in July 2007. Now their third album In This Light and On This Evening has done the same. It’s a much more varied album than the previous two which sees them move beyond their previous comfort zone of “Joy Division tribute band”. Fans of Editors’ darker side will want to get the special edition with a second CD containing five additional songs.

Chipmunk follows up his number one single last week with a number two album entitled I Am Chipmunk. He released an album called League Of My Own in 2007 which sold just 111 copies in the first week and went on to sell just over 10,000. Madonna slips one place to number four and Shakira has a new entry at number four with She Wolf.

Paolo Nutini’s Sunny Side Up climbs a full 26 places back up to number five. Less than a year after their debut album Chasing Lights, The Saturdays enter at number nine with Wordshaker thus equalling their previous albums chart peak.

The award for the worst spelling of the week goes to Taio Cruz whose second album, Rokstarr, is a new entry at number 14. The album is probably better than the spelling which is unlikely to be the case with the Veronicas’ album Hook Me Up which is new at number 35.

Only Men Aloud, a choir who won a BBC talent show last year, enter at number 21 with their second album, Band of Brothers. Also in this week’s posh section are Blake who have frequently been described as a “classical boy band”. Their third album, Together, which combines classical favourites such as I Vow To Thee My Country and the inevitable Nessun Dorma with pop favourites such as Bridge Over Troubled Water and (yes, really) With Or Without You is at number 38.

Many people would consider Amy Winehouse to be an unusual choice as a god-parent. However, 13 years ago it probably made sense to Mr and Mrs Bromfield when they were choosing a godmother for their daughter Dionne. Now they have further reason to think it was a wise choice after all as WInehouse just happens to own a record label. And guess who was the first singer signed to the label. Yes, Dionne Bromfield. The first album on the label, co-produced by Winehouse, is called simply Introducing Dionne Bromfield and contains versions of classic songs such as Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and He’s So Fine and the slightly less classic My Boy Lollipop. It enters this week at number 33.

Of all the people who might release a Christmas album, Bob Dylan must be one of the least likely. However, he has done so and Christmas in the Heart gives the former Mr Zimmerman his second chart album of the year at number 40.

Robbie Williams’ Greatest Hits album ended its latest run in the top 40 just a week ago. Now it’s back again at a new 2009 peak of number 22. There’s also a re-entry for Leona Lewis whose Spirit returns at number 31.

Finally, I have to mention Al Martino who died this week. He gained his permanent place in UK chart history in November 1952 by recording the first ever UK number one single with Here In My Heart. It ended up as the only number one single of 1952 as it held on for nine weeks before being toppled in January 1953 by Jo Stafford’s You Belong To Me. It may, of course, have lasted even longer than nine weeks if the chart had started earlier. That nine week run has rarely been beaten, most recently by Rihanna’s Umbrella whose reign lasted ten weeks in 2007. The rain lasted nearly as long. Al Martino first found fame by winning a radio talent contest. Which is pretty much where we came in when discussing the 1110th number one.