Benson Boone's Beautiful Things reaches the top of the singles chart. Araiana Grande gets a second week atop the albums chart.

Benson Boone climbs to the top of the singles chart. Ariana Grande just misses out on a number one single, but gets a second week at the top of the albums chart.

There was another close race at the top of the singles chart with the same four songs in contention as in last week’s battle. Curiously, though, the song that led the way in Sunday’s update was not one of the four. More on that song after we have dealt with the top five.

Naturally, Beyonce;s Texas Hold ‘Em, which has spent the last four weeks at number one, was one of the contenders. That falls to number three, leaving the way open for a new chart-topper.

After spending the last five weeks in the top three without quite making it to the top, Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things has finally done it. The 21-year old American singer-songwriter gets his first number one with his second top forty hit. In The Stars reached number 21 in 2021.

Ariana Grande climbs one place to number two with We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Youyr Love).

Teddy Swims is at number four with Lose Control. Djo’s End Of Beginning slips to number five.

In 1981, Chariots Of Fire became the first British film to win the Best Film Oscar since Sunday Bloody Sunday a decade earlier. The film’s score was written by Vangelis who went from being an obscure Greek composer to a major name. As a result, when producer David Puttnam made his next film Local Hero, there was a lot of interest in the music for the film. That music was composed by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and the main theme Going Home

While it has become a very well-known tune, Going Home was not a big hit in the UK. That is, until now. Mark Knpfler has re-recorded the song (in a nine-minute version) with the help of dozens of other guitarists. These range from Duane Eddy whose peak success came in the 1950s and ‘60s to Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Brian May, Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen and Roger Daltrey. The presence of Daltrey is a hint that the record has been made to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust, an excellent charity that he has supported for many years.

The new version of Going Home was the song that topped the chart in Sunday’s update. However, with most of its sales coming from pre-ordered physical sales (i.e. real sales), it was never likely to stay there and become the first pure instrumental to top the chart for over fifty years. It finished the week at number eighteen and the BBC couldn’t even be bothered to get to the main melody when they pretended to play it on the Chart Show. Clearly the endless trailers, including the shock announcement that a 24-hour radio station has a breakfast show, are a higher priority.

The BTS solo singles keep on coming. This week V gets his second solo hit with Fri(end)s at number thirteen. I’m sure there is some sort of explanation for the bizarre styling of the title. The song itself is pretty poor.

New Era’s Birds In The Sky re-enters at number 34 after dropping out last week. Flo Milli’s Never Lose Me bounces back up to number 23. Taylor Swift’s Cruel Summer has moved on to the Accelerated Chart Ratio. The sharp downgrade in the value of the song’s streams see it crash twenty-one places to number 31. It has accumulated an impressive total of 29 weeks in the top ten.

In last week’s commentary, I forgot to mention the return of Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For after it won the Oscar for Best Song. While congratulations are probably due, the award will forever be tainted by the fact that Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called To Say I Love You is among the previous winners. Eilish slips three places to number nineteen this week.

A look at the new albums released last week might have convinced many people that there would be a new number one this week. After all, there is a new number one album almost every week and a former big-hitter had a new album out. However, in the real world, Arianna Grande has bagged herself a second week at the top with Eternal Sunshine. It is the first album this year to get a second week at the top.

The Weeknd's Highlights climbs back up to number two, a position it last held last August. Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is at number four.

The album that many people might have expected to be at number one isn’t even the highest new entry of the week. That honour goes to Kacey Musgraves who hits a career high of number three with her sixth studio album Deeper Well. Her previous best position was number eight for her fourth set Golden Hour in 2018.

So who is that big-hitter of whom I spoke? It is none other than Justin Timberlake whose previous solo albums all made the top two. The first of those albums, Justified, spent seven weeks at number one in 2003. His latest offering, Everything I Thought I Was can only get to number five.

While number five counts as a disappointment for Justin Timberlake, Brighton-based Caity Baiser is probably delighted to reach number seven with Still Learning. Her previous mixtape, released in 2021, failed to reach the chart at all. Also making a top forty albums chart debut is Manchester rapper Nemzzz (probably not his real name) who is at number seventeen with Do Not Disturb.

The Black Crowes made their albums chart debut in 1991 with Shake Your Money Maker. Their seventh to forty hit album came in 2001 when Lions reached number 37. Later albums only made the lower reaches of the chart. Now, after an absence of fourteen years, they have released Happiness bast*rds which is new at number 31.