Sabrina Carpenter holds firm at the top of the singles chart. Kylie Minogue gets her tenth number one album.

Sabrina Carpenter is still at number one in the singles chart. Kylie Minogue bags another number one album.

For the ninth consecutive week Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste tops the singles chart. She has now spent 21 weeks at the summit this year, a total beaten by just one artist. In 1953, the first full year of the UK singles chart, Frankie Laine spent eighteen non-consecutive weeks at the top with I Believe, a figure that remains unbeaten to this day. He then had two weeks at number one with Hey Joe before spending the final; seven weeks of the year on top of the pile with his version of Answer Me. One of those weeks was a tied number one, shared with David Whitfield’s version of the same song. That version had already spent one week at the top before Laine’s version took over. Laine also spent the first week of 1954 at number one but didn’t return to the top until October 1956.

Gigi Perez’s Sailor Song moves up one place to number two. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars fall to number three with Die With A Smile. It is Gaga’s fifteenth top ten hit. If it fails to make the step up to the summit, it will be the first to peak at number two.

Bruno Mars had to wait nearly eight years between his eighth and ninth top ten hits. The wait for a tenth has been a lot shorter, coming as it does with Die With A Smile still riding high.It is another duet, this time with Rose from Blackpink. By entering at number four Apt instantly becomes the highest charting song for a credited South Korean female singer. Oh, and it is utterly dreadful.

Gracie Abrams slips to number five with I Love You I’m, Sorry.

After a couple minor hits last year, Gracie Abrams is currently her first top ten single in the UK with I Love You, I’m Sorry. She now has a second song in the chart as That’s So True enters at number nineteen.

Morgan Wallen made his name as a contestant on the American version of The Voice. He had eight top forty singles in the US before the ninth became his first number one and also saw him enter the UK top forty for the first time. He has since had a further six top forty singles in the UK but hasn’t returned to the UK chart until now. Love Somebody, which has not yet charted in the USA having only been released last week, is at number 40.

The tragic death of Liam Payne last week at the age of just 31 reopened discussion on the impact sudden fame can have on a teenager. It served as a reminder that both Robbie Williams and Justin Bieber, among others, have suffered problems with their mental health. Unfortunately, such is the speed with which the news agenda moves on, it is fairly likely that nothing will happen. While it is, perhaps, going too far to say that there should be a minimum age for performers, record companies must accept that they owe a duty of care to their acts, particularly adolescents and pre-adolescents.

Inevitably, Liam Payne’s death led to increased stream of his songs, both from his solo career and his time as a member of One Direction. It is, perhaps, a sign that his solo career never reached anywhere near the heights of his former band that it is the One Direction songs and albums that have returned to the charts.

One Direction’s debut single, What Makes You Beautiful, went straight to number one in 2011 but lasted just a week there.This week it re-enters at number 23. Story Of My Life, a number two hit in 2013, is at number nine. Night Changes is at number six, one place above its original peak in 2014.

One Direction’s five studio albums all re-enter the top forty. Midnight Memories (2013) is at number thirteen, Made In The AM (2015) is at 21, Four (2016) is one place lower. Take Me Home (2-12) is at 25 and their 2011 debut Up All Night is at 38. Up All Night reached number two; the other four all topped the chart.

Kylie Monogue has had consistent success in the UK ever since I Should Be So Lucky topped the chart in 1988. Every standard studio album has reached the top ten apart from 1991’s Let’s Get To It. That was the last album of hers to be produced by one of the kings of unoriginality, Pete Waterman. Purely in terms of chart position, she is currently enjoying her greatest run pof albums chart success. Her seventeenth studio album, Tension II, has given her a fourth successive number one.

Kylie Minogue’s success means that Rag ‘n’ Bone Man misses out on a third number one with his third album, What Do You Believe In. The album was written following the death of his mother. He has described it as partly being inspired by his experience of trying to explain it to his children. It is a new entry at number three.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet is at number two. After finally climbing to the top last week. Charli XCX’s Brat falls to number four. Ed Sheeran’s mathematically symbolic Tour Collection is at number five.

Kylie Minogue is one of two Australian acts to get a top ten album this week. Confidence Man are an electropop band from Brisbane. Their first two albums only charted in Australia. They now make their UK chart debut with album number three, 3am (La La La) at number nine. Curiously, it has, so far at least, only got to number 40 in their home country.