Gracie Abrams spends a third week at number one with That's So True. Linkin Park get a fourth number one album.

Ms Abrams graces the top of the chart for a third week. Linkin Park crush all opposition to get the number one album.

Gracie Abrams holds on for a third week at the top of the singles chart. It seems increasingly likely that its eventual replacement will be a Christmas song of some sort, possibly the 40th anniversary version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Gigi Perez spends a fourth week at number two with her Sailor Song. Rose and Bruno Mars remain at number three with the dismal Apt.

At number four Sam Fender gets his first new solo hit for three years with People Watching. He had a number five hit with Noah Kahan earlier this year, but this is the first solo top ten hit since Seventeen Going Under in November 2021. That song took some time to reach its peak (having first charted in July) but People Watching is a more instant success. It is the title track from his forthcoming album.

Teddy Swims is at number five with The Door. He is also at number six with Bad Dreams. The year 2024 has been a very good one for him with three top ten singles. There are four songs with a male vocalist in the top six, towards the end of a year that has been largely dominated by female vocalists in the singles chart.

Tate McRae enters at number eight with 2 Hands, another one of her bland songs. It is her fourth top ten hit since her debut in 2020.

Sabrina Carpenter has had three songs from her album in the top 25 singles since Short ‘n’ Sweet was released in August. Espresso has now dropped out (courtesy of the three-song limit for an artist) and it is replaced by Juno at number ???

It’s been a few weeks since we had a new solo single from a K-Pop band, so we are due to have one. BTS member Jin enters at number 25 with Running Wild, a song that is actually fairly decent. It is certainly one of the better songs released by K-Pop band members. One of its co-writers is a certain Gary Barlow.

As predicted last week (not that there was any serious chance of being wrong) Wham’s Last Christmas re-enters this week and it is just ahead of Mariah Carey’s perennial hit. Last Christmas is at number sixteen; All I want For Christmas Is You is one place lower, at number seventeen They are joined by the song that is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Spotify playlists dominated by American songs. Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree is at number 34.

Tyler The Creator re-enters at number 39 with Like Him, a song that features Lola Young.

Seven months ago Hozier’s Too Sweet was sitting pretty at the top of the chart. This week it is at the opposite end of the top forty. Given the likely arrival of more festive songs next week, its 35 week run is likely to be at an end although a return in January is a distinct possibility. Despite climbing to a new peak last week, streams of Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go fell for a third consecutive week. As a result, it is now on the Accelerated Chart Ratio and its streams are halved in value. It crashes a full 32 places to number 36.

Given the success of tracks from the album in the singles chart, it is hardly a surprise that Linkin Park’s new album has gone straight to number one. From Zero is the first album with new vocalist Emily Armstrong following the death of Chester Bennington in 2017. It isd their fourth number one album, the first since 2012. A new song from the album, Two Faced, enters the single chart at number 22. The Emptiness machine climbs back up to number ten, giving it a third week in the upper tier. Who would have thought that Linkin Park would be one of the most successful bands of the year in the singles chart, along with Oasis?

Sabrina Carpenter is at number two with Short ‘n’ Sweet. Chappell Roan’s The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess is at number five.

Flo get the highest charting album by a British R&B girl group for over 20 years with Access All Areas at number three. Mis-Teeq reached the same position with Lickin’ On Both Sides in 2001.

As well as a new entry by a K-Pop band member in the singles chart, there is a new K-Pop album in the albums chart. Ateez become the first K-Pop band to get a fourth top ten album as Golden Hour Part 2 enters at number four. The eight-piece band only got their first top ten album last year. That said, this so-called album is less than seventeen minutes long. Its predecessor was a similar length, meaning that the two combined still make a fairly short album.

Shawn Mendes’ career seems to be in decline. He hasn’t had a top forty single since spring 2022 and his fifth album, Shawn, enters at a relatively modest number 22.

In special edition news, Iron Maiden are at number 33 with a fortieth anniversary edition of their fifth album Powerslave. It reached number two in 1984.

Last week’s number one album from Alfie Boe and Michael ball falls to number 27. It has fallen behind its immediate predecessor at the top. The Cure’s Songs Of A Lost World is at number eighteen.