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Chart

Wham complete their annual ascension to the top of the singles chart. Kylie Minogue gets her eleventh number one album.

One of the consequences of the singles chart being dominated by streams, specifically songs from playlists, is that the same songs dominate the chart every December. One of those songs is, of course, Wham’s Last Christmas which climbs to number one for the fifth time this week. Its first two runs at the top lasted for just one week but it has spent rather longer there for the last two years. Thus, this is its tenth week at the top in total. For many years, Last Christmas was the UK’s best-sellin
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The top of the chart is still Messy

Lola Young's Messy remains at the top of the singles chart for a fourth week. Taylor Swift gets a record-breaking thirteenth number one album. Lola Young stays at the top of the singles chart. Taylor Swift gets another number one album with a late release. Lola Young’s Messy extends its run at the top to four weeks. It is the longest running new song at number one by a British act since Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding spent a total of eight weeks there with Miracle in spring 2023. Her song wi
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The KPop Demon Hunters remain at the top of the singles chart. Florence + The Machine have the number one album.

After climbing back to the top of the singles chart last week HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast get another week at number one with Golden. This brings its total number of weeks at the summit to ten. However, it is still not the longest-running number one of the year. That title is still held by ASlex Warren’s Ordinary which had a total of 13 weeks at the top. That song is in the top twenty for a 39th week, climbing two places to number fourteen. In the separate S
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The KPop Demon Hunters film continues to dominate the top of the singles chart. Wolf Alice get their second number one album.

The dictionary definition of hell might well be attending a singalong screening of the KPop Demon Hunters film. Nonetheless, many people seem to have decided to put themselves through that particular form of torture. People who chose to stay at home and watch it on Netflix have contributed to making it the most-watched film of all time on the streaming platform. Meanwhile, the animated film continues its grip on the upper reaches of the singles chart. Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI
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The KPop Demon Hunters and Taylor Swift battle it out for supremacy in the singles chart. Swift flies back to the top of the albums chart.

There was a close battle for the number one single this week between the two songs that have topped the chart for thirteen of the last fifteen weeks - Taylor Swift’s The Fate Of Ophelia and Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast. In Monday’s update Swift was ahead by just over 100 copies. By Wednesday she had extended her lead to around 1,000 chart sales. By the end of the week Taylor Swift was still in front, so The Fate Of Ophelia returns to the top after
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Taylor Swift wins another tight race at the top of the singles chart. The albums chart is topped by 5 Seconds Of Summer.

There was another close battle at the top of the singles chart. In Wednesday's update Taylor Swift’s The Fate Of Ophelia had a lead of under 300 over Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast. This week they were joined by Raye’s Where Is My Husband. That was a few thousand behind, but the song had a physical release this week. It was unclear how many of those physical sales had been included in the update. By Friday, the top three were in the same order as on
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Taylor Swift tops both charts for a second week, although her album sales take a hefty tumble.

With such a big lead in last week’s singles chart, it is no surprise that Taylor Swift gets a second week at number one with The Fate Of Ophelia. Her five UK number one singles have now spent a total of twelve weeks at the summit, almost as long as Alex Warren’s Ordinary managed earlier this year. While remaining at number one, Taylor Swift has not repeated last week’s feat of occupying the whole of the top three. She does, though, still have three songs in the top six which isn’t bad going. O
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Taylor Swift remains at the top of the albums chart. Veteran rock band Aerosmith get their first number one album with some help from Yungblud.

Taylor Swift gets a sixth week at number one with The Fate Of Ophelia. Swift has now spent a total of sixteen weeks at the top of the singles chart. Combined with her 36 weeks atop the albums chart, she has now accumulated a combined total of 52 weeks (one year) at number one in the two main UK charts. Only ten artists have spent more weeks at number one. Of those ten, only two - The Beatles and Elvis Presley - have spent at least a year at the top of each chart. When Ed Sheeran spends another w
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Taylor Swift loses her positions at the top of the charts to the Demon Hunters cast and Dave.

After three weeks topping the singles and albums charts, Taylor Swift has been toppled from the summit of both of them. Her successor in the singles chart is not exactly new. It is the song toppled by Olivia Dean the week before Swift took over. The third run at the top for Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast brings its total up to nine weeks at the top. Taylor Swift's The Fate Of Ophelia slips to number two, one place ahead of Raye’s Where Is My Husband
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Taylor Swift is still singing about Ophelia at the top of the singles chart. Olivia Dean returns to the top of the albums chart.

Taylor Swift spends a fourth consecutive week at number one with The Fate Of Ophelia. It has now spent a total of seven weeks at the summit, making it Swift’s longest-running chart-topping single. Raye remains at number two with Where Is My Husband. A clear sign that Taylor Swift may well be in her last week at the top (at least until next year) is that Wham’s Last Christmas is at number three with Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You at five. Brenda Lee is at number six with Rockin’
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Taylor Swift holds on at number one in the singles chart, but faces stiff opposition at the top of the albums chart.

After topping both the singles and albums charts for the last two weeks, Taylor Swift started the week looking to perform the double for a third successive week. The midweek updates indicated that she would succeed in getting a third week at number one in the singles chart with The Fate Of Ophelia, but the albums chart was a different matter. Of her four previous number one singles, only Anti-Hero has spent longer at the top. Swift’s Opalite falls to number five this week. HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDRE
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Taylor Swift gets her sixth number one single with Opalite. Olivia Dean remains at the top of the albums chart.

In October last year Taylor Swift became the first artist to reach number one with a song that had the name Ophelia in its title. Now she has become the first artist to top the chart with a song called Opalite.The song originally reached number two, behind The fate Of Ophelia, and spent eight weeks in the top ten. Last week it was at number fifteen. Its promotion as an official single, along with a vinyl release, sees it climb all the way to the top. It is Swift’s sixth number one single and the
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Suedehead2’s Substitute Chart Commentary 8th Aug 2025: Chappell Roan grabs a 2nd number one.

Simon is still enjoying hols and in the charts Chappell Roan’s The Subway is her 2nd chart-topper while in albums Renee Rapp gets a first number one. The Subway dropped and immediately headed the chart updates during the week, Chappell Roan having quite the pent-up demand since her 2024 breakthrough as material as old as 5 years filtered through to mass popularity following Good Luck Babe finally getting her that break. Notably Pink Pony Club hit the UK top spot 5 years late, making The Subway
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Suedehead2’s Substitute Chart Commentary 15th Aug 2025: Demon Hunters back slaying and Time Flies on albums.

Suedehead2’s Substitute Chart Commentary 15th Aug 2025: Demon Hunters back slaying and Time Flies on albums. This substitute European heatwave special comes from sweltering Gran Canaria. Other baking venues are available. Back up on top after the Chappell Roan surprise release dethroned them for one week, we find The KPop Demon Hunters clan still going Up Up Up with Golden. That makes 2 weeks on top for the movie cast, varied and many, with Soda Pop holding at 6 and Your Idol up to 7. Note sp
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Suedehead2's replacement Chart Commentary: Justin Bieber gets an 8th Number One single and Alex Warren gets a first number one album

Justin Bieber gets an 8th Number One single and Alex Warren gets a first number one album Simon est en vacances, Bon Voyage Simon! Meanwhile in the UK, Dior almost hung on for a 3rd week at Number One (other fashion brands are available) for MK featuring Chrystal, though at the weekend a mere 800 copies were between Justin Biebers’ Daisies rising to 2 and Alex Warren’s Eternity entering at 3. In the event Justin scored his 8th number one with Daisies ten years on from his first and his first
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Suedehead2 Chart Commentary 1st August 2025: The K‘s slay on singles & albums: KPop Demon Hunters and The K’s.

Suedehead2 Chart Commentary 1st August 2025: The K‘s slay on singles & albums: KPop Demon Hunters and The K’s. Justin Bieber’s Jack Johnson-ish ballad might have been expected to hang on to the top spot after just one week reigning, but Daisies was up against repeat viewings of the KPop Demon Hunters by little kids. Children have a voracious appetite to repeat play faves so I’m putting the climb to the top spot for Golden down to that. I look forward with dread to future pop quiz questions
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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean return to the top of the singles chart. Harry Styles gets a second week at number one in the album chart.

After being replaced by Harry Styles last week, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean climb back to number one in the singles chart with Rein Me In. The song has now had four weeks at the summit. It used to be fairly rare for a song to return to number one in the same chart run, but nowadays it is hardly worth highlighting. Rein Me In is already the second song to return to the summit this year. Bella Kay’s Iloveitiloveitiloveit climbs back up to number two. Harry Styles’ American Girls falls to number t
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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean remain at the top of the singles chart. Raye easily beats all rivals to get her first number one album.

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In gets another week at number one. Its current three week run matches the three weeks it spent at the top before being interrupted for a week by Harry Styles’ American Girls. Styles’ previous number one, the excellent Aperture, was also sandwiched between separate runs of the same song, in this case Dave and Tems’ Raindance. Bella Kay climbs back up to number two with Iloveitiloveitiloveit. Tame Impala gets his first top ten singles as Dracula climbs to nu
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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean get a second week at the top of the singles chart. Mumford And Sons get their fourth number one album.

After completing a marathon journey to the top of the chart last week, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In gets a second week at number one. The song first appeared on Fender’s People Watching album released early last year. Dean was invited to choose a song from the album to sing as a duet. She chose Rein Me In and Fender has been rewarded with his first number one single. Olivia Dean can also be found at number two with So Easy (To Fall In Love). Pink Pantheress jumps six places to numbe
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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean continue their reign at the top of the singles chart. BTS go to number one with their comeback album.

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean hold on at the top of the singles chart. Rein Me In now has a total of five weeks at number one. It is the longest-running number one since Taylor Swift’s The Fate Of Ophelia spent seven weeks at the summit in October and November last year. Like Rein Me In, that song had two separate runs at the top. Last week BTS released a new album.There is more on that to come, but the album’s release has also had an impact on the singles chart with three tracks entering this we
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Sabrina Carpenter returns to the top of the singles chart. Yungblud claims the number one albums slot.

After being dislodged from number one last week by the return of Alex Warren’s Ordinary, Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild returns the compliment by going back to the top this week. Three of Carpenter’s number one singles have now returned to the summit after being toppled.  It used to be a rarity for songs to return to number one, but it has become more commonplace in recent years. However, an ABAB pattern (with songs alternating single weeks at number one) is still unusual. It last happened in 19
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Rein Me In holds for a 3rd week and Gorillaz grab a 3rd album number one

Rein Me In holds at the top and Gorillaz grab a 3rd album number one. Simon is unable to do the commentary today and this is a shoddy replacement bus service, so there may be errors. Or not! Brits winner for Song Of The Year Rein Me In gets a post-win boost to hold at one for a 3rd week for Sam Fender and Olivia Dean as it faced strong competition from Alex Warren’s new track Fever Dream. I downloaded both so neither benefitted from my purchase! Alex Warren has to make do with number 3 for now
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Raye re-enters at the top of the singles chart as a flood of re-entries replace the Christmas songs. Olivia Dean follows a highly successful 2025 by claiming the first number one album of 2026.

The Christmas period has been a problem for the Official Charts Company (OCC) since streaming was included in the calculations for the chart. This became more pronounced when they introduced the Accelerated Chart Ratio (ACR) whereby the value of a song’s streams was downgraded if streams were declining for three weeks and the song had been in the chart for ten weeks. Because streamers started listening mostly to Christmas songs, almost all other songs saw their streaming figures decline. Songs
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Olivia Dean’s chart double is followed immediately by one for Taylor Swift as her new album tops the chart and provides the top three singles.

As referenced in last week’s commentary Taylor Swift released her twelfth studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl last week. Without the rule allowing only three tracks by a lead artist to appear in the chart simultaneously, the twelve tracks would probably occupy the top twelve positions. That would have knocked Olivia Dean right out of the top ten after climbing to number one last week. The treatment of album streams for chart purposes has always been a difficult issue to resolve. The most cont
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Olivia Dean scores a chart double with her first number ones in both the singles and albums chart.

For the first time in several weeks, there was a genuine contest at the top of the singles chart. Would Hunter/X and co get yet another golden week at the top or would the release of her album help Olivia Dean rise to the top? Olivia Dean’s Man I Need was at number one in the midweek updates. In Wednesday’s update it held a lead of a little over 3,500 chart units over Golden. There was, by contrast, never any real doubt about whether Olivia Dean’s album The Art Of Loving would top the chart. T