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 1969 when The Scaffold’s Lily the Pink and marmalade’s version of Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da spent four weeks swapping places with each other. One of the Scaffold members went under the name of Mike McGear. His real name was Mike McCartney whose brother was a Beatle and who wrote On-La-Di-Ob-L-Da. If we ever get an ABACAB pattern, perhaps there will be a Genesis rerelease to celebrate it.

Thanks to Liam Sota at Buzzjack for pointing out that Sabrina Carpenter and Alex Warren have occupied the number one spot for an astonishing 36 of the last 62 weeks. Their total for all previous weeks was precisely zero. They did, of course, have an excuse for most of those weeks as they hadn’t been born.

Even though Ordinary returned to number one last week, it did so with fewer streams than the previous week. A further decline means that it is now on the Accelerated Chart Ratio (ACR) and the value of its streams are now halved. As a result, it has fallen to number nine. It is almost certain that it would still be at number one if its streams were still counted in line with the Standard Chart Ratio (SCR). Readers will have their own views on whether a song should be denied weeks at number one by this chart rule.

MK and Chrystal’s Dior moves up three places to number two while Ravyn Lenae stays at number three with Love Me Not. Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club falls to number five, its lowest position since February.

Fred Again is back in the chart again with this week’s highest new entry at number four. He is joined on Victory Lap by skepta (who features on another new entry much lower down the chart) and PlagueBoyMax (not his real name) who enters the chart for the first time.

Rossi. joins the ranks of artists who insist on having a full-stop as part of their name as he enters at number 33 with High On Me. It features Jazzy who gets a fifth top forty hit as a result.

Pinkpantheress scores her sixth top forty single with Illegal at number 36. Her biggest hit remains Boy’s A Liar which reached number two in 2023.

Sombr gets his third top forty single with We Never Dated, a song that certain Beach Boys feel to it. A fitting tribute to Brian Wilson, and a lovely new entry for the summer. His other two hits are still in the higher reaches of the chart.

After several years performing without chart success, Sammy Virji enters the top forty for the first time with Cops And Robbers at number 39 with the help of featured artist Skepta, someone with a rather longer chart history. Let’s just say it’s not my thing. The best chart single with the word robber in its title remains The Clash’s Bankrobber. 

Gracie Abrams’ former chart-topper That’s So True returns at number 38. It hasn’t fallen any lower that number 41 since it entered the chart last October, surviving even the wave of Christmas songs.

In most weeks, the first albums chart update shows a number of new entries spread throughout the top forty. Many of those albums won’t make the chart by the end of the week. This week, things were a little different.The number of new entries in the top forty was seven, a fairly standard number. However, all of them were in the top ten, including the whole of the top five. By Friday, the top four were all new entries. The one survivor from last week’s top five ensured that a chart record continued.

Yungblud’s new album Idols started the week at the top and stayed there all week to give the Doncastrian born Dominic Harrison his third consecutive number one. It follows Weird! (2020) and Yungblud (2023).

The UK chart’s favourite spoonerism Benjamin Coyle-Larner, recording as Loyle Carner (see what he did there?) enters at number two with his fourth album Hopefully. That optimistic title beats his two previous albums which both got to number three.

American sister-fronted band Haim are at number three with I Quit. They are one of the bands rumoured to be filling one of the vacant slots at this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival. Another act rumoured to be playing are Pulp whose excellent album Moree topped the chart two weeks ago. It continues is relative gentle slide this week (compared with most similar acts) by falling to number 29.

Benson Boone released his debut album Fireworks and Rollerblades in April last year, just after Beautiful Things climbed to the top of the singles chart. The album reached a rather disappointing number sixteen. His second album American Heart has done rather better by debuting at number four. Beautiful Things remains in the top forty, at number fourteen this week.

The aforementioned sole survivor from last week’s top five is Sabrina Carpenter’s Short ‘n’ Sweet. It therefore extends its record-breaking run (for a studio album) to 44 weeks in the top five.

The Official Charts Company’s (OCC) chart summariser seems to have tired of using the word multihyphenate, so has resorted to hyperbole instead this week by describing Aitch as Manchester's finest. This comes in a piece which also describes the presence of three Oasis albums in the top forty. Aitch doesn’t appear to be Manchester’s finest mathematician (that, arguably is Alan Turing who worked at the university and has a statue there to commemorate him) either as he has called his sixth album 4. It is at number seven.

Thankfully, the unnamed OCC writer didn’t describe the little-known metal band Malevolence as Sheffield’s finest. One of the genuine contenders for that title have already had a mention here. He has listed their names though and one of them (Alex Taylor) has a name very similar to that of the singer with another of the contenders. Malevolence make their chart debut with their fourth album Where Only The Truth Is Spoken at number 32.

The final new entry comes from Lucy Spraggan who is at number 36 with Other Sides Of The Moon. Whether she is referring to sides other than the dark one, I know not. 

Among the re-entries are Lana Del Rey’s 2012 debut album Born To Die at number and Oasis’s Definitely Maybe at number 37. These are both due to current or imminent UK tours. There may be others next week resulting from coverage of Glastonbury on the BBC this weekend. Make the most of it. There is no festival this year and there are suggestions that a streaming service might outbid the BBC for the next contract, running from 2028.