Welcome to James Masterton's Chart Watch UK – your essential weekly deep dive into the Official UK Charts!
As the longest-running British music column online, we bring you the ultimate guide to this week's Top 40, unraveling the stories behind the biggest new singles and chart-topping hits. Plus, explore our extensive archives, a treasure trove of nearly 1800 articles documenting three and a half decades of popular music history and expert analysis.
Why is one broadcaster treated as toxic while a complicated pop legacy continues to print money? Between the "chart hokey-cokey" of the Top 40 and the technical wizardry of Michael Jackson’s streaming credits, we explore the strange paradoxes of this week's countdown. Plus: I told you so about Olivia Rodrigo. (Sorry, not sorry).
It’s a week of "Olivias" making history, Justin Bieber making an improbable comeback, and Taylor Swift making a glittery dent in the Top 20. But while Olivia Rodrigo’s latest No.1 suggests a changing of the guard, the story of the week lies in the "vintage" tracks refusing to stay in the past. From Glastonbury triumphs to the dwindling fortunes of the Now! series, we look at what’s actually moving the needle—and why the "First Look" can sometimes be a complete mirage.
In a week when we are still waiting for something, anything, to happen near the top of the charts, the headlines are grabbed by another golden oldie. One of the most 2012 singles possible is suddenly back with a bang. But is this a Coachella one-off, or the start of something more?
The biggest songs of 2026 so far are awkwardly mostly songs released in 2025, and at times even older. But no matter, the biggest hits of the moment are all justifiably huge. Rein Me In isn't leaving No.1 any time soon either, and this week it even has room to do something very unusual.
