Archives: 2022

Yes Adele is back! Deal with it, at least for a week, as the wildest craziest chart of 2022 so far more than delivers its share of stories.

A changing of the guard at the top of the singles chart as Gayle's nine week patience is finally rewarded. Can you imagine how angry she would have been if it hadn't made it? She would probably have said f**k loudly and repeatedly. It's kind of her gimmick after all.

The first rule of Bruno is that you don't talk abou... or was that a different movie, I forget? In any event an original song from a Disney movie is top of the charts for the very first time ever. And that is more than worth discussing.

How long has it been since Meat Loaf has been this high up the albums chart? Years & Years. It's a week of posthumous success for albums stars while Disney reigns supreme in the world of hit singles.

Encanto continues to dominate our hearts and minds, but the Top 10 actually has a refreshing new look to it. Both Charli XCX and George Ezra return with new material, but it is Central Cee who has the biggest arrival of the week.

These guys are Bastille, topping the albums chart for the first time in six years. But they are mere clickbait for what we talk about inside. Bruno is still stuck at No.1 while ArrDee and Aitch make a record that is actually quite good. Take your calm pills and join me inside.

Oh Ed, you are such a Joker (but not a Queen - subs please check). Not all superstar collaborations are created equal, and this pair actually end up some distance behind the reigning No.1. With which I'm sure you are still all familiar.

This lady is Mimi Webb and she has the highest new entry of the week on the Official UK Singles chart. But can she come close to toppling We Don't Talk About Bruno? Spoiler: no.

Hold your breath because change is coming at the top of the singles chart. But the biggest accolades of the week go to this man. Central Cee is No.1 on the albums chart at the expense of Tears For Fears. And he's doubled his sales appeal in the short space of a year.

Lovey Dave, if you could just look at the camera now. I said LOOK AT THE CAM, oh please yourself then. He's just written and produced a No.1 hit single-handedly. He gets to call his own shots.

I'm glad you came, because there are some fascinating movements on the UK Singles chart this week as the market has gone very much old school. Things climb, smaller hits grow into big ones, but there is still room for new stuff to make a splash.

Charli XCX repays the faith Guardian journalists have been putting in her for the past ten years and has a No.1 album for the first time ever. The top end of the singles chart holds steady, but are there still stories inside to tell? You bet there are.

"Hello, Chart Watch picture desk? Yes, editor here. The guy at the top of the albums chart is Michael BUBLE. One 'b'. Yes, I'm completely sure. Please double-check before we look stupi.. oh too late."

Harry Styles confounds all expectations by... no, don't be stupid he was always going to make No.1. It turns out he does it in some considerable style as well. But what happens in Week 2?

Easter Sunday, although we are still waiting for the charts to rise up from the dead. Jack Harlow gives Harry Styles a good run for his money at the top but even he cannot stop the juggernaut.

Noughty noughty very noughy, as a great man once wrote. Digga D's journey to the top of the Official UK Albums chart may not be the most interesting thing that happens in the charts this week, but he makes for an interesting enough picture to put here. It was either that or more Harry Styles. Can you ever have too much Harry Styles?

Please don't hurt me Cat Burns, I'll "go" if you need me to. She fights her way into the Top 3 this week after an extended climb. But is Harry still stuck at the top?

It's about damn time we had Lizzo back in the charts to spread a little joy. And boy can she spread it. The Top 10 remains more than a little stuck, but we'll go through it in detail to try to work out why.

In theory, this is Jack Harlow's week, with a new album and lots of new songs to chart with. But can he topple Harry Styles? Hey let's face it, nobody can right now.

"Space man, always wanted you to go into Space Man intergalatic cri.." no wait, that's the wrong one isn't it? Sam Ryder came second at Eurovision and the cruel hand of irony determines his fate on the charts too. But just wait until you learn why.

Time for the Harry Styles stans to go nuts, as indeed they did for most of the week. His third album sweeps majestically to the top of the charts and it is only those pesky rules that stop him doing Ed Sheeran-esque things to the singles countdown.

Cry havoc and let loose the hounds of love! Britain (and the world) goes crazy for a really old Kate Bush track. Strangely enough almost exactly ten years since they did so the last time. Funny how that works,

This? This is an African Bush Elephant because there is one hiding in plain sight on this week's charts. The Number One is possibly not, although the one that perhaps should be isn't for some sound reasons. At least as the industry sees it.

Running Up That Chart! It is very much Kate Bush's week as without even having to lift a finger she smashes a whole raft of chart records. Trust me, we will be talking about this one for years.

Praise be, Beyonce is back and relevant for the first time in five years. But just how well might she have done with a full week of sales behind her?

Kate Bush's last week at the top? That may well be the case as a changing of the guard is imminent. And it is a remix of a track that is even older than Running Up That Hill which is best placed to take over. Welcome to a week where otherwise nothing much else changes.

All hail the Scotsmen - as acts from north of the border top both singles and albums charts this week. But that's actually the only action of note to report.

The No.1 single for a sweltering seven days is still Afraid To Feel, but this is also the week we (and Ella Henderson) have been waiting for.

These people are the superstar cast of the highest new entry of the week. It may not be the highest of high new entries, but in this day and age you take what you can get.

Alexa, what does Doja mean? No, Alexa STOP STOP my mum is in the room, bloody hell. Now, pegging...

How does the old saying go? People on Glass Horses should really put some clothes on. It is Beyonce's week, even if she doesn't quite do the double.

Funny how his last hit was called Holiday and just as everyone else is away on theirs KSI returns with a single that is - not actually that bad. But it alas falls short of a No.1 debut.

The Queen of the not-so-original idea, Nicki Minaj has the week's biggest new hit. But the real story of the week is the way dance dominates, dominates and dominates. Read on.

The winds of change are blowing through the No.1 position - but clearly not just yet. Will Afraid To Feel truly still be there when the schools go back?

The 1400th No.1 single turns out to be the baddest one of them all. Yes, that's a thing. Interplanetary Criminal not pictured.

New challengers emerge for the No.1 position, but it still belongs to Eliza Rose. Meanwhile a ten year old Tom Odell track turns out to be the most happening record of the moment. We live in interesting times. Note, this may not be a picture of the right King, I didn't have time to check.

Lewis Capaldi is back! Robbie Williams just refuses to go away! And just for a change we have two massive stories on both sides of the format divide to talk about.

This wasn't in the script, but Lewis Capaldi has come up against the first true global smash David Guetta has produced in years, and has been found wanting. Two No.1 singles in two weeks? The charts are truly spoiling us. And as you can see here, Bebe is quite thrilled about it all.

ANOTHER new No.1 single? Why yes innocent child, this was quite the trend back in the day. Sam Smith and Kim Petras make for the most unique duo in chart history for all manner of interesting reasons, but they've also given us the most intriguing track to top the charts in some time.

Ed Sheeran as a cartoon? Well, stranger things have happened even if I cannot call them to mind just at this moment. His Pokemon-soundtracking hit is the highest new entry of the week. But where?

It's the ghost of Mimi Webb's lover. Presumably a consequence of her setting his house on fire. Have the authorities been informed?

A good week for acts called Little, although an even better one for a man who is the opposite of little. Big Mike has the week's highest new entry and with his best single in years to boot.

There's very little going on this week truth be told. Only the small matter of TWO ALBUMS SELLING OVER 100,000 AND TAYLOR SWIFT HAVING HER BEST WEEK EVER WHY ARE YOU NOT CLICKING ALREADY????!!!????!!!

The return of Rih-Rih. Good grief she has kept us all waiting long enough for this. The best news of all is that this comeback, a soundtrack hit it may be, isn't actually rubbish but instead quite the opposite. Check it out inside.

One of those odd weeks where the most notable singles action comes by way of new albums. But the pair you see here are deservedly huge, and they perform a Top 10 land grab to rank alongside the best of them. Also, it isn't Christmas yet. But since when did that stop music fans?

All hail the enduring legacy of One Direction as this man here becomes no less than the fourth member of the group to land a No.1 album. Be warned though, the singles Top 40 already contains unacceptable levels of Christmas songs.

All hail the power of the Irish as Dermot Kennedy ensures he has a Giant second No.2 album. Tay-Tay is still locked at the top with her biggest hit ever, but do I hear the faint sound of jingle bells?

Mistletoe and Grime. I promised I was going to steal that line and I'm keeping my promise. Stormzy v Cliff for the bragging rights of the No.1 album was the story of the week. Let's face it, the singles chart is sliding rapidly into its annual Christmas-sludge irrelevance.

Hi there, welcome back to December 2020. This week may also serve as a foreshadowing of December 2023 and 2024 and beyond. Because nothing stops that damm Mariah Carey song from barging its way to the top. Nothing. But Olly has the No.1 album. And at least he's happy.

Once upon a time it took a bold man to release a debut album in the middle of December. But this is 2022 and the old rules don't matter anymore. Meanwhile, we have our second 80s oldie of the year back at the top of the singles chart as the pre-Christmas madness just goes on and on.

Oh well, at least they haven't lined the other four awards up in a row this year. Yes, it is the annual "oh dear, LadBaby has the No.1 single" chart as yet another Christmas race turns out to be anything but. Nearly Easter.

Yes, it is the annual chart that for years wasn't a chart, became something special and now reverts to being largely a waste of time. It is the last hurrah for the Christmas songs for the next 11 months. Admit it, you will miss them.