Archives: 2023

Find yourself in a shit position Raye? Not a bit of it. You have yourself the best position of all. Just as we anticipated, kicking off 2023 at the very top of the singles chart.

All hail the wide-eyed wild-thinking Scotsman. Lewis Capaldi is No.1 for the fourth time in his career. But is there more to this one than meets the eye? All is explained within.

Yeah, you may not know this guy but he's Liam Fray from the Courteeners who have set a new record for the slowest-ever climb to No.1 on the albums chart. But is their achievement as unique as it sounds? Find out inside, along with the thrilling news of the return of Miley Cyrus.

And just like that Miley Cyrus goes from huge to utterly massive, her biggest ever chart single becomes the first in a decidedly long time to post a six figure chart sale. Join us as the hermetic January netherworld finally winds to a close.

This is Sam Smith, here wearing rather more conventional clothing than that to which we've become accustomed, celebrating the No.1 album this week. Spoiler: nothing is shifting Miley elsewhere.

Giddy up! It's Shania Twain, back at the top of the albums chart for only the third time after what you have to say has been an intense week of promotion. Meanwhile the singles chart is solid, but what the hell is the "sped up" craze all about? We dive in.

But in the end, Linkin Park will return with a song from 2002 which to be frank still sounds like a a song from 2002 but it the highest new entry of the week. Plus the BRITs factor. Did it make any difference at all?

'Tis a good week for all things Pink. The solo version tops the albums chart for the fourth time and enjoys a mini Top 20 invasion. Meanwhile the Pantheress climbs still further, but nothing for now is toppling Miley.

Hang on in there Miley, just two charts to go until the album comes out. But there's no guarantee Flowers will still be top by then. Find out just how close it is getting inside.

Eight weeks and counting for Miley. When will it end? Meanwhile here's Libianca. Celebrating being a Top 10 artist for the very first time.

Mae Muller is YOUR UK Eurovision entry with My Lovely Horse I Wrote A Song. She's not the biggest chart story of the week, but I'm tired of Miley Cyrus photos. Hope you understand.

Don't push me, because I'm close to The Edge. 14 years we've been waiting to make that joke, but here are U2 (or at least two of them) with another No.1 album.

No, look again. Ed Sheeran is not posing on the toilet with his shiny new No.1 award. But were the underlying numbers of his brand new single a bit toilet? We find out inside. He's had as many No.1 singles as Cliff!

It's a miracle! Ellie Goulding gets her face on the front page for the first time since late 2019. And after many attempts she and Calvin Harris finally have a No.1 single together. All together now: tinkle tinkle tinkle.

Goulding at the double! Top of singles and albums charts together for the first time in her career, but in the process doing it in a manner last achieved by Elvis. The full story inside.

Due warning, Lewis Capaldi has got his kit off again. The occasion is the celebration of him becoming a 5-time, 5-time, 5-time No.1 hitmaker. Although just like his previous No.1 single the circumstances have become a little engineered.

An intriguing battle for albums surpremacy ends with what I'm sure Twitter will regard as the wrong result. Meanwhile on the singles chart the golden age of 1990s Europop is back again. Everyone is borrowing from the past.

Is everyone too busy paying attention to the King getting a new hat? A quiet week means you writer here has to work hard to find stuff to talk about. The Lottery Winners have the No.1 album. But what on earth happened to all of last week's big sellers?

Ed cradles his No.1 award as if it is a newborn baby. Of course his new album is top of the charts. How could it not be? But has the Sheeran bubble burst or merely had the pressure deliberately released. We ask all the awkward questions inside.

Cold are you Loreen? Doesn't surprise me at all, dressed like that. But the Swedish star leads a veritable parade of Eurovision hits as last weekend's festival in Liverpool makes a larger than expected chart impact.

We are building up quite the collection here of quirky Lewis Capaldi selfies as he shows off his latest No.1 trophy. This one is for his new album, top of the pile by some distance this week. Is he really now bigger than Sheeran? Also this week: Kylie! She's back!

No, I've no clue why the "official" shot of Calvin and Ellie together is a really bad photoshop. But they are No.1 for the 8th week so deserve a front page picture, don't you think?

Just what we weren't expecting. Dave and Central Cee team up for a superstar duet, blowing everyone else (and a few chart records to boot) out of the water. Is this the biggest rap single of the streaming era? Could well be.

You remember Niall Horan don't you? The man who once released an album called Flicker only with cover art that made it look ruder. He's back at No.1 with his new long player, although the singles chart headlines are dominated by a lady old enough to be his mother. Crazy times we live in.

Leigh-Anne-From-Little-Mix drops her surname (because pop stars aren't called Pinnock) and drops her first solo single. But has it turned out to be as big as everyone expected? Find out inside.

It's the mostly annual post-Glastonbury chart, and more things seem to be happening as a result than ever before. Plus Maisie Smith thinks boys are shit. But that's enough to get her a No.1 album for the first time ever.

Bleeding us dry? It was literally all anyone could talk about all week. But even the mighty Olivia Rodrigo cannot outpace a Sprinter.

Speak Now! Or forever hold your peace (Taylor's Version). One more the lady of the moment has the biggest new release of the week as she sells us new versions of songs we mostly already own. Pure genius.

He's the Pikachu of BTS, the character that everyone is familiar with even if they aren't part of the deeper fandom. And now Jung Kook has a solo smash hit to call his own - even if he can't beat his group's strange No.3 jinx.

It's a Barbie: The Movie world and we all just live in it. The most chart dominant soundtrack EVER is this week's big news. But also ZAYN is back and Sinead is dead *sob*

Is Sprinter finally running out of gas? It could well be, but the epic hit is still in place - but fighting off the relentless onslaught of the Barbie Army!

No, Cian Ducrot can't believe it is real either after he emerges victorious in the closest albums chart race for three and a half years. Meanwhile Sprinter achieves a Perfect 10, but change is very much in the air.

Print this one out and show it to your children when they are old enough to understand. Solo female stars dominate the upper end of the singles chart in a manner without precedent in chart history. And it is these moments that we all come rushing to enjoy. So fill your boots.

It is the moment we have all waited for. Dua Lipa is now as successful as Geri Halliwell as a solo artist. Plus, some genuine redneck racism from the US of A makes it into the Top 30 and we find ourselves wondering what on earth is going on.

He's the first Nigerian-born artist since Sade to have a No.1 album, even if there is confusion over what Burna Boy's three hits are. Meanwhile Olivia Rodrigo threepeats at the top of the singles chart. But is she too destined to be another one week wonder? All the details inside.

Don't walk on by whatever you do, Doja Cat becomes the latest in a very long line of solo female stars to reach No.1. And gives Bacharach and David their first No.1 single composition since the 60s. Scenes.

Like butter wouldn't melt. The week belongs to Olivia Rodrigo, although a triumphant return to the top of the singles charts was never on the cards. Guaranteed agenda-free zone!

It's what they went to school for it appears. A 20 year wait for a No.1 album ends with Busted triumphant. And all they had to do was re-record their old songs!

Blimey! It's Kylie! Although that will hardly come as a shock, her album Tension easily the biggest deal of the week. But just how big was it? And did anyone care about Doja Cat's album?

Doja Cat's fifth and final week at No.1 means a vacancy that needs to be filled. But who amongst the challengers will make it? Not Ed Sheeran who promised a low-key album release and gave us exactly that. But he's still at the summit for the seventh time in his career. And still happy to wield his trophy.

Who's that lady? Kenya Grace, that's who as she takes over at No.1 and lands herself a unique first for female artists. Plus we ask (but don't quite answer) the thorny question of just how many singles chart hits Drake has had.

Ren gazes wistfully at his future, a future which we now know contained a No.1 album. Even if that did come at the expense of Rick Astley (to the dismay of mainstream media publications everywhere).

No country for old men they say. Tell that to the Rolling Stones, all of them 80 years old or thereabouts but still marching smartly to the top of the charts. So much for the spirit of youthful rebellion.

AI Taylor Swift is judging you if you were one of the few who didn't consume 1989 (Taylor's Version). If it weren't for Halloween she would be the only story to tell this week. But there is extraordinary stuff going on below.

An exciting new group from Liverpool make it to the top of the charts and I don't know about you but I think these lads have what it takes to have a long and successful career in front of them. Also, a new picture editor is required. Apply within.

Jack Harlow beats Queen Dua Lipa for a place at the top of the charts. But we won't hold that against him. Meanwhile The Beatles' Red and Blue compilations fail to reach the top - again!

I, James Masterton, hereby pledge to use an unintentionally comedic grab from Jack Harlow's video for every week he remains at No.1. So this is Week 2. Underneath him the rest of the Top 10 gets a chance to breathe for a change. But the festive evergreens just keep on coming.

Week 3 at No.1 for Jack Harlow, but he will have to work hard to hold off the march of the festive evergreens. Meanwhile thank goodness for Take That who give us something else to talk about.

Jingle bloody bells. Christmas music is now in danger of swamping everything, so that's all the more reason to celebrate the "normal" hits still holding their own. The final furlong before the Christmas chart race shows that it is actually all to play for.

Andrew Ridgeley looks as thrilled as any man who has waited 39 endless years to finally land the Christmas No.1 single. But he and the bloke who used to sing for him finally scale the mountain as the quietest and yet somehow most intriguing Christmas chart race for years reaches what you might call an inevitable climax.

Merry Crotchmas to you all, as we straddle the festive perenium in the same way we always do these days - drowning in Christmas songs. All back to normal next week!