Week Ending April 16th 2026

I Have A Pretty Navel So Why Not Gaze At It

Reader, he writes, as if a children's author from the 1930s.

Reader, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. Once upon a time these words were effectively ephemeral. Posted on a static page on a corporate website to be overwritten with new ones a week later. It mattered little if I repeated myself on a semi-regular basis (not that there was much need to do so 30 years ago) - the ramblings would be replaced by another in short order and the old thoughts would be forgotten.

But in 2026, you are reading this on a carefully curated archive, one where each column is on its own static page and which remains in place for as long as I am here to pay the hosting fees. To be indexed by search engines and (as is increasingly the case these days) referred back to by GPT chatbots. So if I say the same things as before, there is no hiding from it.

And there is no room to hide. Despite last week's ACR-inspired reshuffle, the hottest hits of the moment are the hottest hits of the previous moment. And the one before that. Although abroad for the last two weeks I was hardly out of the loop, but even if this was like the days of my childhood where access to events back home was limited, I'd still be returning to a singles that that looked largely like it did when I departed. We are stuck in one of those transient ruts right now. The British public know the songs they like and are sticking with them when streaming. Frustrating for radio programmers who want to try to keep the sound of their station fresh, but equally frustrating for those in the business of promoting new music.

That last point is particularly relevant given that this week Official Charts published the official quarterly sales update, the countdown of the biggest hits of the year so far. The "best sellers of the year" listings are largely irrelevant these days given they are heavily skewed towards older hits (which have had the longest period to accumulate streaming credits). But ones dealing with specific smaller time periods (such as three months) can actually tell you a great deal.

By presenting this list I'm required by licence to link you to the full countdown which can be found here:

But what we are most interested in is the Top 10 of the biggest songs of the year so far (an unfiltered list which ignores both ACR and primary artist rules). Because the awkward truth is that precisely none of them are tracks actually released in 2026. Take a look:

© 2026 OFFICIAL CHARTS COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.    

I'll repeat a point I know for certain I've made many times in the past. We all know the biggest hits remain huge for extended periods, and that isn't in itself a bad thing. Every one of these now qualifies as a nailed-on all-time classic. People will look back on this time as a golden era for popular music with the charts featuring some of the most famous songs of the 2020s. But if you are a label looking to promote new product, or an aspiring artist wanting to get your first exposure, that full proper breakthrough is becoming harder and harder to achieve. Or perhaps it just means that only the biggest talent of all gets a shot. Only time will tell just what the longer-term impact of this will be.

Actual Hits

For the moment, the No.2 single on that list remains No.1 on the most important one of all, the Official UK Singles chart. Rein Me In by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean is top of the charts for the fourth week in a row and the seventh in total. The song is on its 43rd straight week as a Top 100 single, its 42nd in a row on the Top 40. Rein Me In is at the top of the charts deeper into its initial chart run than any single in history. The only ones which can beat it are the pair of Christmas regulars, eg Last Christmas was No.1 back in January on its 139th week in total as a chart single.

The reign of Rein Me In is set to continue still further it seems. Last week its ACR clock ticked once but is now reset again. This is due to something that you practically never see at this end of the market. Although chart sales for the track are indeed down for the second week in a row to 60,510 units, its streaming decline of precisely 0.5% (effectively 300 units) is smaller than this week's overall market decline of 3.21%. Meaning that it has beaten the market and last week's ACR tick is wiped off. So this journey still has some distance left to run.

Love Over

No such luck for Bella Kay, alas. iloveitiloveitiloveit is stranded at No.2 for the second week running, the fourth non-consecutive week it has occupied the second rung on the charts. But ACR will come calling next time out, bumping it down the pile. That should, all things being equal, be to the benefit of Tame Impala's Dracula which for the moment remains No.3.

This week is a good week to be Dominic Fike, who has side by side Top 10 hits for the first time with songs old and new. The old is Babydoll, on the climb once more to a new peak of No.7. The new is White Keys which after ten weeks of solid progress finally breaks through to No.10.

White Keys occupies the Top 10 place previously belonging to BTS' Swim which without the benefit of any new version releases has now exhausted what little crossover appeal it had and is now at the start of its downward chart plunge, dipping to No.18.

Let Them In

It also means we have two new members of the glass ceiling club, those hits knocking on the door of the Top 10 but unable to break through until something else moves out of the way. After having fallen as far as No.16, the remixed edition of Just The Way You Are by Milky is back at its 2026 peak of No.11, six weeks after it last rose this high. Meaning its original 2002 peak of No.8 is still well within its sights. And after a slow and steady climb Zara Larsson's Midnight Sun is up to a brand new peak of No.12 in its second week as Top 20 single. Still for now playing second fiddle to the decade old Lush Life (which remains Top 5), fandom is awash with speculation that a boost is on the way via the release of a new PinkPantheress-featuring remix. But that remains wild guesswork for now.

Choosing A Boost

Belying its previous status as the perennial No.35 single, Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas is now well on its way to becoming a fully fledged hit. The US No.1 smash is now up to a new peak of No.16 as practically the only song in the Top 40 with upward momentum - this boost thanks to the long overdue release of its proper video a week ago. The release of its parent album this week should also have a positive effect, the song well on its way to becoming the biggest C&W hit since Beyonce's Texas Hold Em.

WTF

The highest new entry of the week isn't a new song at all. Ironically relegating Aperture to starred-out status, Harry Styles' 2017 solo debut Sign Of The Times is a Top 40 hit for the first time in almost a decade as it reawakens at No.28. This is all thanks to newfound virality due to the song's appearance on the soundtrack of the movie Project Hail Mary.

It isn't all about the old songs. A refreshing dose of something fresh-sounding is club track Talk To You from ANOTR featuring 54 Ultra which leaps 48-29 to make its Top 40 debut. The debut hit from the Dutch duo is a genuine novelty - a 2026 release with upward momentum. And it also becomes their biggest UK hit to date, eclipsing the No.33 peak of Relax My Eyes almost three years ago.

The other Top 40 arrival this week is however an older release finally gaining a streaming toehold. Earrings by Malcolm Todd moves 68-40 to become a crossover hit exactly two years since the release of his 2024 mixtape Sweet Boy on which it first appeared. The American singer's only previous chart foray came last year when Chest Pain (take from his self-titled debut full length album) climbed to No.93.

The Weight

Atop the albums chart this week is Dermot Kennedy, his third album Weight Of The Woods follows his other two to the top - making him curiously the first ever solo Irishman to open his career with a perfect 3 out of 3 studio albums.

Cheer up, past evidence shows this becalming doesn't last forever. And it has been Easter after all. For some reason, nothing ever moves over the holidays.