This is a fairly busy week in terms of chart movement, but quite a quiet one in terms of actual listening…

1. Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”

Two weeks, but it has the lowest chart score for a number 1 single in 70 weeks. It holds on by default more than anything else. He still has two other singles in the top 10, both with SZA: “Luther” at 6 and “All the Stars” at 7.

10. Tate McRae – “Revolving Door”
25. Tate McRae – “I Know Love”

Her third album “So Close To What” enters the album chart at number 2, which is her best position to date – her first two albums reached 7 and 5. This turns out to be a bigger deal than I’d expected in terms of the singles chart, as she maxes out her three songs, with “Sports Car” returning to the top 10 and hitting a new peak of number 3. It becomes her joint highest placing single along with “You Broke Me First” (2020) and “Greedy” (2023).

The other two tracks are both release-week singles complete with their own videos. “Revolving Door” is the best actual song she’s released in a while, and the video’s not bad either, since it remembers to make use of the fact that she can dance. “I Know Love” has the Kid Laroi guesting on it, but he’s not officially given a featured artist credit as far as the chart company is concerned. The low budget video is at least a change of pace for her, and I can actually see the track sticking around on its merits. Huh, two good Tate McRae singles in a week. Didn’t see that coming.

22. Aitch & Bou – “Raving in the Studio”

This had a fleeting visit at number 40 three weeks ago as a spillover when “A Guy Called” was a hit. It’s re-entered now because of the remix version, on which Aitch barely appears. Still, because it’s treated as an extra version of the same track, it’s technically his biggest hit since he was in the top 10 with Anne-Marie in 2022.

24. Sam Fender – “Little Bit Closer”

Sam Fender also has an album out, with “People Watching” entering at number one. It’s his third studio album, all of which has been number 1. It’s been four years since the last album, but clearly his momentum is still there.

Thanks to the pre-orders for physical editions, the first week sales are over 100K, the vast majority of which are actual sales rather than streaming. He beat Tate McRae’s total handily on vinyl alone. Somehow, he even managed to shift 128 copies on minidisc. Who’s still listening to minidiscs?

For his other chart entries, the title track “People Watching” rebounds to number 13 (it peaked at 4 in November), and “Arm’s Length” rebounds to 17 (it peaked at 14 a month ago).

28. Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco & Gracie Abrams – “Call Me When You Break Up”

This is the lead single from a Gomez/Blanco album. Selena Gomez last had a hit in 2023 – a single in 2024 missed the top 40 – but the 20s was her standard position before that. Blanco last had a hit collaborating with Justin Bieber in 2020. Gracie Abrams is apparently being classed as a featured artist on this track, despite officially getting equal billing, presumably because she’s a guest on the parent album.

36. Oasis – “Whatever”

Look, that’s the version of the video on their official channel, okay? I know it’s in the wrong aspect ratio. Take it up with Liam. This was a number 3 hit at Christmas 1994, behind “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Stay Another Day”. The top 10 that year also included “Love Me For a Reason” by Boyzone, “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex, “Crocodile Shoes” by Jimmy Nail, and this.

Anyway, “Whatever” has been given a vinyl reissue for some reason. You might have seen it being listed at number 1 in the Sunday night midweeks, but that’s because it sold entirely in pre-orders, so its whole weekly sale was credited on day 1. It’ll be gone next week.

37. Jennie featuring Doechii – “ExtraL”

You might be surprised to hear that this is the fourth top 40 hit for Jennie from Blackpink (or JENNIE, if you prefer). One of them was a guest appearance on the Weeknd’s “One of the Girls” (number 21 in 2023) and the other two got to 37 and 39. Her last single only got to number 65, though, so Doechii’s probably helping here. It’s quite good.

39. Fontaines DC – “It’s Amazing to be Young”

It must be a quiet week when Fonatines DC make the top 40 – the Dublin post-punk band are a regular presence in the lower reaches of the top 75, but they’ve never previously got higher than 52.

This week’s climbers:

• “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan climbs 3-2.
• “Sports Car” by Tate McRae rebounds 15-3.
• “Headlock” by Imogen Heap rebounds 39-30, which is a new peak.

The eight tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, which has been around for over a year aside from a few weeks’ interruption over Christmas. It peaked at number 2 in June.
• “Who” by Jimin, after a seven-week re-entry which peaked at 5.
• “Born Again” by Lisa, Doja Cat & Raye, after two weeks, peaking at 13.
• “CRG” by Central Cee & Dave, which lasted four weeks and peaked at 6.
• “30 for 30” by SZA featuring Kendrick Lamar, after two weeks in the top 40 and a peak at 33.
• “Gimme a Hug” by Drake, which got a single week at number 21, so the answer is apparently “no”.
• “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy & D.o.D., which re-entered after Christmas and peaked at 9 on this run.
• “CN Tower” by PartyNextDoor & Drake, with a single week at 22.

On the album chart, “People Watching” by Sam Fender is number 1, and “So Close to What” by Tate McRae is at 2. The only other new entry is…

31. The Murder Capital – “Blindness”

Irish indie. It’s their third album; the first two made 18 and 16, so this is a big drop.