Okay, we’re into March and the singles chart is finally starting to pick up a bit.

1. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In”

Three weeks. “Rein Me In” has been on the top 40 for 37 consecutive weeks, and it’s not that unusual for big tracks to hang around that long. But it’s actually growing – this is as big a weekly score as it’s ever had. It’s still only number one because “Man I Need” is on ACR, but even that is now marginal.

3. Alex Warren – “Fever Dream”

The previous Alex Warren single, “Eternity”, also entered at number 3. This is certainly a change of tack from his previous singles, since at least it’s an upbeat track. The video is very much Trying Too Hard, but the single itself is acceptable in a Maroon 5 kind of way. “Ordinary” is still hanging around at number 16, which is insane.

15. Bruno Mars – “Risk It All”

This is the release week single from his fourth album “The Romantic”, which enters the album chart at number 3. All of his solo albums have gone to 1 or 3.

“I Just Might” also climbs back to 6, and there’s a third track from the album outside the top 40. He also appears on Lady Gaga’s “Die With a Smile” at number 34. “Risk it All” is a Latin romantic ballad, if you like that sort of thing. My main problem with Bruno Mars is that he often feels like he’s doing genre pastiches, or at least genre homages, in a way that feels weirdly insincere to me – they express emotion because that’s what you do in this genre – and this one falls squarely into that territory. There’s a problem with this sort of track when it registers to you as an exercise in reproduction.

19. Olivia Dean – “The Hardest Part”

“Rein Me In” doesn’t count towards Olivia Dean’s three-song limit because technically it’s a guest appearance on a Sam Fender track. Hence, she gets a total of four appearances on the chart: “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” is number 5, and “Man I Need” is number 8. The album track “A Couple Minutes” has been taking up the remaining slot, but this week it finally falls below “The Hardest Part”, which has been racking up streams for a while. This was the lead single from her second album, and it came out in August 2020 – which presumably accounts for the minimal, social-distancing-compliant video.

20. Raye – “Nightingale Lane”

This is the second single from her upcoming album and not exactly an obvious choice, being a five minute ballad. Mind you, it makes more sense as an album trailer in conjunction with “Where is My Husband”, which  is still at 13. And it’s certainly a vocal showcase.

27. Dominic Fike – “White Keys”

This seems to be a spillover effect from the surge of interest in his 2023 track “Babydoll”, currently sitting at number 14. It’s a single from the tail end of last year which has been climbing from the lower reaches for a few weeks now. Meanwhile, “Babydoll” has acquired a fairly rudimentary video.

38. Ewan McVicar – “Share the House” 

This has also been climbing from the lower reaches for a few weeks. It’s a much-delayed second hit for Ewan McVicar, a Scottish DJ who previously reached number 15 with “Tell Me Something Good” in 2021. The source material this time is “Share This House” by Members of the House, which did have a convenient acapella on the B-side of the 12″.

40. Madonna – “Get Into the Groove”

Viral interest, apparently. It was number 1 for 4 weeks in 1985.

This week’s climbers:

• “iloveitiloveitiloveit” by Bella Kay climbs 4-2. Her earlier single “The Sick” climbs to 41 and seems likely to chart next week. Another track, “Steady”, has also appeared lower down the chart.
• “Babydoll” by Dominic Fike climbs 18-14.

There are eight new or re-entries this week (the other one being a re-entry for Sombr’s “Back to Friends” at 36). The eight tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “A Couple Minutes” by Olivia Dean, disqualified under the three song rule, which has been hanging around between 16 and 20 since the start of the year.
• “Drive Safe” by Myles Smith & Niall Horan, which entered at 27 three weeks ago.
• “Drag Path” by Twenty One Pilots, after a single week at 43.
• “Tití Me Pregunto” by Bad Bunny, which entered at 18 two weeks ago. He still has “DTMF” at 18 and “Nuevayol” at 37.
• “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush after a single week at 40.
• “Always Everywhere” by Charli XCX, which entered at 33 two weeks ago.
• “You Stole the Show” by Sienna Spiro had a seven week run peaking at 26, in the shadow of “Die on This Hill”, currently at 32.
• “Folded” by Kehlani, which has been around since September aside from a Christmas break, though it never got above 20.

On the album chart:

1. Gorillaz – “The Mountain” 

Only their third number 1 – the others were “Demon Days” at their commercial peak in 2005, and the previous album “Cracker Island” in 2023. It’s number 1 by a very comfortable margin, but then again they did release it in 25 variant editions.

3. Bruno Mars – “The Romantic”

See above.

4. Mitski – “Nothing’s About to Happen To Me”

Her eighth album, the third to chart in the UK. It matches the peak of its predecessor.

5. PinkPantheress – “Fancy That”

Ostensibly a reissue of the EP that reached number 3 last May, except it’s now more than four times the length. It includes the current single “Stateside”.

11. Blackpink – “3rd Mini Album (Deadline)”

This is one of those 15 minutes EPs that lands on the album chart for want of anywhere better to put it. The single “Jump” reached number 18 last year. The release-week single “Go” missed the top 40.

35. Paul McCartney & Wings – “Man on the Run – OST”

Soundtrack album for the documentary about McCartney’s 1970s post-Beatles phase. Most of it is previously released material, though it does have three new tracks, if “new” is the right word for something recorded over 50 years ago.