In some ways, this is a relatively active chart. But not particularly in terms of new release singles breaking through…

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

Ten weeks at number one, which is now incontestably a record for a duet. And even after nearly a year on release, nothing else is even remotely close to it – it has a lead of around 65% over Tame Impala at number 2.

20. Alex Warren – “Fine Place To Die”

No, it’s not a Bond theme. It’s an Alex Warren song, and back to the standard format after “Fever Dream”. This is the second single from his upcoming album, but it isn’t really competing with “Fever Dream” at number 5. “Ordinary” remains seemingly immortal, and is currently at 21 in its 64th week on the top 40. We’ve certainly got to a point where zombie records like “Ordinary”, and reactivated back catalogue, are making it very hard to actual new releases to get headway.

23. The Chemical Brothers – “Go”

Technically a new entry, this was released as a single 11 years ago and just missed the top 40 – in fact, it was the last single by the Chemical Brothers to even make the top 75. Despite that, it’s been surprisingly enduring in terms of streaming, and actually ranks as the Chemical Brothers’ third most popular individual track in terms of lifetime sales and streams (behind “Hey Boy Hey Girl” and “Galvanize”). It’s here now because it’s used in Netflix’s Apex. The uncredited rapper is Q-Tip.

29. Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love” 

Officially, this is the lead single from Madonna’s new album, though that requires you to accept that “I Feel So Free” was just a preview track and not a single. It got to number 90, which rather suggests that Sabrina Carpenter, plus the Coachella angle, is helping a lot here. Madonna hasn’t had a hit single with a new track since 2015, and this is very much a Madonna track with guest vocals from Carpenter (who doesn’t even have a co-writing credit on it). It’s not great.

33. The Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back”

The movie really is driving attention to Michael Jackson’s back catalogue, with “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” now in the top 10, and “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” at 15. Since it’s a Jackson 5 track, “I Want You Back” isn’t caught by the three-song rule. It was their debut single in 1969, and reached number 2 in Britain the following year. (It was kept off number 1 by Lee Marvin’s “Wandrin’ Star”.)

36. Temper City – “Self Aware”

Debut hit, though this has been climbing from the lower reaches for several weeks. They’re an Israeli trio based in Los Angeles, and this seems to be their first release as a group, though they do have track records individually – singer Eytan Peled has solo releases dating back several years.

38. Stella Lefty – “Boston” 

Another debut hit which has clawed its way up from the lower reaches – so to be fair, it can be done. She’s a TikTok singer based in LA, and this seems to be another example of the UK becoming more receptive to country.

This week’s climbers:

• “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson climbs 13-4.
• “Midnight Sun” by Zara Larsson climbs 19-7, helped by the release of a remix with PinkPantheress.
• “Beat It” by Michael Jackson climbs 22-10.
• “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson climbs 23-15.
• “Free Your Mind” by Prospa & Cloonee climbs 32-23.
• “Earrings” by Malcolm Todd climbs 30-26.
• “Talk To You” by ANOTR & 54 Ultra climbs 29-28.
• “Baby Steps” by Olivia Dean climbs 31-30.

The six tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Yukon” by Justin Bieber, which re-entered at 27 last week.
• “The Visitor” by Sienna Spiro, which entered at 11 and lasted seven weeks.
• “12 to 12” by Sombr, which re-entered at 39 last week.
• “The Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift, after a 30-week run including seven weeks at number 1.
• “I Just Might” by Bruno Mars, whch peaked at 5 and lasted 16 weeks.
• “Potential” by Sombr, which seems to have been a rare flop from him, entering at 31 and lasting two weeks – however, he still has “Homewrecker” in the top 10.

On the album chart:

1. Michael Jackson – “The Essential” 

This is a bit of a technicality – what’s happened here is that people are streaming a lot of Michael Jackson back catalogue right now, and the record label has nominated this particular collection to get the credit, instead of splitting it with “Number Ones” (which duly vanishes from the chart). The album was number 1 for nine weeks in 2009. He also has “Thriller” at 6 and “Bad” at 8.

2. Kneecap – “Fenian”

Republican Belfast rappers who, until now, have arguably been more talked about than actually listened to in most of the UK. It’s their third album and the first to make the UK chart. Its predecessor did reach number 3 in Scotland and number 2 in Ireland, though (as far as I’m aware, there’s no separate chart for Northern Ireland).

3. Melanie C – “Sweat”

Her ninth solo album. It’s her highest solo chart position – in fact, the highest for a solo album by any of the Spice Girls.

7. Kacey Musgraves – “Middle of Nowhere” 

Her seventh album; the last four have all made the top 10.

13. Tori Amos – “In Times of Dragons” 

Her 18th album, described by her as – ahem – “a metaphorical story about the fight for Democracy over Tyranny, reflecting the current abhorrent non accidental burning down of democracy in real time by the ‘Dictator believing Lizard Demons’ in their usurpation of America”. Sounds like fun. Nonetheless, number 13 is her highest position since “Unrepentant Geraldines” in 2014.

27. Asake – “M$ney”

It’s his fourth album, all of which have charted in the UK, which is pretty impressive for a Nigerian artist. This is the lowest placing of the four; the other three placed between 15 and 22, though, and this is a busy week.

29. Billie Eilish – “Hit Me Hard and Soft – The Tour”

Look, that’s the only track on the album with an official video. Don’t blame me. (Oh, and… strobe warning.)

It’s the soundtrack to her 3D concert film, directed by James Cameron.

33. Black Keys – “Peaches”

And finally, a 9th top 40 album for the Black Keys (out of a total of 14 studio albums). Its predecessor missed the top 40, so scraping the bottom end in a busy week is a step up.