Look, someone can beat “Rein Me In”!

1. Ariana Grande – “Hate That I Made You Love Me”

This is the lead single from her eighth album, and her eighth number 1. The others are “Problem” (2014), “Bang Bang” (2014), “Thank U, Next” (2018), “7 Rings” (2019), “Break Up With Your Girlfriend I’m Bored” (2019), “Rain On Me” (2020) and “Positions” (2020). She’s been unlucky not to add more since then – she’s reached number 2 twice.

There is an asterisk here: it didn’t actually beat “Rein Me In” in streaming. It’s number 1 by a margin of under 5,000 copies thanks to first-week sales to fans in download and physical format. And that’s with “Rein Me In” dropping off quite heavily this week. There’s still a huge gap between “Rein Me In” and the rest of the chart, but it’s unlikely to return to number 1 next week, since Taylor Swift has a new single out.

It’s a very quiet week for new entries, so we move on to…

34. F3miii – “Noble”

Chart debut, though this has been climbing from the lower reaches for weeks. He’s from Dublin and this has had a degree of international success. It’s pretty good, and deserves to have made it this far.

35. Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull – “On The Floor” 

More viral retro. This was at number 41 last week, and now climbs back into the top 40. It was number 1 for two weeks in 2011, and I guess maybe it’s now reaching a generation who don’t actually recognise the Lambada. Lopez hasn’t had a hit single with a new release since 2014, and Pitbull hasn’t had one since 2015.

This week’s climbers:

• “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley climbs 16-13, which returns it to a previous peak from April. It’s spent the whole time since then hovering between 15 and 17.
• “Earrings” by Malcolm Todd climbs to 19 after two weeks at number 20.
• “Material Lover” by Sienna Spiro climbs 22-20.
• “Boston” by Stella Lefty climbs 28-25
• “Self Aware” by Temper City rebounds to a new peak of 29 after reaching 32 three weeks ago.

The three tracks leaving the top 40 this week are:

• “Raindance” by Dave & Tems, after a 31 week run that includes two weeks at number 1.
• “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj, which had a seven week run as a re-entry, peaking at number 3 for two weeks.
• “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, after a single week at number 40.

On the album chart:

1. Paul McCartney – “The Boys of Dungeon Lane”

Overwhelmingly here on physical sales, so it won’t stick around long. It’s his 6th number 1 album as a credited solo artist, or his 8th if you count albums credited to “Paul and Linda McCartney” and “Paul McCartney and Wings”. Honestly, the track above is better than I was expecting.

3. Boards of Canada – “Inferno”

Their fifth album and the highest placing – the last one was thirteen years ago and got them into the top 10 for the first time.

8. Shinedown – “Ei8ht”

Unsurprisingly, their eighth album. The previous two also made the top 10.

11. Skye Newman – “SE9”

This is a slightly odd release – the chart compilers are treating it as a re-entry of “SE9 Part 1”, a 6-track, 18-minute EP that reached number 18 last November. But it’s actually a combined version of that EP and “SE9 Part 2”, which is longer than the original and doesn’t get a separate listing. Essentially, she’s released an album in two stages. There were several singles from the second phase, but none of them made the top 40.

21. Dua Lipa – “Live From Mexico” 

Exactly what it sounds like.

26. Freya Ridings – “Mother of Pearl” 

Her third album. The first two both made the top 10, so this is a big drop.

31. Kiefer Sutherland – “Grey” 

This is his fourth album. The previous one reached number 16 and the one before that made the top 10, so diminishing returns have set in.