Altogether now…

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

Twenty-two weeks at number one, and still miles ahead of any competition. It has dropped more than the market for two weeks in a row, though, so there is a possibility that next week could be the last before it goes to ACR. We’ve said that before, though.

In terms of new entries, it’s a very quiet week.

16. Katseye – “Hootie Frutti”

This is the release week single from their 16-minute EP “Wild”, which technically qualifies for the album chart and enters there at number 2 – their first appearance on the album chart, as their debut “Beautiful Chaos” missed the top 40 last year. There are a lot of physical variants contributing to that position.

The video features two of the most laughably incongruous product placement shots you’ve ever seen. It does, however, tie “Animal” as their highest-debuting single. And perhaps more interestingly, “Animal” itself climbs to number 12 this week, the first time a Katseye single has actually improved on his debut position.

So in that sense they’re doing quite well. On the other hand, they’re now down to four active members – they’re supposed to be a six-piece, but Manon Bannerman has been on “hiatus” since February, and since the above video was filmed, Sophia Laforteza has joined her. Both have cited health reasons. You do wonder what’s going on behind the scenes here. But they do seem to be filling a genuine gap in the market right now.

39. Phoebe Bridgers – “Lost Weekend” 

The parent album “Lost Weekend” enters the album chart as her first solo number 1 – although her 2020 album “Punisher” reached number 6, and she’s a member of Boygenius, who had a number 1 album in 2023. There are a lot of physical copies in there, but it would still have made the top 10 purely on streaming.

Curiously, it’s the title track that becomes her debut top 40 hit despite being something of a dirge; the much more radio-friendly “Lost Boys”, which was actually promoted as a single, only got to number 50 on release and lands at number 69 this week. “I Can’t Wait” was meant to be the release week single, but doesn’t chart either. Instead, the album track “The Governor’s Waltz” appears at number 53. Quite strange.

This week’s climbers:

• “Boston” by Stella Lefty climbs 9-5. This has been on the top 40 for 16 weeks now.
• “On 2Nite” by Silva Bumpa climbs 10-9.
• “Loser” by Tame Impala climbs 14-11.
• “Animal” by Katseye climbs 16-12.
• “Earrings” by Malcolm Todd climbs 15-14.
• “Bloodstream” by Alyssa Grace climbs 18-17.
• “Oh Yeah” by Steve Lacy climbs 23-18.
• “My Body Isn’t Ready” by Sombr climbs 30-22. This peaked at number 26 on its second week back in July and then looked to have crashed out, uncharacteristically for Sombr. But it seems to have gained a second wind.
• “Self Aware” by Temper City climbs 24-23.
• “Sue Me” by Audrey Hobert climbs 29-26.
• “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield climbs 37-30, returning it to the top 30 for the first time since 2024 (when it made it to number 13).
• “Orbiter” by Noah Kahan re-enters at a new peak of number 32.
• “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn re-enters at a new peak of number 34.

The four tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Material Lover” by Sienna Spiro, after a 14-week run that peaked at 13.
• “Rescuer” by Alex Warren, after a single week at number 39.
• “Love Sensation” by Madonna & Kylie Minogue, which got a single week at number 8 on the back of fanbase physical sales, and then crashes straight out of the top 100 – a strategy more common on the album chart, but maybe someone else will be inspired to try it.
• “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, which got a single week at number 26 on the back of a physical re-issue. See what I mean?

On the album chart, “Lost Weekend” by Phoebe Bridgers is number 1, and “Wild” by Katseye is number 2. After that:

3. The Script – “The User’s Guide to Being Human”

This is their eighth studio album. They usually make number 1, and this is their lowest chart position in a career reaching back to 2008. Though not by much, obviously.

4. Jungle – “Sunshine”

This is their fifth album; the last two both reached number 3, and they’ve yet to miss the top 10.

21. Kris Barras Band – “Monsters We Made”

Their fourth album. The previous one made the top 5 but that seems to have been an outlier. Barras is a retired MMA fighter, hence the video, but that was over a decade ago.

27. Marilyn Manson – “One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2”

Chapter 1 came out in 2024 and only got to number 36, so this is an improvement. To put that in context, though, Marilyn Manson albums routinely placed in the top 10 before 2021.