I know, this is getting predictable.

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

Twenty-three weeks at number one. Sixty-two weeks on the top 40. But wait… at last, at long last, “Rein Me In” has fallen by more than the market average for three weeks in a row. This means that next week it goes to ACR, and its streaming points will be halved. And while it still has a huge lead over the number 2 single, it’s not that huge. If it had been on ACR this week, it would have been at number 6. So, barring a miracle, this is it.

9. Dolly Parton – “Jolene”
12. Dolly Parton – “9 to 5”
13. Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers – “Islands in the Stream” 

That’s a very impressive showing given that the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with Dolly Parton’s death happening on the Tuesday. It’s all the more notable when you consider that she made very little impact on the UK singles chart during her life. Two of these three tracks were the notable exceptions: “Jolene” reached number 7 in 1976, and “Islands in the Stream” reached number 7 in 1983. They were her only two UK top 40 hits – remarkably, “9 to 5” didn’t make the top 40 on release in 1981, though it did come close. The highest-placing version of “Islands in the Stream” remains the (mostly straight) Comic Relief cover version by Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones, which reached number 1 in 2009.

She did better on the album chart, and was certainly a household name here, but even so, she didn’t have a top 10 album until 2007. Her highest placing studio album in the UK was 2016’s “Pure & Simple”, which reached number 2. Of course, the album chart has become more friendly to legacy acts over the years, and the British market has become more receptive to country in general.

Still, the appearance of these three tracks feels like it reflects her status as an accepted feature of the landscape. If it wasn’t for the three-song limit, her versions of “I Will Always Love You” and “Here You Come Again” would also have made the top 30.

Her greatest hits collection “Diamonds & Rhinestones” re-enters the album chart at number 6, having previously peaked at number 32 in 2022. In fairness, it’s one of many Dolly Parton compilations, one of which got to number 2 in 2014.

19. Fontaines DC – “Marianne”

Not their first top 40 hit – “It’s Amazing To Be Young” managed a single week at number 39 last year. But this has climbed from outside the top 40 in its second week without any physical sales drop seeming to be involved, so that’s a good sign for them. The video initially credited “AI artists” in its YouTube description, which seems to have been changed to “VFX Artists” without comment. From the look of the video, it seems to be spot usage of it for isolated special effects.

38. Ashe – “Stop The Wedding”

Ashe has been around for a few years, but her only previous hit was “Moral of the Story”, which reached number 31 in 2020 on the back of its inclusion in a Netflix show. She finally gets a second hit with this very retro track. It’s climbing from number 58, so it must have a good shot of going further.

40. Sienna Spiro – “Pure”

Her sixth top 40 hit, in her now well established vein. You know, there was a time when a video like this would play as a bit of radical antivideo minimalism on MTV, but now it’s just a placeholder “visualizer”.

This week’s climbers:

• “Movin’ To The Sun” by Hugel, Imael Angel & Ultra Naté climbs 4-2. That means it overtakes “Free” to become Ultra Naté’s biggest UK hit. It’s essentially the heir apparent to become number 1 next week, although Ella Langley isn’t that far behind.
• “Boston” by Stella Lefty climbs 5-4. There doesn’t seem to be much spillover interest for the album, which enters at number 77 this week.
• “Great Expectation” by Sienna Spiro climbs 7-5.
• “Sue Me” by Audrey Hobert climbs 26-21.
• “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield climbs 30-27.
• “Orbiter” by Noah Kahan climbs 32-31.

The six tracks leaving the top 40 are:

• “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn, which re-entered at number 34 last week.
• “Mr Brightside” by The Killers, which spent five weeks hovering between 37 and 40.
• “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” by Olivia Dean, which re-entered at 38 two weeks ago.
• “Ain’t in LA” by Adéla, with a three-week run that peaked at 32.
• “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, which re-entered back in May and spend ten weeks in the top 10, peaking at number 3 .
• “Lost Weekend” by Phoebe Bridgers, after a single week at number 39.

On the album chart:

1. Paul Heaton – “Jenius”

Technically this is the first solo album for Paul Heaton, but he’s had two previous number 1 albums in a duo with Jacqui Abbott, and another three as a member of the Beautiful South. It’s here overwhelmingly on physical sales, with a fairly minimal streaming presence.

3. Brandon Flowers – “Thrasher” 

A third solo album by the lead singer of the Killers; the last two came out over a decade ago, and both reached number 1.

5. Westside Cowboy – “It Goes On”

They’re an indie band from Manchester, and this is their debut album.

6. Dolly Parton – “Diamonds & Rhinestones – Greatest Hits”

We’ve covered this already.

9. DMA’s – “DMA’s”

Australian indie. It’s their fifth studio album; the previous two both made the top 5.

17. Jorja Smith – “What Are The Odds” 

That seems awfully low for a Jorja Smith album. None of the singles from this album have made the top 100, and it’s the first time she’s missed the top 10 on the album charts.

Mind you…

21. Sam Smith – “Hazel Eyes”

… this is even more dramatic. No singles in the top 100, and the first time Sam Smith has failed to place an album in the top 2. I’m not sure what’s going on here.

30. Antony Szmierek – “Decoding Birdsong”

Described in various places as performance poetry with electronica, this is a lot more listenable than that makes it sound. It’s his second album, and the first to chart.