This week: Katy Perry releases her big single, and everybody else steers well clear.

39.  Starship – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”

It’s being used in an advert for… you know, I’ve seen it several times, and I still can’t remember what for.  Google says it’s Talk Talk.

“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” was a number 1 hit back in 1987, and started off life as the theme to Mannequin.  Perhaps surprisingly, this is its first chart appearance in the download era.  Starship were a spin-off that emerged from the break-up of Jefferson Starship, the name reflecting the fact that (unlike Jefferson Starship) they didn’t feature any former members of Jefferson Airplane.  They had one other hit in the UK, “We Built This City”, which reached number 12 in 1985.

35.  Olly Murs – “Right Place Right Time”

The title track from Olly Murs’ current album is a song in the coffee-table-epic vein.  This officially came out as a single on 23 August, and it’s climbing from 41 last week, so it’s fair to say that it’s not performing brilliantly.  That being said, it’s the fourth single from the album (so its function more to remind people that the album is out there), and at least it’s better than “Troublemaker”.

23.  Beyonce – “Listen”

Used as an X-Factor audition piece.  Originally made number 8 in 2007.  Incidentally, this is the first time Beyonce’s been in the top 40 since the underrated “Countdown” crept to 35 two years ago.

17.  London Grammar – “Strong”

The follow-up to “Wasting My Young Years”, which got to 31 in June – so they’re heading in the right direction.   The debut album comes out today.  The track is a restrained 80s indie throwback, though with stronger vocals – it’s not the sort of thing we get very often in the singles chart, perhaps because it doesn’t have a very obvious home on UK radio, but it’s nice to see here all the same.

12.  Neon Jungle – “Trouble”

In which somebody figures that there might be a gap in the market for a girl band pitched along the lines of Icona Pop, though if we’re being honest, this could pass with a bit of tweaking for early Girls Aloud.  Not that that’s a bad thing.  The track itself is produced by Anita Blay, who’s been releasing music as CocknBullKid for a few years but hasn’t shown up in the chart, and Ben Berry, who sometimes goes by the name Fear Of Tigers.  I like it, but as a rule, manufactured bands need a really big hit straight out the gate, or the record company gives up awfully quickly.  And since this is currently outside the top 20 in iTunes, it doesn’t look set to stick around.

11.  You Me At Six – “Lived a Lie”

Frontloaded sales at play here – it’s already nearly out of the top 40 on iTunes – but even so, it gives You Me At Six their highest placing so far.  They’ve had four previous hits, but the highest (“Rescue Me”) only got to 21.   They’re a rock band from Surrey, and this is the first single from their upcoming fourth album.  It has to be said that the production here shows a notable shift towards radio-friendliness.

1.  Katy Perry – “Roar”

The fourth number 1 hit for Katy Perry, following “I Kissed A Girl”, “California Gurls” (sic) and “Part of Me”.  It’s the lead single from her upcoming album, and it’s a huge seller, shifting just under 180K in its first week.  The chart compilers have duly anointed it as the third-biggest seller of the year, behind “Blurred Lines” and “Wake Me Up” (though I suspect they’re calculating this by first-week sales, in which case “Get Lucky” is effectively stymied by its midweek release).

It’s one of those all-purpose empowerment anthems that turn up so frequently at the top of the charts – were there always so many songs along these lines? – and to be honest, I’d rate it as a good pop single but nothing especially out of the ordinary.  But everyone else has run a mile from releasing against it (and the same goes for next week’s chart), and it’s flying off the virtual shelves.  And I do find myself humming it, even though I don’t really like it very much.  It’s going to be around for a good while, I think.

Over on the album chart, an unusually busy week.

• “The 1975” by the 1975 at 1.  A rare case of an indie band that still makes the singles chart, the debut album follows the singles “Chocolate”, “The City” and “Sex”.
• “Hesitation Marks” by Nine Inch Nails at 2.  You won’t be surprised to hear that that’s Trent Reznor’s highest placing album, though you might be more surprised to learn that “With Teeth” reached number 3 in 2005.  Lead single: “Come Back Haunted”.  (Caution: they’re not kidding about the epileptic warning.)
• “Roaring ’20s” by Rizzle Kicks at 3.  The pop-rap duo’s single “Lost Generation” is still in the top 10.  Previous album “Stereo Typical” peaked at 5.
• “Yours Truly” by Ariana Grande at 7.  Ariana Grande was the star of the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious until turning her hand to singing.  Two singles have failed to make the top 40 in the UK, but the album’s done OK.  (Here’s “The Way”, which did respectably well in her native US, and had some middling success on mainland Europe.  Oh, and it topped the chart in Ukraine.)
• “Sequel to the Prequel” by Babyshambles at 10.  A third top ten album for Pete Doherty’s outfit.  There was a single, “Nothing Comes to Nothing”, but it didn’t chart.
• “Young Kingz” by Krept & Konan at 19.  London rap duo.  Their YouTube channel doesn’t actually call this an album, it prefers “mix tape”.  Hmm.  Here’s “Don’t Waste My Time”.
• “The 50 Greatest Tracks” by Luciano Pavarotti at 20.  Self-explanatory, really.
• “Love in the Future” by John Legend at 28.  His fifth appearance on the album chart (and the lowest down).  Here’s “Made to Love”.
• “Getting Over the Storm” by UB40 at 29.  UB40’s eighteenth studio album largely features covers of country songs.  Let’s roll that around our minds for a little bit.  Here’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”.