This week, Swedish novelty records, American high schools, and CBeebies credit sequences.

39.  Skepta – “Shutdown”

Skepta is one of those long-standing UK rappers who doesn’t chart consistently but has still been appearing on and off since 2010.  The woman in the bridge whining about aggressive dancing on prime-time TV is not a sample, but it’s apparently a reference to the reaction to Kanye West’s Brits 2015 performance of “All Day”, where Skepta was one of the thirty random guys in black.

36.  Hozier – “Someone New”

Time for the difficult follow-up to the breakthrough hit, then.  This seems a bit more suited to Radio 2 (which normally means an album audience rather than singles), but “Take Me To Church” didn’t immediately sound like a single either.  It’s still hanging around at 17.  “Someone New” is only just starting its promotional cycle as a single in this country, so it has potential to go further.

25.  AronChupa – “I’m An Albatraoz”

Well, that’s certainly something.

It’s a novelty track, obviously, but it was number 1 in its native Sweden, and it’s done pretty well around Europe, Australia and Canada too.  The UK seems more resistant, at least for now.  AronChupa is producer Aron Ekberg, though fans of Swedish fourth division football will also know him from his day job as the goalkeeper for Byttorps IF.   The uncredited singer – whose baffling yet bratty vocal probably makes the thing – is his sister Nora.

AronChupa is apparently very fond of the word Albatraoz, as he’s also a member of a band called “Albatraoz” who made an entirely different (though lyrically reminiscent) single called “Albatraoz” in 2013.

18.  Jack Ü featuring Justin Bieber – “Where Are Ü Now”

Climbing 14 places in its third week out, giving Diplo two concurrent top twenty hits (the other being Major Lazer’s “Lean On”, climbing to 4 this week).  And yes, after listing it as “Diplo & Skrillex” last week, the chart compilers have apparently decided to go with “Jack Ü” after all.

10.  Alesso featuring Roy English – “Cool”

Alesso’s fourth consecutive top 10 hit, though admittedly several of the others were collaborations with higher profile acts like Calvin Harris.  It’s the familiar formula for Swedish EDM-pop.  The piano riff is from Kylie Minogue’s “Get Out Of My Way”, which got to number 12 in 2010.

Unusually, that’s Alesso himself in the video.  If you’re thinking the school looks either naggingly familiar or incredibly generic, that’s because it’s Venice High School in Los Angeles, a perennially popular location for Californian directors in need of an iconic-looking high school – and getting more iconic all the time, because of its ever-growing filmography.  Grease was shot there.  So was Nightmare on Elm Street.  And Heathers.  And American History X.  And “Baby One More Time”.  Not that they’re fussy – it’s also been used by Cher Lloyd and the Faders.

Roy English, making his first chart appearance, is a singer and producer who started out life in an indie band called Eye Alaska under his real name of Brandon Wronski.

3.  Carly Rae Jepsen – “I Really Like You”

This was number 1 in the midweeks, but it can’t sustain it.  It’s the lead single from her third studio album.  The first album didn’t trouble the UK at all; the second is largely remembered for the global smash “Call Me Maybe”, which was number 1 for a month in 2012.  The follow-up “Good Time” also spent four weeks in the top 10, so it’s not like she was a one-hit wonder, but she’s very definitely associated with that one song.  “I Really Like You” may well be a good enough chorus to break that, though.

Unfortunately, I am unable to listen to “Call Me Maybe” quite the same way these days, because for obvious reasons I get to see a lot of CBeebies, and for some reason I now find it alarmingly reminiscent of the opening credits to Topsy & Tim, a sight which usually prompts a desperate scramble for the remote control.  The show is pretty much everything those credits would lead you to expect.

1.  OMI – “Cheerleader”

Unexpected!  This has now moved 37-27-2-2-1, and makes the top after a fortnight stuck behind Wiz Khalifa.  It actually relied on higher streaming to edge the number 1 position – the third record to take number 1 without being the highest seller.  It’s number 1 on iTunes right now, so it has a reasonable shot of hanging on for a second week.

On the album chart, it’s a one-horse race:

• “The Magic Whip” by Blur at 1.  Their first studio album in 12 years.  All their studio albums since “Parklife” have gone to number 1.  Obviously, Blur are now at the stage of their career where they don’t need to bother with doing proper single releases, though there are a couple of token videos, such as “Go Out”.
• “Let’s Hear It For The Dogs” by The Proclaimers at 26.  That’s fairly standard for a Proclaimers album these days; they still have a loyal fan base, particularly in Scotland.  Single (which isn’t bad at all, actually): “You Built Me Up”.
• “Jekyll & Hyde” by The Zac Brown Band at 36.  Country band from Georgia; big in the US, making their first chart appearance in the UK.  Single: “Loving You Easy”.