Well, we’re getting back to the normal rhythm of the singles chart – which is to say, quiet, but there’s some movement..

1. Miley Cyrus – “Flowers”

Two weeks – which is more than either of her previous number ones managed. It’s easy to forget how long Miley Cyrus has been around – her first hit was in 2008, so she’s now into her sixteenth year of having hits. It could easily have been longer, since one of her Hannah Montana tracks got to number 43 in 2007. Her previous number ones were a decade ago.

The top five is completely static, so that’s certainly familiar.

9. Headie One – “Martin’s Sofa”

To be honest, this leaves me completely cold. I think you maybe have to be invested in Headie One and his back story. Which is a shame, because it’s called “Martin’s Sofa”, which is clearly a great title. But as a record, it’s very one note. Anyway, it’s Headie One’s fifth top 10 hit. All the others had very high profile guest stars on them – as in, AJ Tracey, Stormzy, Dave and Drake – so it’s significant that he’s making the top ten completely under his own power here.

The sample has an odd history. Headie One probably got it from Cadet’s 2015 single “Slut”, which is much better than it sounds (and much better than this). Cadet in turn seems to have sourced it from the Flatbush Zombies’ 2014 track “Palm Trees”. And they, in turn, seem to have lifted it from a cover of SBTRKT’s “Wildfire” posted by South Korean YouTuber Jeni Suk in 2013. Look, it’s at 4:49.

26. Coi Leray – “Players”

Sampling Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five? To be fair, she’s not the first – WhoSampled lists 305 tracks which have sampled “White Lines”. The sample is even more blatant in the original mix, which really is just looping the original hook; but it’s the Jersey club mix that has a video. Coi Leray is (obviously) from New Jersey and this is her first UK hit, though she’s had a couple of minor hits in America.

32. Sabrina Carpenter – “Nonsense”

Sabrina Carpenter is the actress who was widely suspected of being the Other Girl in Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s Licence”, which is why her  only previous hit was 2021’s thinly disguised answer record “Skin”. It managed a single week at number 28 and was lucky to get that. This is… better, but that’s not a hugely high bar. It’s okay. I quite like the guitar.

37. Popcaan featuring Drake – “We Caa Done”

Popcaan has had three previous hits as a guest singer – he was on Jorja Smith’s “Come Over” (number 35 in 2020), AlunaGeorge’s “I’m in Control” (number 39 in 2016) and Melissa Steel’s “Kisses for Breakfast” (number 10 in 2014). So he’s been around for a while, but this is his first appearance as the lead artist. Admittedly, Drake’s on it.

38. PinkPantheress – “Boy’s a Liar”

PinkPantheress had a couple of hits in 2021 but didn’t chart last year despite releasing a collaboration with Willow. This track was inadvisedly released in the run-up to Christmas and it’s only just now made it into the top 40.

40. Sub Focus & Dimension – “Ready to Fly”

90s dance throwback – as the video helpfully labours. You might think that was being done in order to pad the thing out to 2:45, but the actual single is 3:24, so apparently they just wanted to make a really short video. Sub Focus (Nicolaas Douwma) hasn’t had a hit since 2013, but he had two top ten hits that year.

This week’s climbers:

• “Calm Down” by Rema reaches number 6 after three weeks at number 8. It’s now been on the top 40 for 20 weeks.
• “Sure Thing” by Miguel climbs 11-10 to become his first top 10 hit.
• “10:35” by Tiesto & Tate McRae climbs 16-14.
• “People” by Libianca climbs 27-18.
• “I’ll be Waiting” by Cian Ducrot climbs 22-19.
• “Red Flags” by Mimi Webb climbs 23-21.
• “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)” by Metro Boomin featuring Future & Chris Brown climbs 39-34.

There are six new entries, plus a re-entry for Lewis Capaldi’s “Forget Me” at 42. The seven tracks making way for them…

• “The Color Violet” by Tory Lanez, which peaked at 36.
• “Shirt” by SZA, which peaked at 17 in its first run before Christmas.
• “As It Was” by Harry Styles, the former number 1 that briefly re-entered the top 40 after Christmas.
• “Rocket Science” by Clavish featuring D-Block Europe, which reached number 9 just before the Christmas rush.
• “Nobody Gets Me” by SZA, an album track that peaked at 27.
• “Shut Up My Moms Calling” by Hotel Ugly, which got to 36.
• “Dave Flow” by Fredo, after a single week at 30

On the album chart…

1. The Reytons – “What’s Rock and Roll”

This is the Reytons’ first number one album, and their third appearance on the album chart – though one of those was an EP that technically qualified for the chart. Still, 2021’s debut album “Kids Off The Estate” reached number 11, so a number 1 in a week with some degree of competition is pretty good.

5. Måneskin – “Rush”

The winners of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. They haven’t produced any hit singles from this album, but a number 5 album does mean that they’ve escaped the orbit of Eurovision.

6. Black Star Riders – “Wrong Side of Paradise”

Matching the peak of the album before last, 2017’s “Heavy Fire”. Since 2019’s “Another State of Grace” only got to 14, they ought to be pleased with that.

16. The Murder Capital – “Gigi’s Recovery”

Finally, Irish indie. Their previous album, 2019’s “When I Have Fears”, got to 18.