Two weeks after Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” was finally deposed from\u00a0number 1 after its thirteen week reign, how are things shaping up in the bold, post-Ed world?<\/p>\n
1. \u00a0Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Oh.<\/p>\n Okay then.<\/p>\n So that’s fourteen weeks, non-consecutive, which matches the total of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. \u00a0One more week to match “One Dance” and “Love is All Around”, each of which\u00a0made 15 weeks without interruption. \u00a0Bryan Adams is 16, and beyond that lies the seemingly unattainable 18 weeks of Frankie Laine’s “I Believe” from 1953. \u00a0Who knows?<\/p>\n But it’s not very likely because the track’s sales and streams have now faded to relatively\u00a0ordinary levels. \u00a0It’s only\u00a0just<\/em> ahead of numbers 2 and 3 this week –\u00a0which are Clean Bandit’s “Symphony” and Sheeran’s own “Galway Girl”, as Harry Styles drops straight to number 4. \u00a0“Symphony” still has a\u00a0decent shot\u00a0of being the next\u00a0number 1. \u00a0And\u00a0we’re down to a mere five Ed Sheeran tracks in the top 40, though it goes without saying that in any other time this would still have been seen as remarkable.<\/p>\n 2. \u00a0Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson – “Symphony”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Up two, and see above.<\/p>\n 6. \u00a0Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Jumping 25 places on the release of the parent album. \u00a0And yes, you guessed it, there’s a lot of Kendrick Lamar on this week’s chart – album releases do seem to be finding renewed life in the streaming era. \u00a0This is Lamar’s first appearance in the top 20 (let alone the top 10) as a lead artist, though he’s\u00a0had\u00a0higher-placing guest appearances on Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 tracks.<\/p>\n