I could try to summarise the year in review in some detail, but what would be the point? This is the year of Rein Me In. Enough said.
We're back for a new year. And so it appears are all the old hits from before. But that finally gives one lady in particular her chance to shine. RAYE tops the charts after a winter waiting in the wings. Get your exclamation marks ready!
So is this the end of the beginning, or the beginning of the end of the start. Or are we still just getting started? I lose track. Stranger Things have happened on the charts - not least a hit from 2024 winding up finally at the very top of the 2026 charts.
Meet Bruno (solo for the first time in almost ten year) who just might have the highest new entry of the week. Find out what gives him joy (and pain) inside. But is this the beginning of the end for Djo or just the end of b... oh make your own jokes.
I think, THINK, Robbie Williams might be overcompensating for something. Either that or he is a record breaker of some kind. Find out more inside.
Through my magic chart window (an aperture, if you will) I see a unique One Direction solo chart double. Louis Tomlinson No.1 with an album you didn't know he'd released, and Harry Styles at No.1 with a single that EVERYONE is talking about. Including me, inside.
They are back. Back! And still totally not shagging, no sir. Raindance rebounds to the top, all the Grammy winners appear to rebound as well. But what is scarier? Milky back in the Top 40, or the fact that their song is now 24 years old.
Opalite is No.1 as we all expected - but not without a scare. More people now know who Bad Bunny is. But is that really a long term thing? Hop to it.
Babies are being born this week who were conceived the day this man's song was released. That's how long he has had to wait. But the most epic climb to No.1 in chart history has finally reached a climax. But is it thanks to the woman not pictured here?
Writing this before the BRITs have been broadcast, so if it turns out Olivia Dean cleans up you know I am a genius for predicting it. [I AM]. She continues to clean up on the UK charts, and you can find out just how she does this inside. Meanwhile there are 3 members of Little Mix, and all their solo albums have reached No.3.
All credit to Official Charts for getting the normally reticent Gorillaz to pose with their No.1 award as they climb The Mountain to No.1 again. But they aren't necessarily the story this week, nor as it turns out are the BRITs whose sales influence, while still measurable, diminish by the year. All the stories on a still busy chart week inside.
Harry Styles is in his hero era, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. His fourth album is his most difficult, but somehow is also now his biggest. Meanwhile the Top 20 is rammed with Golden Oldies. And Ella Langley hits a low-key but rather distinctive chart benchmark.
Normalcy is restored as Sam Fender & Olivia Dean execute a swift return to the summit, fending off a videoless Bella Kay and the ever-present threat of the ACR axe. From Harry Styles’ album dominance to the "Generic American Bloke" influx, here is your definitive guide to the week in pop. Also featuring some entirely appropriate Sienna Spiro workship.
The hiatus is over, the barracks are empty, and the "superior seven" have officially landed. But as BTS storms the summit with record-breaking numbers, a look behind the curtain reveals the strict chart rules—and the fan-led frenzy—keeping the wheels turning. From the "forbidden door" of bulk-buying to the curious case of RAYE’s five-minute symphony, we’re diving into a week of high-stakes comebacks and the cautionary tales of those left in the dust.
This week James is rocketing through the countryside on a very fast train, so this may not be everything you wished for. But a recycled RAYE picture at least gives you a clue that she is the biggest of all the What We've Learned this week. And glory to her as well.
The biggest songs of 2026 so far are awkwardly mostly songs released in 2025, and at times even older. But no matter, the biggest hits of the moment are all justifiably huge. Rein Me In isn't leaving No.1 any time soon either, and this week it even has room to do something very unusual.
In a week when we are still waiting for something, anything, to happen near the top of the charts, the headlines are grabbed by another golden oldie. One of the most 2012 singles possible is suddenly back with a bang. But is this a Coachella one-off, or the start of something more?
It’s a week of "Olivias" making history, Justin Bieber making an improbable comeback, and Taylor Swift making a glittery dent in the Top 20. But while Olivia Rodrigo’s latest No.1 suggests a changing of the guard, the story of the week lies in the "vintage" tracks refusing to stay in the past. From Glastonbury triumphs to the dwindling fortunes of the Now! series, we look at what’s actually moving the needle—and why the "First Look" can sometimes be a complete mirage.
Why is one broadcaster treated as toxic while a complicated pop legacy continues to print money? Between the "chart hokey-cokey" of the Top 40 and the technical wizardry of Michael Jackson’s streaming credits, we explore the strange paradoxes of this week's countdown. Plus: I told you so about Olivia Rodrigo. (Sorry, not sorry).
Michael Jackson's 1983 face heralds a week in which he lands a surprise No.1 album on a technicality, invades the Top 3 for the first time since his death and almost - almost! - eclipses the big news of Rein Me In landing ten weeks at the top. Meaning Madonna and Sabrina are almost an afterthought.
This lady is not Michael Jackson. But she is one of the stars of the newly-minted video for a song that becomes a major chart hit for the very first time ever in this country. It is a bizarre world where the golden oldies are taking over. And the songs of 2026 are increasingly struggling to be heard.
Pout all you want Drake, but you don't get everything your own way every time. The man with no quality control filter releases three albums at once, but still can't quite manage a chart clean sweep. Find out what he did manage inside.
"Boys are no longer as shit as they used to be" delcares Maisie Peters (after a fashion). Her third album is her second No.1 in a row. But this was also supposed to be Olivia Rodrigo's week, but this time it isn't. And yet there's still no Cure for the No.1 run of Rein Me In.
83 years old and not looking a day over 78, Sir Paul McCartney has the No.1 album of the week and takes back over as the oldest man ever to do so. Plus he's thumbs aloft in the picture, so all is well with the world. Meanwhile, we have a new No.1 single, at least for the moment. Please all try to contain yourselves.
Fun fact: Taylor Swift is such a consummate pro that she shot a whole series of poses with No.1 award, just so they can be used when appropriate. Like today when her Toy Story 5 soundtrack contribution hands her a seventh - seventh! - No.1 hit.
It is Olivia Rodrigo's week! So here she is pretending not to be so sad for a girl so in love. Except for the one fly in the ointment - Taylor Swift finding 40,000 CD singles down the back of the sofa and nicking a second week at No.1 that she has no bloody business having otherwise. Girl fight!
It's like Lex Luthor returning for Superman IV isn't it? "You thought you'd seen the last of me hadn't you? Well think again!" Rein Me In continues to make history at every turn - and now there are some other very important records within its sights.
A week of pretty much nothing happening is perhaps surprisingly one full of plenty to talk about. What records is Rein Me In about to break? And which curious one does Ella Langley now technically hold? All answers are contained behind the lovely Ms Dean.
It is a week where records tumble every way you turn. Rein Me In is No.1 for the 16th week, something no single has done for 35 years. But that's just one of a string of longevity yardsticks it has hurdled. And Madonnna has a No.1 album for the first time since 2012. Who knew Gran still had it in her?
The whole nation goes football mad - finally. Just in time for England's demise. But even the power of Oasis cannot shift the No.1 single as it heads inexorably towards another all-time record.
This is one of those "you may have to remember where you were" moments surely. The longest-standing of all long standing chart records has now been equalled. Is there anywhere else left to go?
The moment, long planned-for, has arrived. No longer can we blissfully mention a 1953 single as the longest-running No.1 hit in chart history. A new recording has taken over that crown. Will things ever be the same again?
Sam and Olivia pose backstage at Lollapalooza in Chicago in a picture taken circa 1923 by the looks of things, as Rein Me In continues at the top. But last week's ensuing debate was fascinating - why were so many people startled that they'd never stumbled across the song?
Ella Langley studies Chart Watch with some care and discovers that just like back at home she now has two side by side hits to her name. Neither are making it to No.1 any time soon it seems. There's a certain duet still in the way. Further explanation as to why that is lies cheerfully within.
This isn't a random flex for a photoshoot; poor Phoebe Bridgers celebrates her No.1 album by being laid low with appendicitis. That's not a spoiler though, and neither is the news that Rein Me In is still No.1. Come inside, there's a table.
Remember her this way. The midweek death of Dolly Parton means she enjoys a quite startlingly rapid set of tribute hits. But this week also marks the final hurrah of a certain long-running No.1 single. I'm sure you can guess which.
In the end it was no choice at all it appears. What better song to replace a long-running epic at No.1 than one which has enjoyed an epic journey of its own.
