You are reading the famous weekly guide to the Official UK Charts. The longest-running British music column online.
Read about this week's Top 40 charts and the stories behind the biggest new hit singles. Plus browse the complete 26-year archive, a resource of over 1300 articles documenting over a quarter of a century of popular music history.
...and as if the Good Fairy of pop waved her magic wand, we suddenly have a flood of exciting new hits to bite upon. Former collaborators Calvin and Sam go their separate ways with new partners but in the process hand us the most exciting new singles we've heard in months. Ava still clings on at the top, just long enough to finally get her hands on her award.
What's more problematic, a Number One single complaining about "psychos" or the much-loved Chris Brown biting off huge chunks of a much-loved pop hit from the early 1990s? The new year lull continues, but that is good news if you are a British rap star. Mainstream success is yours for the taking.
Overnight the singles chart returns to normal, the streaming market resets and pop music is allowed to re-assert its dominance once more. That means some spectacular moves and peculiar re-entries, but it means Post Malone gets to be the hero of the hour with two songs of his own in the Top 5.
Just where do you begin? The most absurd, pointless, meaningless singles chart of the year means a listing almost totally dominated by Christmas songs as your mum puts Spotify on a loop to baste the turkey to and all contemporary artists wilt in the face of a festive onslaught. Mariah Carey sets a new streaming record as a result, but here's the extraordinary bit. She still doesn't reach Number One.
