Relax In The Sunshine
The Top 10 singles of spring 2025 are entrenched, as far as most measures are concerned. It could be worse, because we could have a situation where nothing actually moves for weeks on end. But aside from the top end, there is at the very least a shifting of the pack to give the singles chart some small sparks of interest.
So yes, Ordinary by Alex Warren is still No.1, blasting its way to a far from conventional seven straight weeks at the top. We all thrilled when it first topped the charts, a track of the highest quality after all. But one which appears to be gently heading for double figures? That wasn't expected at all. And yes, it still looks to be there for some time. Although Ordinary had declined in consumption for the previous two weeks, meaning it was precariously close to slipping to ACR, said clock has now been reset. Having posted chart sales of 70k and 66k in the past two weeks hurtles back up to just over 69k. And unless something comes along to overcome it, or it falls back too far to compete, then Alex Warren's hit is destined for an 8th, 9th and even 10th week at No.1 based on present form.
This is arguably all down to the weather. It is becoming more and more apparent that sunshine appears to make people stream more. They are out and about, in the garden, in parks, taking in the sunshine, and all the while playing music to listen to. You only have to look at the size of the singles market to see this effect. From last week's post January low of 29.4m units, the singles market this week rockets by over 8% to 31.7m units - the second highest of the year so far.
Meanwhile still in a distant second place is Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club - lest we forget the track that Ordinary replaced at No.1 almost two months ago. This is now its sixth straight week at No.2 and the seventh in total. I'll remind you that the all-time record for most weeks at No.2 on the singles chart (irrespective of whether the track peaked there or also made No.1) is currently 11. Clocked up over the years by All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.
They Are Right Here
I said there is movement - that comes from Show Me Love by WizTheMC and Bees & Honey which has hived away enough chart sales to reach No.3, bumping poor Ed Sheeran and Azizam (bless you) down to No.4. Below him is Ravyn Lenae with the still magnificent Love Me Not which too reaches a brand new peak of No.5. Both hits you could make a case for sounding great at the top of the charts. But they are all being cock blocked by Ordinary for the foreseeable.
There's just one new arrival to the Top 10 and that is - gloriously - Jack Black's Steve's Lava Chicken. Early sales flashes had it threatening to break into the Top 5 but it eventually settles at No.9. It now takes over the mantles of the shortest Top 10 single in chart history from Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead by The Wizard Of Oz cast which reached No.2 in April 2013 in circumstances best not talked about.
We Could Never Be
Kiwi singer Lorde is one of those artists who seems to be hero-worshipped by many music writers despite her singular lack of mainstream success over the last ten years. But then again that used to be the case for Charli XCX so go figure. She famously hit No.1 worldwide (including here) with Royals back in 2013 but has never managed a hit single that even approaches that level of success since. She's never had another Top 10 and only reached the Top 20 twice more in the last 12 years: Green Light (No.20) in 2017 and Solar Power (No.17) in 2021. This week she came agonisingly close to breaking that streak but fails at the death. Taken from her upcoming album Virgin her new single What Was That is at the very least her biggest hit since that golden age, entering as this week's highest new entry at No.11. But I still can't help but think this is 90% hype.
Benson Boone's Beautiful Things remains one of the entrenched Top 10 singles, holding at No.7 this week, but he is trying to distract us with some new material. His new track Mystical Magical opens at No.17, four places above the No.21 peak that Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else has scaled so far - that single incidentally dipping to No.22 this week.
Wake Me Up
The golden spring of Sleep Token continues as they ramp up the hype towards the release of their Even In Arcadia next week. Hard on the heels of Emergence (No.17) and Caramel (No.10) comes a final promotional single Damocles which arrives at a slightly more understated No.25. But that's more than enough to ensure the album will be one of the biggest metal releases we've seen for some time when it finally charts.
I teased its presence last week and now Charli XCX's Party 4 U is starting to live up to its delayed potential. Further virality has sent the 2020 track soaring to a new peak of No.34. When her How I'm Feeling Now album (from which this track is taken) was first released, not one of its cuts made the singles chart. Her star has risen quite spectacularly since.
Skye's The Limit
There's one more new entry that sneaks in the bottom end of the Top 40, Hairdresser from Skye Newman which reaches No.38 after a four week odyssey in the lower reaches of the chart. The 22 year old British singer-songwriter is the latest hot prospect from the "next big thing" file, a lady with a raw, soulful voice but who stirs in some unapologetically hip-hop vibes into her songwriting. If you are thinking "that's just Lola Young isn't it" you probably aren't far off the mark, both are cut from the same cloth. But just as Messy was a revelation and joy when you first heard it, so too Hairdresser ranks as the most captivating single of the week. This has huge potential.
Play Long
Remember when I noted that the Easter weekend meant nobody bothered to release any new albums? Compare the paucity of last week's release slate to this week - four of the Top 5 are new entries. They include The Stereophonics at No.1, Ghost at No.2, James Arthur (the 2012 X Factor winner is still a thing apparently) at No.3 and finally A Complicated Woman from the magnificent Self Esteem at No.5. Which I confess is the only one of these I've listened to. The Sterephonics making No.1 is notable though - this their ninth chart topper of their career. Of British groups only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have had more.
