Welcome to James Masterton's Chart Watch UK – your essential weekly deep dive into the Official UK Charts!
As the longest-running British music column online, we bring you the ultimate guide to this week's Top 40, unraveling the stories behind the biggest new singles and chart-topping hits. Plus, explore our extensive archives, a treasure trove of nearly 1800 articles documenting three and a half decades of popular music history and expert analysis.
We may have been here before. The song that was No.1 this week last year, and indeed this week two years ago, is once more No.1. And you all can guess what that is. But one week before the Christmas chart itself, none other than Kylie Minogue is manoeuvring into position to be a contender for the seasonal crown too.
Taylor Swift is being hunted down by both George and Mariah, but the final properly relevant chart of the year does at least see her set a new personal record for a No.1 hit. Meanwhile let it snow returning classics - but with a new recording is Kylie Top 10 bound once more?
Have a Wicked advent everyone, because indeed exactly one year on hits from the movie musical sequel are defying the gravity of the charts. But it still, alas, sucks to be Olivia Dean as she continues to be denied No.1 singles and albums because of rules and circumstances. And the full story of I Run can now be told.
Yes, this is Olivia Dean again. No, she isn't No.1 again, although awkwardly the raw numbers suggest she should be. But the festive songs are closing in, and I've a feeling it isn't summer time any more.
