Charts analysis: An early Christmas present for Kylie Minogue... her 11th No.1 album

A decade after Kylie Christmas reached No.12 for Kylie Minogue, its 10th anniversary is marked by the release of Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped), which dashes to a No.1 debut on consumption of 23,279 units (10,125 CDs, 9,510 vinyl albums, 1,441 cassettes, 1,057 digital downloads and 1,146 sales-equivalent streams). It becomes the first album of seasonal material to reach No.1 for a female solo artist since Susan Boyle topped with The Gift in 2010. The original Kylie Christmas has already undergone several incarnations, and the Fully Wrapped edition has both omissions and additions, most pertinently showcasing new tracks Hot In December, This Time Of Year and Office Party and Amazon-exclusive XMAS. Ineligible to be combined with the previous releases, it is Minogue’s 22nd Top 10, and 11th No.1 in an album chart career that spans 37 years. Her previous No.1s: studio albums Kylie (1988), Enjoy Yourself (1989), Fever (2001), Aphrodite (2010), Golden (2018), Disco (2020), Tension (2023), Tension II (2024) and compilations Greatest Hits (1992) and Step Back In Time: The Definitive Collection (2019). One of 17 acts to have 10 or more No.1 albums hitherto, the 57-year-old is now one of 12 to have 11 or more – with just seven acts ahead of her – and the only Australian. In all of its previous incarnations, Kylie Christmas has total consumption of 176,868 units. Number one on debut 41 weeks ago, People Watching catapults 34-3 (14,443 sales) for Sam Fender, after being released in a new edition which adds eight tracks, most notably the duet version of Rein Me In, with Olivia Dean, and Elton John collaboration, Talk To You. In the Top 100 continuously since release, People Watching is in third place in Fender’s list of most-consumed albums, with 263,598 units, behind his other studio albums and No.1s, 2019 debut Hypersonic Missiles (558,650 units) and 2021 follow-up, Seventeen Going Under (476,838 units). The rest of the Top 10: The Art Of Loving (1-2, 20,233 sales) by Olivia Dean, The Life Of A Showgirl (2-4, 11,442 sales) by Taylor Swift, Christmas (4-5, 11,320 sales) by Michael Bublé, Man’s Best Friend (3-6, 9,800 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, So Close To What (5-7, 7,703 sales) by Tate McRae, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (7-8, 7,373 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, The Highlights (8-9, 7,134 sales) by The Weeknd and Rumours (13-10, 6,556 sales) by Fleetwood Mac. Rumours has improved its position for three weeks in a row, and is back in the Top 10 for the first time in 85 weeks. The +-=÷× Tour Collection (6-15, 5860 sales) and Play (10-20, 5,183 sales) by Ed Sheeran and Rebel (9-16, 5,840 sales) by EsDeeKid depart the Top 10. Three live double albums make their chart debuts this week, namely Live From Glastonbury (A BBC Recording (No.12, 6,103 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, Memento Mori: Mexico City (No.22, 5,087 sales) by Depeche Mode; and Live God (No.33, 3,973 sales) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Rodrigo’s album, recorded during her headline slot at Glastonbury Festival in June, contains songs from her two No.1 studio albums, Sour and Guts, and much more, including The Cure collaborations Friday I’m In Love and Just Like Heaven. The Depeche Mode and Nick Cave sets are both themed around their latest studio albums, with the former’s Memento Mori: Mexico City celebrating their 2023 No.2 album Memento Mori but inevitably includes live versions of older favourites like Everything Counts and Personal Jesus. Ditto Live God, which uses their No.5 2024 studio set Wild God as its starting point but introduces venerated oldies like their silver singles O Children, Red Right Hand and Into My Arms. Depeche Mode have now had 23 Top 75 albums, Cave two more. Rotherham rock quartet The Reytons’ surprise release of Roll The Dice sees them fall short of the Top 20 for the first time with a studio set, debuting at No.27 (4,442 sales). It follows Kids Of The Estate (No.11, 2021), What’s Rock & Roll? (No.1, 2023) and Ballad Of A Bystander (No.2, 2024). With EP May Seriously Harm You And Others Around You peaking at No.27 in 2021 and live set Clifton Park reaching No.5 in 2024, they have racked up six Top 40 entries in a little less than five years. Number two behind Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Wham! and Alison Moyet in its initial chart foray in 1984/1985, The Collection never did reach the summit for synth-pop royalty Ultravox, but it returns to the Top 75 for the first time in more than 40 years this week, re-entering at No.41 (3,290 sales) after being released in much expanded editions, which includes further singles B-sides and newly-created 12” mixes in 1980s style. Forty years since their debut release, new compilation The Factory Singles (No.56, 2,665 sales) is home to newly remastered recordings by Madchester legends The Happy Mondays. Their eighth charting album, it is the first addition to their tally since 2007 when their most recent (fifth) studio album peaked at No.73. A little over a week after his acclaimed directorial debut Netflix series Sean Combs: The Reckoning dropped, veteran rapper 50 Cent’s 2017 compilation Best Of receives a serendipitous surge, jumping 36-29 (4,122 sales) to surpass its previous (2024) peak of No.31. Thirteen weeks after it debuted and peaked at No.3, Little Mix star Jade’s debut solo album, That’s Showbiz Baby! is a re-entry at No.59 (2,652 sales), following the digital release of an expanded The Encore edition. Netflix’s animated fantasy film Kpop Demon Hunters’ soundtrack is No.1 on the compilation chart for the second week in a row, and 24th week in total on consumption of 11,821 units (1,975 Yoto cards, 141 digital downloads and 9,705 sales-equivalent streams). Overall album sales are up 1.63% week-on-week at 2,902,774 units, 3.14% above same week 2024 sales of 2,814,503. Physical product accounts for 617,860 sales, 21.29% of the total.

Charts analysis: The Fate Of Ophelia becomes Taylor Swift's longest-running No.1 single

It’s official – The Fate Of Ophelia is now the longest-reigning No.1 of Taylor Swift’s glittering career, securing its fourth straight week, and seventh week in total, atop the chart on consumption of 46,495 units (1,300 digital downloads and 45,195 sales-equivalent streams). Swift’s previous top title, Anti-Hero, spent six straight weeks at the top in 2022. She has also reached No.1 with Look What You Made Me Do (two weeks, 2017), Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version) (one week, 2023) and Fortnight (feat. Post Malone, one week, 2024). Fifteen of her 17 weeks at No.1 have come in the 2020s, putting her level with Olivia Rodrigo and behind only Ed Sheeran and Sabrina Carpenter (23 weeks apiece) for most weeks at No.1 this decade. Even as it remains at No.1, The fate of The Fate Of Ophelia is sealed – it secured the lowest tally for a No.1 for 18 weeks in the latest frame, and has suffered declining streams for three weeks in a row, which means it will hit ACR next week, halving streaming’s contribution. It would have lost out to the rising tide of Christmas titles anyway, and is fortunate to still be No.1 this week, as its consumption in the week is below the unadjusted totals for four other songs. Also, even though it is Swift’s top song as determined by most weeks at No.1, it is placed at No.36 in her canon with overall consumption of 618,076 having just gone platinum. Where Is My Husband! (2-2, 40,890 sales) by Raye is Swift’s nearest challenger again this week, but is itself in decline, and cannot resist the advance of advent, which sees five seasonal songs decorating the Top 10 this week. Last Christmas (9-3, 35,796 sales) by Wham! continues to lead the challenge but is now joined in the Top 10 by All I Want For Christmas Is You (13-4, 32,217 sales) by Mariah Carey, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (23-6, 27,704 sales) by Brenda Lee, Underneath The Tree (24-9, 23,376 sales) by Kelly Clarkson and Santa Tell Me (28-10, 22,244 sales) by Ariana Grande. Likely to be swept aside a week hence but hanging on to Top 10 status at the moment are Olivia Dean’s triumvirate: So Easy (To Fall In Love With You) (3-5, 29,104 sales), Rein Me In (with Sam Fender, 5-7, 26,876 sales) and Man I Need (4-8, 26,399 sales). Raindance (8-11, 21,759 sales) by Dave & Tems, Golden (6-13, 21,386 sales) by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast, Opalite (7-15, 20,420 sales) by Taylor Swift, and Century (10-17, 19,241 sales) by EsDeeKid give in to the inevitable and lose their grip on the Top 10, maybe for good but definitely for the rest of the year. Golden ends a 20-week run in the Top 10, but its unadjusted consumption of 41,780 units is enough for it to go double platinum with 1,211,232 units, becoming the first song of that title to reach the plateau, ahead of Harry Styles’ 2019 Golden, which peaked at No.26 in 2021 (1,142,204 sales) Only three songs make their Top 75 debuts this week – and two of them are Christmas songs, namely Shake The Snow Globe (No.52, 11,790 sales), the 26th hit (including 12 with No Doubt) for Gwen Stefani, an Amazon exclusive from the conglomerate’s new Prime original movie, streaming hit Oh What Fun; and Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call (No.65, 9,071 sales), the debut hit from Jack Antonoff’s band The Bleachers, which reached No.77 on release in 2024. Shake The Snow Globe is Stefani’s highest-charting hit since 4 In The Morning reached No.22 some 18 years ago. Since 2007 her only hits have been Christmas-related with Shake The Snow Globe being her third of that ilk, following 2017 tracks White Christmas and Blake Shelton duet You Make It Feel Like Christmas, which peaked at No.62 in 2018 and No.69 in 2024, respectively. Completing the new intake, Booga (No.50, 12,008 sales) is the 44th hit for London rapper Central Cee, and his 23rd with sole billing. Just four songs reach new peaks: Winter Wonderland, a re-entry at No.18 (18,531 sales) for Icelandic singer Laufey, surpassing its No.24 2024 placing after earning a reset; Xmas, Kylie Minogue's new Amazon exclusive (64-24, 17,515 sales); the newly-legitimised I Run (37-21, 18,049 sales) by Haven feat. Kaitlin Aragon and Chanel (68-66, 8,990 sales) by Tyla. The fifth and final season of cult Netflix sci-fi/horror/drama Stranger Things is now streaming, and responsible for the resets and re-emergences of End Of Beginning at No.34 (14,835 sales) by DJO, a pseudonym for one of the show’s stars, Joe Keery and a 2022 track which reached No.4 last year; and Running Up That Hill (No.37, 14,408 sales), the 1985 No.3 hit by Kate Bush which topped the chart in 2022 after featuring heavily in Season 4 of Stranger Things. Thirty-eight berths in the Top 75 this week are occupied by what could be described as seasonal (winter/Christmas) repertoire. In the same week last year, there were 34 seasonal songs in the list. The week that ended yesterday (4th) is a day further away from Christmas than the same week last year – week 49 – which ended 5th December, and was thus theoretically a little more likely to engender Christmassy feelings. Overall singles consumption is up 2.89% week-on-week to 32,021,251 units, their highest level for 29 years and 2.05% above same week 2024 consumption of 31,379,348 units. Paid-for sales are up 9.52% week-on-week at 277,706, 3.62% below same week 2024 sales of 288,143.

Charts analysis: Olivia Dean is back at No.1 with The Art Of Loving

Nine weeks after it debuted at No.1, The Art Of Loving returns to the chart summit for Olivia Dean. Powered by the ongoing success of its singles ...

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Charts analysis: Taylor Swift spends third consecutive week at No.1 on singles rundown

The charmed life of The Fate Of Ophelia continues with the track earning its sixth overall (third consecutive) week at No.1 for Taylor Swift on consumption of 49,524 ...

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Charts analysis: Yungblud and Aerosmith debut at albums summit

The combination of old blood and Yungblud is a potent one, propelling One More Time to debut atop the album chart this week, on consumption of 22,394 units ...

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