Official Charts Company
RAYE Scores First U.K. No. 1 With ‘Escapism,’ Feat. 070 Shake: See Her Tearful Reaction
RAYE landed her very first No. 1 hit in the U.K. on Friday (Jan. 6) with her latest single “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake. “This is proof [you should] back yourself, no matter what,” the indie artist said through tears in a video posted to her socials of her accepting the award from the U.K.’s Official Charts Company. “Thank you, this is mad. These are happy tears!” The pop-rap collab with 070 Shake is just one of several singles the British singer-songwriter has dropped in recent months ahead of her upcoming debut album My 21st Century Blues, alongside “Hard Out Here,” “Black Mascara” and “The Thrill Is Gone.” In tandem with its chart-topping success in her native U.K., “Escapism” also became RAYE’s first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, so far peaking at No. 72 (chart dated Dec...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ Hits U.K. Singles Chart For Six Weeks
Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” (via EMI) is still the boss in the U.K., where it racks-up six consecutive weeks at No. 1. The Midnights tune accumulated just shy of 4.9 million streams during the latest cycle, the Official Charts Company reports, to hold off Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look” (Epic), up 3-2; and venbee, goddard and ArrDee’s “messy in heaven” (Columbia), up 5-3. Those are new peak positions for the podium finishers. British singer and songwriter RAYE enjoys her first taste of the high life as an independent artist, as“Escapism” (Human Re Sources) featuring 070 Shake races 31-6. It’s RAYE’s first appearance in the top 10 as a lead artist, following her assist on Jax Jones’ “You Don’t Know Me” (No. 3 in 2016), “Secrets” with Regard (No. 6 in 2020) and “Bed” with Joel Corry and Davi...
Stormzy Bags U.K. Chart Hattrick With ‘This Is What I Mean’
Stormzy scores his hattrick on the U.K. albums chart with This Is What I Mean (via 0207/Merky). The Brit Award-winning grime star edges Cliff Richard’s Christmas With Cliff (EastWest/Rhino), to make it three-from-three — a streak that includes Stormzy’s 2017 debut Gang Signs & Prayer and its 2019 followup Heavy Is The Head. This Is What I Mean completes a “nail-biting race,” according to the Official Charts Company, as the hip-hop LP summons a “last-minute surge” to beat Richard’s first Christmas-themed set in nearly two decades, since 2003’s Cliff At Christmas. Richard now boasts 47 top 10 albums chart appearances in his homeland, a result that includes seven leaders. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Cliff At Christmas is one of several hol...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ On Track For Fifth Week Atop U.K. Chart
Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” (EMI) looks set to extend its reign in the U.K. for a fifth week. The first track on Swift’s new album Midnights has dominated the Official U.K. Singles Chart since its release, Oct. 21, and is by some distance her longest-ruling No. 1 in that territory (her previous best was a two-week run in 2017 with “Look What You Made Me Do”). Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, “Anti-Hero” should hold on for another week, making it five in a row. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Just four other releases this year have notched more than a month at No. 1 in the U.K.: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (7 weeks) by the cast of Encanto, “As It Was” (10 weeks) by Harry Styles and “Afraid To Feel...
Dermot Kennedy Set Second U.K. No. 1 With ‘Sonder’
Dermot Kennedy opens-up a sizeable lead in the U.K. chart race with Sonder (via Island), his second album. The Irishman’s LP leads the midweek survey, with an advantage of 12,000 chart sales over Taylor Swift’s Midnights (EMI), the next closest title. Sonder is the followup to Without Fear, which, in 2019, saw Kennedy became the first Irish act in over years to bow at No. 1 in the U.K. with his debut. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Meanwhile, Queen is all set to make a miracle return to the chart. The legendary rock band returns to the Official Chart Update at No. 3 with The Miracle (Island), following an eight-disc reissue, including six unreleased tracks, four with the late Freddie Mercury on lead vocals. The Miracle led the weekly chart fol...
Rihanna Blasts to Best U.K. Chart Position In 10 Years
It’s another week, another U.K. No. 1 for Taylor Swift as “Anti-Hero” (EMI) logs a second stint at the summit, while Rihanna enjoys a comeback to savor. “Anti-Hero” pulls in 7 million U.K. streams for its second cycle atop the Official Chart, ahead of Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), holding at No. 2. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Swift earns a second consecutive chart double, with Midnights extending its reign on the albums survey for a second week, and two more tracks from it impact the singles chart top 10 – “Lavender Haze,” down 3-6, and “Snow on the Beach” featuring Lana Del Rey, down 8-4. Rihanna’s return to music is an instant hit with British music fans, as “Lift Me Up” (Def Jam), lifted from the Marvel film Black Panther: Wa...
Lewis Capaldi Heading For U.K. Chart Title With ‘Forget Me’
The Brits haven’t forgotten Lewis Capaldi. The Scottish singer and songwriter is on track for another U.K. chart crown with “Forget Me” (via Vertigo), his first single in nearly three years. Produced by TMS, Capaldi’s comeback track leads the midweek chart, and is en route to becoming his third leader following “Someone You Loved” and “Before You Go,” both from 2019. He has five top 10s to his name, a figure that almost certainly will rise to six when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a quirky open-letter which accompanied the release of “Forget Me,” Capaldi admitted to nerves — expressed in his own self-deprecating way. “All joking aside, I’m really excited to be back and get this song out there. ...
Robbie Williams Racing to 14th U.K. No. 1 With ‘XXV’
With 13 U.K. No. 1 albums to his name, Robbie Williams knows life through a lens better than most. The superstar British singer is about to add another chart crown, this time with XXV (via Columbia). Williams’ 13th solo studio album leads the midweek chart by what a handy margin. According to the Official Charts Company, it’s outselling the rest of the top 10 combined, on its way to what should be Robbie’s 14th leader. XXV celebrates the former Take That singer’s quarter-century as a solo artist, by collecting some of his most popular numbers, newly-orchestrated and recorded with the Metropole Orkest of the Netherlands. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Though Williams never scaled great commercial heights in the United States, he can fill arenas...
Yungblud On Track For U.K. Albums Chart Crown
Yungblud is in the home straight for what could be a second U.K. albums chart crown. The Doncaster, England-born alternative rocker leads the midweek chart with Yungblood, the followup to his second studio album Weird, which hit No. 1 in 2020. When Weird hit the summit, Yungblud (real name Dominic Harrison) hit on a novel way to thank his fans. He melted his Official Albums Chart No. 1 trophy, from which he made 150 bespoke safety pins to hand out to his followers. Yungblud is one of several new albums eyeing a U.K. top 10 berth. Coming in at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Chart Update is Megadeth’s sixteenth studio LP The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead. If it holds its course, The Sick will give the U.S. trash metal veterans a career best, and their first top 10 since 1994’s Youthanasia peaked...
Eliza Rose Dethrones LF System on U.K. Singles Chart
LF System’s two-month reign in the U.K. is over, ended by Eliza Rose’s “B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)” (via Warner Records), which climbs to the summit in its sixth week. Rose’s viral hit with Interplanetary Criminal lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, squeezing LF System’s summer smash “Afraid to Feel” (Warner Records) to No. 2, halting its eight-week unbroken streak. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news According to the Official Charts Company, “B.O.T.A.” is the U.K.’s 1,400th No. 1 single, and Rose becomes the first female DJ to top the chart in two decades, since Sonique’s “It Feels So Good” in 2002. “B.O.T.A.” has been gathering steam across the festival season, the OCC reports, accumulating a market-leading 4.8 million streams durin...
Muse Creates U.K. Chart History With ‘Will Of The People’
Muse barrels its way to a seventh U.K. No. 1 with Will Of The People. The British alternative rock trio got away to a fast start, as Will Of The People (via Warner Records) blasted to the top of the midweek leaderboard, shifting more chart units than the rest of the top 10 combined. When the weekly chart was published Friday (Sept. 2), Muse was clear at the top, accumulating 51,500 chart units, the Official Charts Company reports. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Along with the title, Muse snags a piece of chart history, as Will Of The People becomes the U.K.’s first-ever leader to incorporate NFT technology, thanks to a limited-edition “Digital Pressing,” a collaboration between Warner Music U.K. and web3 marketplace Serenade. With seven leader...
Eliza Rose’s ‘B.O.T.A’ Heading For Second Week Atop U.K. Chart
It took six weeks for Eliza Rose’s “B.O.T.A (Baddest Of Them All)” to reach No. 1 in the U.K. Don’t expect it to anywhere, anytime soon. Based on early sales and streaming data, “B.O.T.A” looks set to sail to the top for another week, at the very least. With its ascent last week, Rose became the first female DJ to lead the Official Singles Chart in over 20 years, since Sonique’s “It Feels So Good” led the chart back in June 2002. “B.O.T.A” (with Interplanetary Criminal) spread its wings on TikTok before becoming the 1,400th U.K. No. 1 single, and, in doing so, ending LF System’s eight-week unbroken reign with “Afraid to Feel.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news LF System’s summer smash is set to lose more ground, as David Guetta and Bebe Rexh...
