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45RPM MD Ayla Owen on the enduring power of sync and opportunities for British talent

Following 45RPM’s launch in 2022, the music supervision collective expanded into publishing with UMPG in 2024 – the same year Ayla Owen, former head of music at advertising agency BBH London and European VP of sync at Warner Chappell, became ...

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Charts analysis: Rein Me In by Sam Fender & Olivia Dean sees off No.1 challenge from Dai Dai

Rein Me In continues to showboat, spending a 22nd week at No.1, further extending its lead as the longest-running No.1 of all-time for Sam Fender & Olivia Dean. On the ninth week of its fourth run at No.1, its 34rd consecutive week in the Top 10, and 61st straight week in the Top 40, its consumption dips 4.67% to 41,475 units (593 digital downloads and 40,882 sales-equivalent streams), extending to a record 27 the number of weeks in a row it has exceeded 40,000 units. Its runner-up yet again is Dai Dai by Shakira & Burna Boy, which also suffers a fall in consumption dipping 8.08% to 32,669 units.  It is the third straight week Dai Dai has registered a decline in sales-equivalent streams worse than the market as a whole, and it will therefore enter ACR next week. As this will halve its streaming points, it is safe to assume it won’t add to its five consecutive weeks at No.2 – an impressive tally but two fewer than the record of seven straight weeks at No.2 without reaching No.1 set by All-4-One’s I Swear in 1994, and equalled in 2011 by Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera’s Moves Like Jagger. Rein Me In has escaped ACR several times already but if its streams under-perform versus the market next week, it will go to ACR the following week. Californian singer/songwriter Stella Lefty’s debut album, Long Way Home, dropped today (August 21), simultaneous with which her first hit single, Boston, elevates 9-5 (23,018 sales) achieving yet another new peak on its 19th week in the chart. It is the only song in the Top 10 to increase consumption week-on-week.  On 2Nite also continues its climb, improving 10-9 (18,659 sales) for Silva Bumpa. The rest of the Top 10: Choosin’ Texas (3-3, 26,227 sales) by Ella Langley, Movin’ To The Sun (4-4, 25,804 sales) by Hugel, Imael Angel & Ultra Naté, Hate That I Made You Love Me (6-6, 21,961 sales) by Ariana Grande, Great Expectation (7-7, 20,426 sales) by Sienna Spiro, The Cure (11-8, 19,106 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo and Man I Need (13-10, 18,605 sales) by Olivia Dean. It is the sixth time that Man I Need has entered/re-entered the Top 10, since it debuted at No.8 a year ago this week. On ACR for most of its life, its unadjusted consumption of 36,975 units is second only to Rein Me In yet again this week, and raises its lifetime consumption to 2,756,612 units compared to Rein Me In’s 2,260,619 units.  ACR sends Olivia Rodrigo’s Stupid Song (5-19, 12,214 sales) into a tailspin, while the depletion of physical stocks and a downturn in digital downloads conspire to end the chart career of Love Sensation by Madonna & Kylie Minogue a week after it debuted at No.8. For the record, Love Sensation’s consumption slumped 77.85% week-on-week to 4,366 units, with CDs down 95.17% to 531 units, digital downloads down 84.97% to 628, and sales-equivalent streams down 29.30% to 3,207 units. Katseye’s Wild EP debuts at No.2 on the album chart, and generates the highest of just five new entries to the Top 75 this week in the form of Hootie Frutti. Their seventh chart entry, Hootie Frutti debuts at No.16 (13,985 sales), and is the third track from Wild to make the Top 20, following Pinky Up (No.14) and Animal, which reaches a new peak not only for itself but for Katseye, climbing 16-12 (16,491 sales).   Meanwhile, Phoebe Bridgers’ new No.1 album Lost Weekend spawns its and her second and third hits in the form of the title track (No.39, 8,9110 sales) and The Governor’s Waltz (No.53, 7,421 sales), which are joined in the Top 75 by her first hit – and another track off the album – Lost Boys (No.69, 6,717 sales), which reached No.50 last month. Also new to the Top 75: Stop The Wedding! (No.59, 7,103 sales), the second hit for Californian singer/songwriter Ashe, arriving six years after her first, Moral Of The Story, peaked at No.31; and Marianne (No.61, 7,022 sales), the sixth hit for Dublin rock band Fontaines DC, previewing their upcoming fifth album, Dopamine Chamber.  Continuing to benefit from their use in the No.1 film Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Loser climbs 14-11 (17,554 sales sales) for Tame Impala, while Oh Yeah?, by American singer/guitarist Steve Lacy, jumps 23-18 (12,860 sales). Siblings Malcolm Todd and Audrey Hobert once again reach new peaks with their debut hits, his Earrings edging 15-14 (14,321 sales) and her Sue Me climbing 29-26 (10,526 sales).    There are also new peaks for: Bloodstream (18-17, 13,064 sales) by Alyssa Grace, My Body Isn’t Ready (30-22, 11,229 sales) by Sombr, Self Aware (24-23, 11,121 sales) by Temper City, Orbiter (41-32, 9,407 sales) by Noah Kahan, Trapped (50-48, 8,076 sales) by Kolter and Good Girl (59-51, 7,630 sales) by Cloonee & Prospa feat. Tristan.  Overall singles consumption is down 2.23% week-on-week to 29,285,635 units, their lowest level for 32 weeks, and 1.99% below same week 2025 sales of 29,882,452 units. Paid-for sales are down 5.70% week-on-week at 257,916, 5.51% below same week 2025 sales of 272,945. PHOTO: Lola Mansell  

Analysis

Charts analysis: Phoebe Bridgers earns first solo No.1 album with surge in opening week sales

Phoebe Bridgers becomes the fourth female singer/songwriter to debut at No.1 in the last five weeks, with her long-awaited third solo album, Lost Weekend, opening at the apex on consumption of 34,239 units (8,893 CDs, 16,577 vinyl albums, 249 cassettes, 786 digital downloads and 7,734 sales-equivalent streams) – this despite most of her sell-out ‘Intimate Shows’ this week being cancelled after she was hospitalised with appendicitis.  Comprising 17 new songs, all of which the 32-year-old Californian wrote or co-wrote, it capitalises on her success as a member of part-time indie supergroup Boygenius, who topped the chart with their introductory full-length album, The Record, on consumption of 18,869 units in 2023. Bridgers’ Boygenius bandmates, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, have cameo roles on two tracks on Lost Weekend. Bridgers’ 2017 solo debut, Stranger In The Alps, peaked at No.173, while 2020 follow-up Punisher peaked at No.6. Both have achieved gold discs, Punisher shifting 199,813 units and Stranger In The Alps 155,419 units, as has Boygenius’ The Record (104,117 units). The Record was the last No.1 album by a female aggregation of more than two – with Bridgers’ solo success this week preventing Los Angeles-based sextet Katseye from claiming the throne with their third EP, Wild, which debuts at No.2 (18,889 units)  Following their uncharted 2024 EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) and Beautiful Chaos, which reached No.55 last year, Wild is a very slim offering With five songs and a playing time of well under 14 minutes, it was nevertheless released in no fewer than 19 physical editions (nine CDs, three vinyl and seven cassette variants). From the EP, Pinky Up and Animal have already been Top 20 hits, with Hootie Frutti also making the grade this week. In America, incidentally, Bridgers and Katseye will also occupy the top two slots when the Top 200 is unveiled on Sunday, but in reverse order, with Wild expected to achieve around 170,000 units, and Lost Weekend 110,000. After racking up eight consecutive top two albums – their entire output thus far – in a glorious chart career, The Script have to settle for marginally lower ground with new album, The User’s Guide To Being Human. Debuting at No.3 (15,015 sales), it arrives 18 years after their eponymous first album debuted at No.1 on consumption of 54,520 units. Subsequent studio albums Science & Faith (No.1, 2010), #3 (No.2, 2012), No Sound Without Silence (No.1, 2015), Freedom Child (No.1, 2017), Sunsets & Full Moons (No.1, 2019), Satellites (No.2, 2024) and compilation Tales From The Script: Greatest Hits (No.1, 2017) made them the first Irish band ever to secure eight consecutive top two albums, surpassing even compatriots U2, Boyzone and Westlife.  Their self-titled starter remains their most-consumed title (1,367,184 units) followed by Science & Faith (845,704 units) and #3 (813,100 units). In Ireland, The User’s Guide To Being Human maintains The Script’s 100% record, becoming their ninth consecutive No.1 album. London production duo Jungle – Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland – expand to a trio, with the addition of Lydia Kitto to their permanent membership for their soulfully-inflected fifth album Sunshine, which emulates the Top 10 success of its predecessors by debuting at No.4 (12,465 sales). It is the first time that all of the top four albums have been debuts for 60 weeks, with Yungblud, Loyle Carner, Haim and Benson Boone participating in a similar influx in June 2025.  Republic Records artists The Weeknd and Ariana Grande benefit from the UK leg of their current After Hours Til Dawn and Eternal Sunshine tours, respectively.  Grande’s Petal slips 4-7 (10,383 sales) but its week-on-week decline in consumption of just 7.04% is far below what normally happens to albums on their third frame. Meanwhile, five of her catalogue albums are scaling the Top 75, namely Eternal Sunshine (73-15, 5,074 sales), My Everything (126-51, 2,545 sales), Dangerous Woman (158-57, 2,453 sales) and Top 200 returnees Positions (No.58, 2,429 sales) and Thank U, Next (No.72, 2,216 sales). They have week-on-week increases in consumption of 121.22%, 60.40%, 71.66%, 140.53% and 103.47%, respectively.      Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s The Highlights rallies 10-8 (8,940 sales), while Hurry Up Tomorrow zooms 147-43 (2,837 sales). A further five albums by The Weeknd return to the Top 200.  The rest of the Top 10: The Essential (2-5, 12,049 sales) by Michael Jackson, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love (3-6, 11,752 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, The Art Of Loving (7-9, 8,275 sales) by Olivia Dean and Visitor (9-10, 7,503 sales) by Sienna Spiro A week after debuting at No.1, A Love Letter To A Broken Town slumps out of the Top 200 on consumption of 915 units for The Reytons. That is arguably a worse result than that of Skindred’s You Got This, which made an identical dive 16 weeks ago, but with higher sales (1,114 units). Last week’s No.5, Therapy at The Club by Flo, is also position-free (952 sales).  Also exiting the Top 10: 50 Years: Don’t Stop (8-11, 7,245 sales) by Fleetwood Mac and Chuck Timely & The Hourglass (6-164, 1,401 sales) by Role Model.     Former martial arts fighter Kris Barras fell short of the Top 75 with his first two albums fronting his eponymous band but scores his fourth chart album and second Top 30 entry with sixth album Monsters We Made, which debuts at No.21 (4,186 sales, including 915 USB sticks). It is the follow-up to the 40-year-old rock singer/songwriter’s Halo Effect, which reached No.5 in 2024. Also new to the Top 75: One Assassination Under God: Chapter 2 (No.27, 3,624 sales), the 13th studio album and 14th Top 75 entry (including live albums and compilations) by Marilyn Manson, arriving more than two years after Chapter 1 reached No.36. A year after debuting and peaking at No.2, Californian singer/songwriter Conan Gray’s fourth album, Wishbone, has been issued in multiple special editions with bonus tracks, and re-enters at No.63 (2,851 sales). The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack remains at No.1 on the compilation chart, topping for the 54th time in 61 weeks on consumption of 3,530 units (181 Yoto cards, 30 CDs, 18 vinyl albums, 32 digital downloads and 3,269 sales-equivalent streams).  Overall album sales are down 0.65% week-on-week to 2,368,556 units, their lowest level for 32 weeks (ditto singles), and 2.21% below same week 2025 sales of 2,422,030. Physical product accounts for 306,550 sales, 12.94% of the total.   PHOTO: Olof Grind  

Analysis

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