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.
The biggest songs of 2026 so far are awkwardly mostly songs released in 2025, and at times even older. But no matter, the biggest hits of the moment are all justifiably huge. Rein Me In isn't leaving No.1 any time soon either, and this week it even has room to do something very unusual.
This week James is rocketing through the countryside on a very fast train, so this may not be everything you wished for. But a recycled RAYE picture at least gives you a clue that she is the biggest of all the What We've Learned this week. And glory to her as well.
The hiatus is over, the barracks are empty, and the "superior seven" have officially landed. But as BTS storms the summit with record-breaking numbers, a look behind the curtain reveals the strict chart rules—and the fan-led frenzy—keeping the wheels turning. From the "forbidden door" of bulk-buying to the curious case of RAYE’s five-minute symphony, we’re diving into a week of high-stakes comebacks and the cautionary tales of those left in the dust.
Normalcy is restored as Sam Fender & Olivia Dean execute a swift return to the summit, fending off a videoless Bella Kay and the ever-present threat of the ACR axe. From Harry Styles’ album dominance to the "Generic American Bloke" influx, here is your definitive guide to the week in pop. Also featuring some entirely appropriate Sienna Spiro workship.
