In a thrilling race for Number 1, Perrie beats Dua Lipa to the top and earns her first solo chart-topper

In a thrilling race towards the top, British pop divas Perrie Edwards and Dua Lipa take on each other, resulting in a very rare #1-debut and #2-debut. Little Mix’s Perrie comes out victorious with her debut solo single “Forget About Us”, beating Dua Lipa her new Kevin Parker-produced “Illusion”. Perrie is of course best known as one-fourth of the record-breaking girl group Little Mix, which split in 2022 to pursue solo projects. Jesy Nelson already left the group in 2021 and her solo debut “Boyz” debuted at #1. Leigh-Anne was the second to go at it solo, notching up a Number 1 with “Don’t Say Love” and a Top 3-hit with “My Love”. Perrie now follows suit with the Ed Sheeran-produced “Forget About Us”; a feel-good anthem which showcases Perrie her insane vocals. Her chart battle is very reminiscent of when Victoria Beckham made her solo debut in 2001 with “Not Such an Innocent Girl”, also taking on an electro-pop queen, namely Kylie Minogue. Perrie now also joins an iconic list of girl group singers who also had a solo Number 1, which includes Beyoncé, four out of five Spice Girls and Cheryl Cole. All eyes are now on Jade Thirlwall to see if she can also earn a solo Number 1 post-Little Mix.

Similar to Kylie Minogue in 2001, Dua Lipa is beaten to the top by an ex-girl group singer her debut solo effort. The British singer settles for #2 with her new single “Illusion”. It is the third release of her upcoming third studio album Radical Optimism, which previously spawned the back-to-back Number 1s “Houdini” and “Training Season”. Coincidentally, Dua Lipa pays homage to Kylie as “Illusion” its music video is filmed at Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc in Barcelona, the same location where Kylie’s iconic music video for “Slow” was filmed back in 2003. With “Illusion”, Dua Lipa earns her milestone thirtieth Top 40-hit.

Further down, Sabrina Carpenter scores her fourth Top 40-entry with the summer-infused “Espresso”. A hot and sun-kissed single, it fits perfectly with Sabrina Carpenter her live set at Coachella Festival last weekend, which well received by critics and visitors. “Espresso” kicks off a new era for the singer, who previously proved to have longevity with the gold-certified “Feather”. It is already performing well on Global Spotify, earning her biggest debut yet. On my personal chart, “Espresso” also gives the Disney alumni her biggest debut yet, entering at #16, beating “Feather” its opening peak by ten places.

Rounding out all the new entries, Mimi Webb debuts at #38 with her comeback single “Mistake”. A collaboration with songwriter Ryan Tedder, the song kicks off the English singer her new era. She had an incredible 2023: notching up five Top 20-entries, including the Top 10 smash “Red Flags” and the festive “Back Home for Christmas”. She is also set to support Benson Boone on his upcoming tour. The newest “Mistake” is less pop-y than her previous work which helped her breakout, but is more EDM-oriented and somewhat reminiscent of Joel Corry. It marks Mimi Webb her twelfth Top 40-hit. 

Both a Number 1-debut and Number 2-debut is a very rare occurrence on my personal chart. So far, it has only happened four times before. The Spice Girls were, of course, the first to ever do it, when their double A-sided single “Who Do You Think You Are” & “Mama” landed at the first and second place, respectively, in 1997. Then in 2001, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham engaged in a legendary chart battle with Kylie Minogue with her first solo single “Not Such an Innocent Girl”. Similar to Perrie this week, Victoria beat Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” to the top for one week before the Aussie queen took over for eight weeks. In 2006, it was girl group against girl group, when Girls Aloud took on The Pussycat Dolls. Ultimately, “Something Kinda Oooh” proved victorious over “I Don’t Need A Man”. After a long gap, Ed Sheeran achieved the rare chart feat when his double release “Castle on the Hill” & “Shape of You” landed at the first and second place, respectively, in 2017.

Newly certified

“Feather” – Sabrina Carpenter GOLD

Biggest chart battles of all time

March 7, 1997: “Who Do You Think You Are” – Spice Girls [#1] vs. “Mama” – Spice Girls [#2]

October 5, 2001: “Not Such an Innocent Girl” – Victoria [#1] vs. “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”- Kylie Minogue [#2]

December 1, 2006: “Something Kinda Ooooh” – Girls Aloud [#1] vs. “I Don’t Need a Man” – The Pussycat Dolls [#2]

April 19, 2024: “Forget About Us” – Perrie [#1] vs. “Illusion” – Dua Lipa [#2]