Sabrina Carpenter continues to lead the pack with “Taste”, while nabbing a rare record with “Espresso”

Sabrina Carpenter cannot seem to slow down, as “Taste” manages to notch up a fifth consecutive week leading my personal chart. Her breakout “Espresso” led the chart for seven weeks, while the follow-up “Please, Please, Please” stayed at Number 1 for one week. In total, Sabrina Carpenter is the artist with the most weeks spent at Number 1 this calendar year. She does face competition though, especially by Billie Eilish, who moves to #3 with her sleeper hit “Birds of a Feather”. The summer-sounding single was a streaming juggernaut ever since its release, but it took some time to reach my chart. “Birds of a Feather” becomes Billie Eilish her second Top 3-song this year, following “Guess” with Charli XCX. Overall, it’s her fifth single to reach my Top 3, joining the likes of “What Was I Made For?” and “Bad Guy”.

As Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” nears the 140,000 points threshold – might actually be this week – the breakout smash hit is set to join the ten biggest female solo hits of all time! “Espresso” has been on the charts for 26 weeks now, and could stick around even longer given its longevity. To celebrate this success, I’ve decided to rank the biggest female solo hits of all time. The biggest female solo hit of all time is Dua Lipa’s “New Rules”, which is certified diamond and has scored over 190,000 points. Girls Aloud’s Cheryl ranks second with “Fight For This Love”, another diamond certified smash hit. Duffy her “Warwick Avenue” finishes third, whilst also being the biggest hit of the 2000s. Dua Lipa further dominates the list with her singles from Future Nostalgia – with “Don’t Start Now”, “Levitating” and “Physical” occupying a Top 10-position in the ranking. For a full ranking, see the list below.

Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams proves her naysayers wrong and moves into the Top 10 for the first time with her bedroom pop-inspired “I Love You, I’m Sorry”. The ballad was included on her second studio album The Secret of Us, which skyrocketed Abrams to new levels of success, including topping the album charts of several countries. Most of that success can be credited to Taylor Swift, who was featured on “Us”, which helped bring in the big numbers. Before, Gracie Abrams she performed as an opening act for Swift on the Eras Tour, which helped her receive a nomination for Best New Artist at the 66th Grammy Awards. She’s also the daughter of famous director J.J. Abrams. With “I Love You, I’m Sorry”, she’s up for her first Top 10-hit, peaking at #8.

Perrie is up for solo single number three with “You Go Your Way”, a kiss-off anthem that sounds like it would fit perfectly on a B-side to Future Nostalgia. Since Little Mix disbanded in 2022, all four girls have released chart-topping solo debut singles, with JADE’s “Angel of My Dreams” being the biggest hit so far. Perrie notched up two consecutive weeks at Number 1 – the only Little Mix alumna to do so – with the Ed Sheeran-penned “Forget About Us”. Despite that initial success, her 60s-inspired follow-up “Tears” underperformed on both the UK charts and my personal chart. All girls have struggled with a sophomore slump following their Number 1-debuts, except for JADE, who has not released her next single yet. Perrie aims for another radio pleaser with “You Go Your Way”, promoting at the Graham Norton Show as well. On my personal chart, she debuts at #16 – an even lower debut than “Tears” its #14 – earning Perrie her third solo Top 40-hit.

The second single of The Weeknd his Hurry Up Tomorrow, “Timeless” featuring Playboi Carti debuts at #27. It comes off the back of lead single “Dancing in the Flames” which is barely fumbling about in the Top 30. The two artists first collaborated on the song "Popular" with Madonna, which peaked at #5 on this chart and was one of last year’s longest-running hit singles. London-based DJ duo BI3ess – Joe and Flynn, actually – debut at #37 with their UK Top 10-hit “Kisses”. The duo have only been up and coming for a little while, but their music has been played at Tomorrowland and contended for the song of the summer in the UK.

Newly certified

“Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter 4 X PLATINUM

Biggest female solo hits of all time

1. “New Rules” – Dua Lipa
2. “Fight For This Love” – Cheryl
3. “Warwick Avenue” – Duffy
4. “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa
5. “Whenever, Wherever” – Shakira
6. “Levitating” – Dua Lipa
7. “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” – Kylie Minogue
8. “My Heart Will Go On” – Céline Dion
9. “Rolling in the Deep” – Adele
10. “All I Want For Christmas” – Mariah Carey
11. “Physical” – Dua Lipa
12. “Murder on the Dancefloor” – Sophie Ellis-Bextor”
13. “Hello” – Adele
14. “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter
15. “Primadonna” – Marina