Sam Fender earns his sixth Number 1-hit

Near the end of last year, Sam Fender first teased his third studio album People Watching with his lead single of the same name. It spent five non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 and became Sam Fender his best-scoring single behind “Seventeen Going Under”. The album was released earlier this year and has already spawned the Top 10-singles “Wild Long Lie”, “Arm’s Length” and the emotional “Remember My Name”. He now adds another Number 1-songs to his impressive discography as “Little Bit Closer” moves to the top position. The single was considered a standout of the album upon release. The music video features Owen Cooper and director Philip Barantini, both best known for the very popular Netflix drama Adolescence. It is not the first time popular actors feature on Sam Fender’s projects – Andrew Scott starred in the music video for “People Watching”. The North Shields-singer now earns his sixth Number 1 to date. He now ties with Justin Bieber as the male artist with the third most #1s of all time. The male artists with the most Number 1s are Calvin Harris, One Direction, Robbie Williams and Ronnie Flex – all with eight Number 1s. The artist with the most #1s of all time is Dua Lipa with thirteen #1s, over double than Sam Fender. He has a long way to go to match her record, but he is getting a little bit closer.

It is hard to imagine that, nearly four years ago, Addison Rae her debut “Obsessed” was panned by the internet, with critics dismissing her as nothing more than a TikTok-starlet who found a new hobby. It drove Addison Rae to rethink her entire career, teaming up with AG Cook and Charli XCX to find a new sound. With “Diet Pepsi”, Addison Rae scored an unexpected homerun, peaking at Number 1 for one week. Success continued with the follow-up hit “Aquamarine” and the recent “Headphones On”. Last weekend, Addison Rae finally stopped teasing and released her long awaited eponymous debut album. It has been generally well received. Inspired by those who came before her; Addison Rae has received praise from critics for combining nostalgic sounds with contemporary productions. Its latest song “Fame Is a Gun” enters the Top 10 this week, peaking at #9, while the Björk-esque “Headphones On” returns to a peak position at #6. With “Fame is a Gun”, Addison Rae claims her fourth Top 10-hit within only a year’s time.

Meanwhile, Tate McRae clearly aims to claim 2025 as her best year on the charts yet. Her third album So Close to What spawned the Top 10-songs “It’s Ok, I’m Ok”, “2 Hands” and “Sports Car”, of which the latter reached platinum status recently. She also embarked on the Miss Possessive Tour which is her first arena tour and was featured on Morgan Wallen’s "What I Want", which reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. With that type of momentum, Tate McRae is on the verge of earning a permanent place in the pop pantheon. This week, the Canadian star pulls up to #7 with “Just Keep Watching”. It’s taken from the upcoming Formula 1-film starring Brad Pitt. Its soundtrack also the likes of Rosé, Doja Cat and Ed Sheeran. The new song was well received on Spotify and other streaming services. It helps Tate McRae to her eighth Top 10-hit on my chart.

This time last year, Sabrina Carpenter released the follow-up to her Number 1-hit “Espresso”: the very funny “Please, Please, Please”, a retro-country pop song in which Sabrina warns her boyfriend Barry Keoghan not to embarrass her. Sadly, he did just that. This week, Sabrina celebrates her independence with the spiritual successor to “Please, Please, Please”: “Manchild”, a not so subtle diss track targeted towards her ex-boyfriend. It is produced by Jack Antonoff, who also produced “Please, Please, Please” and most of Taylor Swift’s recent work. Musically, “Manchild” sounds a bit like Chappell Roan her breakout “Good Luck, Babe!”. Whereas “Please, Please, Please” easily earned a Number 1-debut upon its release, “Manchild” has to settle for a debut at #17 – still the top new entry of this week. It marks Sabrina Carpenter her ninth Top 40-hit. It is unknown if this single is to precede a new album.

Further down, Dutch rapper Frenna declares the summer season as opened with the fresh “Zaazaa” at #37. It is an upbeat track that features Shallipopi. Last year, he scored a big summer hit “Pretty Girls” – it also won him the very prestigious Dutch Edison Award. He also lifts “Summer Love”, his cross-over with Zoë Tauran”, back up the charts.

Newly certified

“Show Me Love” – WizTheMc, bees & honey, Tyla