U.K. CHARTS: KENNEDY LANDS AT #1

Dermot Kennedy claims his second U.K. #1 on the Official Albums chart, while Taylor Swift nabs a fifth consecutive week atop the singles chart.

Kennedy’s second major-label album, Sonder (Island), is also his second set to debut atop the albums chart, following 2019’s Without Fear. Sonder also tops the Official Vinyl chart.

Elsewhere, André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra’s collection of Christmas classics, Silver Bells (Decca), opens at #4, becoming the Dutch violinist’s 13th U.K. Top 10 album. An eight-disc reissue of Queen’s 1989 album The Miracle (EMI) lands at #6; Nickelback’s 10th studio album, Get Rollin’ (BMG), debuts at #8.

Mancunian rapper Meekz hits a career-best with mixtape Respect the Come Up (Neighbourhood), at #12; Disturbed’s Divisive (Reprise) becomes its fifth Top 40 album, coming in at #17. The 40th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller (MJJ) is #18, followed by the soundtrack to the David Bowie doc Moonage Dream (Parlophone), at #20.

At singles, Swift’s “Anti-Hero” (EMI) is once again the most-streamed song in the country, amassing more than 5.2m streams over the past seven days. It’s the longest-running #1 by a female solo artists since Olivia Rodrigo spent five weeks at the summit with “good 4 u” in the summer of 2021.

Elsewhere in the Top 10, Meghan Trainor’s comeback continues to steam ahead with full force as “Made You Look” (RCA) reaches another peak at #3. It’s among the contenders to be the Christmas #1.

The highest new entry of the week is North London rapper Clavish’s breakout hit “Rocket Science” f/D-Block Europe (Polydor), at #9. It’s his first Top 40 entry.

The biggest hit from Kennedy’s Sonder, “Kiss Me,” is up six slots to a new high of #15.

Christmas is starting early for a few holiday staples: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the week’s big gainer, up 18 places to #18; Wham!’s “Last Christmas” is #23 and Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s “Merry Christmas” is #40.