Taylor Swift’s Patient Zero stayed at No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart for the week of October 16 to 22, 2026, its third week on the chart, according to the Official Charts Company. Jamie Miller’s Babydoll rose from third to second in its eighth week, Ashe’s Stop the Wedding rose from fourth to third, and Sienna Spiro’s Great Expectation fell from second to fourth. Adela’s Nicole Kidman climbed from eighth to fifth, Stella Lefty’s Boston stayed sixth, Ella Langley’s Choosin’ Texas slipped from fifth to seventh, Olivia Rodrigo’s The Cure fell from seventh to eighth, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In rose from 11th to ninth, and sombr’s My Body Isn’t Ready stayed tenth.
The case that the chart shows strong momentum for recent releases is made by the rises. Taylor Swift’s Patient Zero held No. 1 from the previous week, and Jamie Miller’s Babydoll, Ashe’s Stop the Wedding and Adela’s Nicole Kidman all moved up, with Nicole Kidman climbing three places to No. 5 in its sixth week. Babydoll, in its eighth week, has peaked at No. 2, and Stop the Wedding, in its ninth, at No. 3. Three of the top five songs this week are less than ten weeks old, which means the upper end of the chart is being driven by songs that are still relatively new.
The case that the chart is stuck is in the same list. There are no new entries in the top ten, since every song has a previous position, and Sienna Spiro’s Great Expectation, at No. 1 in the past, fell from second to fourth in its 15th week. Ella Langley’s Choosin’ Texas, which has also peaked at No. 1, is now in its 41st week and fell two places, and Stella Lefty’s Boston has been on the chart for 28 weeks. The most extreme example is Rein Me In, which is in its 70th week, has peaked at No. 1 and has risen from 11th to ninth, so the song that was released longest ago made the biggest upward move in the top ten. Adela’s Nicole Kidman has a peak of No. 4 and Stella Lefty’s Boston a peak of No. 3, while sombr’s My Body Isn’t Ready has a peak of No. 10 after 16 weeks.
The chart matters for the music industry because a No. 1 that lasts several weeks shows how much one artist can dominate a market, and for listeners it shows how streaming keeps older songs alive. Taylor Swift’s hold on the top spot, together with Olivia Rodrigo’s two entries, one on the albums chart and one on the singles chart, shows the weight of American pop artists in the British market, even as British acts such as Sam Fender and Olivia Dean hold their own with a song that has now been charting for 70 weeks.
Patient Zero stays on top for another week, and the chart has no new entries in the top ten. The mix of new and long-running songs shows a market in which staying power matters as much as debuts.
