Global Chart Report
----------------------------------
'The Fate Of
Ophelia' tops a 6th week
Sunday, January 11, 2026
by Fred Chuchel, Dresden
The times they are
changin'... in the past, record
companies had to constantly produce
new music and promote new acts in
order to generate adequate profit.
In the age of streaming, that has
completely changed. Especially
because of platforms like TikTok or
Netflix, record companies can
increasingly live off their music
catalog and can largely do without
new music or acts. The result is
clearly visible in the charts, more
and more old songs are placed again.
For example Kate Bush's 'Running Up
That Hill (A Deal With God)'
appearance in the Netflix series
'Stranger Things', gives the song a
third entry on the international
hitlists. Originally released in
1985, it peaked at no.9 globally in
the calendar week 45 of that year.
In 2022 it made a spectacular
comeback and rose to the second
place in June / July. On the current
hitlist it jumps back at no.21 with
97,000 points. Even more successful
at the moment is 'Every Breath You
Take' by the Police from 1983. In
its
release year it became a global no.1
hit and placed at no.4 on the
Year-End Chart. This week it rises
to no.12 with 120,000 points. Also
the highest debut of the week is an
18 year-old song: 'I Thought I Saw
Your Face Today', a wistful piano
ballad by the American indie pop duo
She & Him. In November 2025, the
song became widely used in video
edits on TikTok, where users set it
to clips of movies and TV shows, as
well as nature and sports highlight
montages. The trend let to the song
gaining newfound success, enough for
a no.29 debut this week with 84,000
points. By the way, 13 songs of our
current Top 40 were published before
2025! Back to a look to the upper
region of our chart, number one for
a sixth non-consecutive week is
Taylor Swift's 'The Fate Of Ophelia'
with 346,000 points, a 7% decline
compared to the previous week.
Broken down by sectors the song gets
203,000 points by streaming (down
4%), 45,000 points by sales (down
23%), and 98,000 points by airplay
(down 4%). 'Golden' by the fictional
girl group Huntr/x - leading track
from the soundtrack to the American
animated musical fantasy film 'K-pop
Demon Hunters', released by Netflix
- remains at the runner-up slot with
312,000 points (down 8% with 199,000
points by streaming, 35,000 points
by sales, and 78,000 points by
airplay). Djo's 'End
Of Beginning', catapults back at
no.3
with 281,000 points, a massive 88%
boost compared to last week (245,000
points by streaming, 31,000 points
by sales, and 5,000 points by
airplay). The synth-pop /
baroque pop song was originally
released in March 2024 and peaked on
the Global Top 40 also at no.3 in the
calendar week 14, 2024. It gained
renewed popularity through its use in
Netflix’s 'Stranger Things'
and
global
advertising clips.
Outside
our current Top 40 waiting among
other 'Folded' by Kehlani' at no.45, 'Ghera Hua' by Shashwat
Sachdev | Arijit Singh | Irshad
Kamil | Armaan Khan at no.49, and
'Choosin' Texas' by Ella Langley at
no.54 for
their first appearance on the
hitlist. Taylor Swift's 12th studio
album 'The Life Of A Showgirl'
leads the Global Album Chart 2025
far away from the competition with a
total of 7,586,000 equivalent sales,
the lion's share of it was generated
in its first week at retail with
stellar 5,371,000 consumption week.
It's the fourth year in a row, that
Taylor Swift tops the Year-End
Chart, a new alltime record! The
current album is also on the way to
a 10-million classic, it would be
her seventh (!!) effort which breaks
though this border. Previously the
following albums achieved this:'1989
(incl.Taylor's Version)' with 24,5
million, 'Midnights' (13,2 million),
'Lover' (13,0 million), 'Folklore'
(12,8 million), 'The Tortured Poets
Department' (11,5 million), and
'Reputation' (10,8 million). Back to
our Year-End Chart, where SZA's
'SOS' ranks a third year in a row on
that list with 4,887,000 equivalent
sales at the runner-up slot.
Released three years ago in December
2022, it was placed at no.4 on the
Countdown Chart 2023 with 4,255,000
sales, one year later it ranked at
the same position with 2,931,000
sales. Bad Bunny's 'Debí´Tirar Más
Fotos' rounds out this year's top
three with 4,377,000 consumption
units. He's now the biggest
latin-star of our time and his
legendary 'Un Verano Sin Ti' set
from 2022 gets a total of 10,5
million so far. Here's the complete
YEAR-END CHART. On the weekly tally
Taylor Swift's 'The Life Of A
Showgirl' defends the pole position of the
Global Album Chart for an eighth
non-consecutive week with another
131.000 equivalent sales (down 34%
with 79,000 points by streaming +
52,000 points by sales). Olivia
Dean's 'The Art Of Loving' rises
from no.5 to no.2 with 94,000
consumption units, despite a 7%
decline, with 74,000 points by
streaming + 20,000 points by sales).
The 'K-pop Demon Hunters' soundtrack
rounds out the current top three
with 91,000 equivalent sales (down
11% with 70,000 points by streaming
+ 21,000 points by sales). And now, as every week,
additional stats from outside the
current Global Album Top 20 in
alphabetic order. The first figure
means last week's sales, the second
figure the total sales: '1989' by
Taylor Swift 14,000 / 17,188,000,
'1989 (Taylor's Version)' by Taylor
Swift 14,000 / 7,365,000, '21' by
Adele 12,000 / 34,235,000, '25' by
Adele 10,000 / 25,993,000, '30' by
Adele 9,000 / 7,133,000, 'After
Hours' by The Weeknd 33,000 /
11,771,000, 'Borondo' by Beéle
35,000 / 1,466,000, 'Brat' by Charli XCX
20,000 /
4,375,000, 'Chromakopia' by Tyler,
The Creator 22,000 / 2,688,000, 'Cowboy Carter' by
Beyoncé 10,000 / 2,332,000, 'Divide'
by Ed Sheeran 19,000 / 22,604,000,
'Eternal Sunshine' by Ariana Grande
36,000 / 5,205,000,
'Evermore' by Taylor Swift 11,000 /
6,982,000, 'Fireworks &
Rollerblades' by Benson Boone 24,000
/ 3,929,000, 'Folklore' by Taylor
Swift 29,000 / 12,869,000, 'From Zero' by Linkin
Park 14,000 / 1,934,000, 'Future
Nostalgia' by Dua Lipa 18,000 /
10,116,000, 'GNX' by Kendrick Lamar
22,000 / 3,947,000, 'Guts' by Olivia
Rodrigo 20,000 / 5,522,000,
'Hurry Up
Tomorrow' by The Weeknd 26,000 /
2,620,000, 'I've Tried Everything
But Therapy' by Teddy Swims 29,000 /
4,067,000,
'Incómodo' by Tito Double P 14,000 /
2,769,000, 'Lux' by Rosalíá 42,000 /
549,000, 'Mayhem' by Lady GaGa
41,000 / 2,785,000,
'Mi Vida Mi Muerte' by Neton Vega
13,000 / 1,748,000,
'Midnights' by Taylor Swift 24,000 /
13,212,000, 'Muse' by Jimin 13,000 /
2,670,000, 'One Thing At A Time' by
Morgan Wallen 22,000 / 10,170,000,
'Red (Taylor's Version)' by Taylor
Swift 10,000 / 7,058,000, 'Rosie' by
Rosé 22,000 / 2,360,000, 'Ruby' by
Jennie 27,000 / 1,767,000, 'Starboy'
by The Weeknd 34,000 / 10,181,000,
'Stick Season' by Noah Kahan 35,000
/ 5,962,000, 'Swag' by Justin Bieber
22,000 / 1,569,000, 'The Highlights' by The
Weeknd 25,000 / 10,621,000, 'The Rise
And Fall Of A Midwest Princess' by
Chappell Roan 28,000 / 4,654,000, 'The
Secret Of Us' by Gracie Abrams
34,000 / 3,862,000, 'The Tortured
Poets Department' by Taylor Swift
42,000 / 11,584,000, 'Tropicoqueta'
by Karol G 30,000 / 1,226,000, 'Utopia' by
Travis Scott 11,000 / 5,847,000, and
'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do
We Go?' by Billie Eilish 15,000 /
13,269,000.
GLOBAL NO.1 - 20
YEARS AGO
...
"Hung Up", initially used in a number of television
advertisements and serials, was released on October 17, 2005 as the lead
single from Madonna's tenth studio album Confessions On A Dance Floor
(2005). The song prominently features a sample from the instrumental
introduction to Abba's hit single "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After
Midnight)", for which Madonna personally sought permission from Abba's
songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulaeus. Musically the song
influenced by pop from the 1980s, with a chugging groove and chorus and
a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of
wasting time. Lyrically the song is written as a traditional dance
number about a strong, independent woman who has relationship troubles.
"Hung Up" reached only the no.7 position in the United States, but in
almost all other countries it went to number one. With a total of
8,698,000 points it was the second most successful single release of
2005, after James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' with 9,527,000 points.
USA
Billboard Report
(excerpt)
Taylor Swift leads both
major hitlists again
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
by Keith Caulfield & Gary
Trust, Los Angeles
Taylor Swift's
“The Fate of Ophelia” tops
the Billboard Hot 100 for a
ninth week, besting
“Anti-Hero” as the sole
longest-leading hit among
her 13 career No. 1s. “The
Fate of Ophelia”
surges back to the Hot 100’s
summit from No. 28 as
holiday hits recede from the
chart’s upper reaches, a
week after they claimed a
weekly-best top 24 positions.
The lead single from Swift’s
album The
Life of a Showgirl reigned
in its first eight weeks on
the ranking, dating to its
mid-October debut.
“Anti-Hero” claimed its
eight-week No. 1 run upon
its start in November 2022.
“The Fate of Ophelia” drew
18.3 million official
streams (up 9%
week-over-week) and 60.7
million radio airplay
audience impressions (up
12%) and sold 30,000 (up
779%) in the United States
Dec. 26-Jan. 1. The single
adds an eighth week at No. 1
on the Streaming Songs chart;
falls to No. 3 from its No.
2 high on Radio Songs;
and lifts 5-4 on Digital
Song Sales after
six weeks at No. 1. It’s the
highest-selling song of the
week overall, with 26,000 in
physical singles, via vinyl
versions that shipped during
the tracking week, and 4,000
downloads. Ella Langley
achieves her first Hot 100
top 10, as “Choosin’ Texas”
soars 48-5 (topping its
prior No. 11 peak before the
holidays). It totaled 15.7
million streams (up 5%), 25
million in radio reach (up
2%) and sold 5,000 (up 1%)
in the tracking week. The
trad-country single rebounds
4-1 for a second week atop
Digital Song Sales, as it
leads the multimetric Hot
Country Songs chart for a
sixth week, dating to its
first in early December.
Huntr/x’s “Golden,” from
Netflix’s KPop
Demon Hunters,
flies 28-2 on the Hot 100,
after eight weeks at No. 1
beginning in August. Alex
Warren’s “Ordinary,” which
ruled the Hot 100 for 10
weeks starting in May,
returns at No. 3, tying for
the highest reentry in the
chart’s archives (reflecting
rules related, in part, to
the fall of holiday songs).
It adds a 24th week at No. 1
on Radio Songs (67.8
million, up 24%). Olivia
Dean’s “Man I Need” blasts
back, from No. 36, to its
No. 4 Hot 100 high.
Kehlani’s “Folded” rises to
a new No. 6 Hot 100 best,
from No. 51. Sombr’s “Back
to Friends” bounds 52-7 for
a new Hot 100 high. Swift’s
“Opalite” revisits the Hot
100’s top 10 (54-8), after
hitting No. 2, and two more
songs reenter the chart in
the tier: Leon Thomas’
“Mutt,” at No. 9 after
reaching No. 6, and Justin
Bieber’s “Daisies,” at No.
10 after peaking at No. 2.
Taylor Swift's
The Life of a Showgirl nets
a 12th nonconsecutive week
at No. 1 on the Billboard
200 albums chart (dated Jan.
11, 2026) with 81,000
equivalent album units in
the United States in the
week ending Jan. 1 (down
42%), according to Luminate.
The Life of a Showgirl marks
Swift’s sole second-longest
run at No. 1. It surpasses
the 11-week reigns of 1989
(2014-15) and Fearless
(2008-09). Only The Tortured
Poets Department, with 17
weeks at No. 1 in 2024, has
more weeks atop the list
among Swift’s 15 No. 1
albums, the most leaders
among soloists. Of The Life
of a Showgirl’s 81,000
equivalent album units
earned in the latest
tracking week, SEA units
comprise 47,000 (up 10%,
equaling 61.58 million
on-demand official streams
of the set’s tracks; it
rises 16-2 on Top Streaming
Albums), album sales
comprise 33,000 (down 66%;
it notches a 7th
nonconsecutive week at No. 1
on Top Album Sales) and TEA
units comprise 1,000 (up
25%). The top 10 of the
latest Billboard 200 gets
shaken up by the exodus of
most holiday titles, as the
new chart reflects the
tracking week of Dec. 26
through Jan. 1. In turn,
many non-holiday titles
surge up the list, even with
declines in overall
activity. Morgan Wallen’s
I’m the Problem climbs 6-2
with 69,000 equivalent album
units earned (down 8%),
...while fellow former No. 1
the KPop Demon
Hunters soundtrack sails
10-3 with 51,000 (down 18%).
Olivia Dean’s The Art of
Loving reaches a new high as
it vaults 14-4 (surpassing
its No. 5 peak in November)
with 50,000 (down less than
1%). Sabrina Carpenter’s
chart-topping Man’s Best
Friend rallies 19-5 with
40,000 (but down 5%). Peso
Pluma and Tito Double P’s
DINASTÍA debuts at No. 6 on
the Billboard 200, scoring
the former his third top 10
and the latter, his first.
The set launches with 33,000
equivalent album units
earned, of which SEA units
comprise essentially all
(equaling 45.29 million
on-demand official streams
of the set’s songs; it
debuts at No. 5 on Top
Streaming Albums). The album
was preceded by the single
“Intro,” which debuted at
its No. 8 high on the Hot
Latin Songs chart (dated
Dec. 6). Rounding out the
rest of the top 10 of the
new Billboard 200 are four
former No. 1s: SZA’s SOS
shoots 24-7 (32,000
equivalent album units, down
11%), Tate McRae’s So Close
To What jumps 27-8 (nearly
32,000, up 2%), Morgan
Wallen’s One Thing at a Time
drives 36-9 (27,000, up 1%)
and Sabrina Carpenter’s
Short n’ Sweet zooms 30-10
(nearly 27,000, down 8%).
Record Of The Month
As the first salvo from her
new album, Lux, Spanish
reggaeton and flamenco
artist Rosalíá has uncorked
a dazzling opus featuring
Björk, Yves Tumor and a
full-on symphony orchestra.
United Kingdom
Music Week Report
(excerpt)
Djo's 'End Of Beginning'
reaches finally at
no.1
Monday, January 12, 2026
by Alan Jones, London
Eight days after the finale
of the fifth and last season
of Netflix streaming
sensation Stranger Things
dropped, the fever
continues: no fewer than
eight vintage tracks
featured in the cult sci-fi
drama are in the Top 40,
while one of the series’
stars – 31-year-old Joe
Keery, who played Steve
Harrington – surges
to the top
of the chart under his recording alias of Djo.
End Of Beginning, Keery’s self-penned retro synth
track dating from 2022, previously peaked at No.4 in 2024, and
re-entered last week at No.7. It now jumps to No.1 on consumption of
47,898 units (1,184 cassettes, 1,174 digital downloads, 45,540
sales-equivalent streams).
Certified double platinum last week, the track has
to-date consumption of 1,255,107 units, and unexpectedly blocks Taylor
Swift from returning to the summit with The Fate Of Ophelia.
Swift’s track, which rocketed 40-2 last week, was
expected to secure its eight week at No.1 after being released
physically for the first time, but after building up a lead of more than
5,000 in early sales flashes, it was unable to keep pace with End Of
Beginning and thus repeats at No.2, with a 4.80% increase in consumption
to 45,497 units, a tally which includes 5,263 7-inch singles, 909
digital downloads and 39,325 sales-equivalent streams.
Olivia Dean continues
to have a triumvirate of Top
10 songs from her No.1 album The Art Of Loving, namely So Easy (To Fall
In Love) (4-5, 29,221 sales), Rein Me In (with Sam Fender, 5-6, 27,760
sales) and Man I Need (6-7, 27,132 sales). The latter is the only one
handicapped by ACR, and holds at No.1 in the Top 200 Combined Tracks
chart – where ACR and primary artist rules don’t apply - on unadjusted
consumption of 53,509 units, having trumped Raye for the same honour
last week.
Returning to the Top 10 last week, a decade after
it reached No.3, Lush Life now climbs 9-8 (22,236 sales) for Zara
Larsson. Its viral success seems to have rubbed off on Midnight Sun, the
title track from Swedish singer/songwriter Larsson’s latest album, which
has been available for 29 weeks but is finally gaining traction,
increasing consumption for the fourth week in a row, and jumping 91-50
(7,466 sales) this week to become her 16th Top 75 single.
Its consumption dips 6.55% week-on-week but I Run
reaches a new peak for Haven feat. Kaitlin Aragon, climbing 10-9 (19,862
units).
The rest of the Top 10: Where Is My Husband! (1-3,
39,619 sales) by Raye, Raindance (3-4, 34,568 sales) by Dave & Tems and
Golden (8-10, 18,946 sales) by Huntr/X, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami &
KPop Demon Hunters Cast.
Overall singles consumption is down 0.60% week-on-week to 28,014,692
units, 3.07% above same week 2025 sales of 27,178,943 units. Paid-for
sales are down 15.08% week-on-week at 224,625, 2.79% above same week
2025 sales of 218,514.
It’s another great week for Olivia Dean, whose second album, The
Art Of Loving, is No.1 for the second frame in a row, and fourth
time in total, while turning platinum.
Increasing consumption 1.40% week-on-week
to 17,141 units (1,385 CDs, 1,442 vinyl albums, 22 cassettes,
290 digital downloads and 14,002 sales-equivalent streams), the
album spends its 15th straight week in the top five, during
which time it has racked up cumulative consumption of 312,497
units. It is the first album by a solo British female to spend
two weeks in a row at No.1 since Adele’s 30 in 2021.
Home to three concurrent Top 10 singles
once again this week, The Art Of Loving is also extremely
popular in America where the latest Billboard rankings show it
climbing to a new peak (No.4) on the Top 200, while no fewer
than six tracks by Dean are in the Hot 100. Five reach new peaks
– most notably Man I Need and So Easy (To Fall In Love), which
stage post-Christmas rebounds of 36-4 and 57-14, respectively,
while Baby Steps (No.99) makes its debut. Overall US consumption
of The Art Of Loving, is double that of the UK, standing at
606,124 units as of 2 January. It is projected to secure
best-yet consumption of 61,000 copies in America this week, and
will likely reach a new peak of No.3.
As one of its tracks (Landslide) makes its
Top 20 debut thanks to the Stranger Things effect, Fleetwood
Mac’s 2018 compilation 50 Years: Don’t Stop – which previously
equalled its all-time peak last week – now sets a new one,
jumping to No.3 (8,393 sales) on its 125th week in the Top 10
and 373rd week in the Top 75.
Home to the No.1 single of 2025
(Ordinary), Alex Warren’s debut album, You’ll Be Alright, Kid
capitalises on the publicity associated with that, jumping 15-9
(5,427 sales) to return to the Top 10 after an absence of 10
weeks. Initially released in 2024 as You’ll Be Alright, Kid
(Chapter 1), in which guise it peaked at No.9, the album reached
No.1 last July after being expanded to a 21-track edition, and
went platinum across all editions last month. Ending this week
with to-date consumption of 316,943 units, its title, as
reported by the OCC, retains its original parenthetical
prolongment.
The rest of the Top 10: Man’s Best Friend
(2-2, 8,615 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter, The Life Of A Showgirl
(3-4, 7,612 sales) by Taylor Swift, The Highlights (5-5, 6,857
sales) by The Weeknd, +-=÷× Tour Collection (10-6, 5,963 sales)
by Ed Sheeran, So Close To What (8-7, 5,775 sales) by Tate
McRae, Short N’ Sweet (6-8, 5,498 sales) by Sabrina Carpenter
and The Essential (9-10, 5,393 sales) by Michael Jackson.
Overall album sales are down 6.30% week-on-week at 2,329,293
units, 3.13% above same week 2025 sales of 2,258,526 and their
lowest level since that time. Physical product accounts for
307,017 sales, 13.18% of the total.
