Noah Kahan has achieved a Q1 chart double. The Vermont singer-songwriter has the biggest album and single of the year to date.
Stick Season topped the singles charts for the first quarter (857,904 sales so far this year – Official Charts Company), while the parent album of the same name is No.1 overall in Q1 (123,176 sales so far this year). With total sales to date of 249,152, the LP is on the way to platinum status.
The chart double reflects a strong start to the year for Island, who also had success in the quarter with Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine (No.9 for Q1, 66,532 sales) and The Last Dinner Party’s Prelude To Ecstasy (No.15 for Q1, 55,704 sales). The Last Dinner Party’s album is the biggest 2024 release of the year so far by a UK act, while Grande’s LP is the biggest 2024 album release overall. TDLP’s single Nothing Matters also made the Top 50 for Q1.
US and North American acts dominated the Top 10 singles and albums ranking for the first three months of the year, squeezing out current releases from UK talent.
In total, Universal Music had nine of the Top 10 albums in the quarter.
As well as Kahan’s Stick Season, the Top 5 albums are made up of LPs from The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Eminem. As well as Swedish stars ABBA at No.8 with the Gold hits collection (Polydor), the Top 10 includes Ariana Grande at No.9 and Taylor Swift’s Midnight’s (EMI) at No.10.
While British artists with current albums were represented in the Top 10 in every quarter of 2023, only catalogue titles by UK acts make the Q1 Top 10 list – Anglo-American veterans Fleetwood Mac with 50 Years – Don’t Stop (No.6, 69,868 sales in Q1) and Elton John’s Diamonds (No.7, 68,488 sales in Q1).
In the Top 20 – in addition to UK breakthrough stars The Last Dinner Party – Lewis Capaldi’s Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (EMI) is at No.19 (52,195 sales this year), following its return to the summit at the start of 2024. Arctic Monkeys’ perennial AM (Domino), first released in 2013, is at No.16 (55,265 sales).
Further down the chart, successful UK campaigns this year represented in the Top 30 include Liam Gallagher & John Squire (Warner Records) with their self-titled chart-topping album (No.24, 50,312 sales), Swing Fever (East West/Rhino) by Rod Stewart & Jools Holland (No.26, 47,486) and Rolling Stone (EGA Distro) by D-Block Europe (No.29, 44,231).
Meanwhile, Raye’s record-breaking BRITs result has propelled her debut album, My 21st Century Blues (Human Re Sources/The Orchard), back up the chart more than a year on from its release. It is at No.30 overall for Q1 (42,627).
UK-born, US-based rapper 21 Savage is at No.33 with his current album, American Dream (40,334 sales), released via Columbia.
In the Top 10 singles rankings, the major labels are fairly equally represented in a list made up of eight US or Canadian artists and just two by UK acts (one of which is catalogue title Murder On The Dancefloor).
At No.1, Noah Kahan is followed by Warner Music’s US breakthrough stars Teddy Swims with Lose Control (No.2, 512,224 sales) and Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things (No.4, 413,698 sales). In between, Murder On The Dancefloor (Polydor) by Sophie Ellis Bextor is at No.3 (475,279 sales), following its Saltburn sync and TikTok success (prior to the removal of Universal Music repertoire from the platform). 2023 chart-topper Lovin On Me (Atlantic) by Jack Harlow is at No.5 for Q1 (395,196 sales).
Ministry Of Sound’s smash Prada by Casso, Raye & D-Block Europe is still going strong, finishing at No.6 overall in Q1 (373,245 sales). The single, which peaked at No.2 on the weekly chart, has total sales to date of 976,432 and will pass a million sales in the next few weeks. The Sony Music label also has Tate McRae’s Greedy at No.9 in Q1 (353,607 sales this quarter)
While Beyoncé’s new album Cowboy Carter (RCA) came out after these quarterly rankings, it is set to make a huge impact as Q2 gets underway. Meanwhile, her chart-topping single Texas Hold ‘Em is at No.7 in Q1 (367,175).
Ariana Grande’s lead single, Yes, And?, is No.8 for the quarter (354,771), while Taylor Swift completes the Top 10 with Cruel Summer (328,622 sales in Q1).
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