Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” is No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart for a third consecutive week. Jamie Miller’s “Babydoll” is second and Ashe’s “Stop the Wedding” is third, according to the chart Official Charts published on Oct. 16.
Official Charts said Swift is the only artist with three UK No. 1 singles in 2026. “Patient Zero” joins “I Knew It, I Knew You” and “Opalite” on that list.
How Patient Zero Got to the Top
“Patient Zero” is one of four new songs on “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.” Official Charts reported on Sept. 23 that the expanded album would come out Sept. 25 and that Swift wrote the songs in Sweden with Max Martin and Shellback. Swift said in a social media post, as quoted by Official Charts: “About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing.”
The song debuted at No. 1 in the chart Official Charts published on Oct. 2. It was her eighth UK No. 1 single. Two more songs from the Encore entered the same week: “Cleveland” at No. 3 and “Babylon” at No. 4.
The Official Charts page for the song lists it at No. 1 on the singles sales, singles downloads and streaming charts, with one week at No. 1 on the streaming chart. Swift’s own website sells “Patient Zero” as a digital download and in an Acoustic and Piano Version on vinyl. The song was also No. 1 on the singles sales chart in its second week. Official Charts does not publish unit totals or margins, so the report does not say how large its lead is.
Eight Number 1s Since 2017
The Oct. 2 report said Swift has eight UK No. 1 singles, starting with “Look What You Made Me Do” in 2017. An earlier Official Charts reports on “I Knew It, I Knew You” listed the others: “Anti-Hero” in 2022, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” in 2023, “Fortnight” in 2024, “The Fate of Ophelia” in 2025, “Opalite” in February 2026, “I Knew It, I Knew You” in June 2026 and now “Patient Zero.”
A count of that list shows the pace changing. Four No. 1 singles came between 2017 and 2024. The next four came from 2025 through October 2026. Half her UK No. 1 singles therefore arrived in two calendar years, after the first half took eight. That is a calculation from the years Official Charts lists.
When “I Knew It, I Knew You” reached No. 1 in June, Official Charts said it was her seventh and put her level with Michael Jackson, George Michael and U2, who had seven each at that time. “Patient Zero” gives her one more than that group, using the figures in that report.
Her album chart record is larger. The Oct. 2 report said “The Life of a Showgirl” returned to No. 1 on the albums chart for a fifth non-consecutive week after the Encore edition came out. It did so on its first anniversary, since it was released Oct. 3, 2025. Official Charts said she has 14 UK No. 1 albums, the most by any female artist in the chart’s history, and that the original album opened with 423,000 chart units. It also said she has scored an album and single double in every calendar year since 2022.
Ten of the Top 20 Slots
The full chart for Oct. 16-22 shows five artists with two songs each in the Top 20:
- Taylor Swift: “Patient Zero” at No. 1 and “The Fate of Ophelia” at No. 19
- Sienna Spiro: “Great Expectation” at No. 4 and “Die on This Hill” at No. 11
- Adela: “Nicole Kidman” at No. 5 and “Ain’t in LA” at No. 13
- Olivia Rodrigo: “The Cure” at No. 8 and “Stupid Song” at No. 18
- Olivia Dean: “Rein Me In” with Sam Fender at No. 9 and “Man I Need” at No. 12
Those five artists hold 10 of the 20 places, by a count of the published chart. Some of those songs are old. “The Fate of Ophelia” is in its 53rd week. “Rein Me In” is in its 70th week and “Man I Need” is in its 61st, so Dean’s two songs have 131 weeks on the chart between them, a sum of the two published totals. “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley is No. 7 in its 41st week.
Pink Returns after 13 Years
The biggest mover in the Top 20 is Pink and Nate Ruess’s “Just Give Me a Reason,” which is at No. 15. Official Charts said it returned to the Top 40 for the first time in 13 years, driven by social media virality. The singles chart shows it moved up from No. 78 the week before, a rise of 63 places.
The song’s chart history shows how big its first run was. It entered at No. 74 on Feb. 16, 2013, peaked at No. 2 on April 6 and April 13, 2013, and spent 11 weeks in the Top 10 and 22 in the Top 40. It has now spent 43 weeks on the Top 100. The page lists no weeks at No. 1. The song ranked No. 8 on the 2013 end-of-year chart.
Elsewhere in the Top 40, Olivia Rodrigo’s “expectations” entered at No. 35 after a remix with Chappell Roan, according to Official Charts. Noah Kahan’s “Willing and Able” rose three places to No. 17. DJ Goja’s “Mi Chico,” featuring Jason Derulo and Melody, is at No. 25 and Morrisson’s “COS OF YOU” is at No. 34. Swift’s “Patient Zero” will try for a fourth week at No. 1 on the chart Official Charts publishes Oct. 23.
