This is one outlet's own report from Forbes — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportForbes · 2h ago
Olivia Rodrigo Charts A Pair Of New Hits
Hollywood & Entertainment Olivia Rodrigo Charts A Pair Of New Hits By Hugh McIntyre ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Follow Author Sep 01, 2026, 10:15am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Olivia Rodrigo scores another U.K. hit from 'You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love' as “Expectations” debuts at No. 56 on the Official Singles chart. The track becomes her twenty-first career entry on the ranking and the fifth song from the album to hit the list. Meanwhile, “The Cure” rises to No. 7 and “Stupid Song” sits at No. 22 on the same tally. Rodrigo also debuts “Serena Joy” on the Official Singles Downloads and Official Singles Sales charts, while three of her songs remain present on the Official Streaming ranking.
In the United Kingdom, there is a chart rule that only allows each artist to score three hit songs on the most competitive singles ranking each week. That stipulation can be skirted slightly if an artist is credited alongside another, but for the most part, it is uncommon to see any act’s name appear more than three times in any given period.
The change, which came about after Ed Sheeran completely dominated nearly a decade ago with tunes from his album ÷ , has hindered many well-known stars who might otherwise invade the Official Singles chart with a complete album’s worth of material when a collection debuts. One of the most recent artists who likely lost out on scoring several new smashes was Olivia Rodrigo , when her third full-length You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love arrived on the U.K. charts.
Only three tunes featured on its track list were present on the Official Singles ranking at the time. Before this week, just four of the 13 cuts included on the project had ever appeared on the list. That may sound like a lot, but in today’s streaming-focused world, the biggest artists on the planet can regularly fill dozens of spots on similar singles tallies, such as the Billboard Hot 100 in America, during especially busy promotional moments.
That rule also randomly helps acts like Rodrigo score sudden hits when one album cut becomes more popular than others that previously qualified. That is the case this time around, as Rodrigo debuts several tracks on multiple tallies in the U.K.
“Expectations” launches at No. 56 on the Official Singles chart this week. It becomes Rodrigo’s twenty-first career hit on the tally and the fifth song from You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love to reach the important roster.
“Expectations” is the lowest-peaking of those five tunes and the first from the album to miss the top 40. “Drop Dead” hit No. 1 in April, while “The Cure” and “Stupid Song” both stopped just one space short of ruling, peaking at No. 2 during different tracking periods in June. Later, “Honeybee” became a fan favorite and climbed as high as No. 30.
“Drop Dead” is missing from the Official Singles chart this week, but the two more recent singles from You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love are present. “The Cure” rises one spot to No. 7, while “Stupid Song” continues to decline and settles at No. 22.
At the same time that “Expectations” launches, a different Rodrigo track debuts on another pair of U.K. rankings. “Serena Joy” starts at Nos. 72 and 76 on the Official Singles Downloads and Official Singles Sales charts, respectively.
“Serena Joy” was released after the album itself arrived, and it was initially available in a very limited fashion through CD singles before the tune received a wider release. Now that listeners can easily purchase and stream the track, it becomes another chart hit for Rodrigo.
“The Cure” and “Stupid Song” appear not only on the Official Singles chart, but also on the Official Streaming tally, which looks specifically at a cut’s performance on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and others. “Stupid Song” declines to No. 9, while “The Cure” improves to No. 13. “Drop Dead” is also still a top 40 hit on the streaming-only ranking, despite disappearing from the main singles roster. The former No. 1 slides to No. 38 this week.
“Serena Joy” joins “Stupid Song” as Rodrigo’s only two current hits on both the Official Singles Sales and Official Singles Downloads charts in the U.K. “Stupid Song” falls to Nos. 48 and 52 on the downloads and broader sales rankings, respectively, while “Serena Joy” debuts on those same tallies.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.
