Miley Cyrus has accomplished a relatively uncommon chart feat in the United Kingdom by topping both the singles and album charts in the same week.
Her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation debuts at number one, while her single Flowers spends a ninth week at the top.
It’s the singer’s first number one album since Bangerz in 2013.
That single also charted twice, alongside the multi-platinum-selling single Wrecking Ball.
Flowers, which is said to be about the end of her marriage to actor Liam Hemsworth, is now tied for the longest-running number one single by a female solo artist this decade with Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License.
The release of Endless Summer Vacation (which includes two versions of Flowers) last Friday ensured that the song reclaimed its title as the most-streamed song of the last seven days, surpassing PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s viral smash Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2.
The album has received generally positive reviews, with critics praising Cyrus’ vulnerability and songcraft while lamenting that some of her rougher edges have been sanded away.
“The current of honesty that runs through Endless Summer Vacation encourages the listener to press play again on the record, and the stories here get even better on a second or third listen,” Consequence Of Sound wrote. “It’s cohesive without being monotonous.”
According to the NME, the album “holds your full attention even if it isn’t Cyrus’s boldest or most visionary,” and the songs provide a “remarkably intriguing” insight into her post-divorce state of mind.
The record is divided into “AM” and “PM” sections, with the former, written with Harry Styles’ collaborator Kid Harpoon, outshining the “maddening” and “grating” second half, according to Pitchfork.
River and Jaded, two of the album’s standout tracks, also make this week’s Top 40.
Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s trancey new collaboration Miracle was this week’s highest new entry.
The song debuts at number three, becoming Calvin’s 29th and Ellie’s 12th top ten hit. It’s also their third album as a duo, following I Need Your Love in 2012 and Outside in 2014.
Miracle is a strong contender for the number one spot next week… but it only gets one shot. The following week, Ed Sheeran’s comeback single, Eye’s Closed, will be released.
Meanwhile, UK Eurovision entrant Mae Muller kicks off her campaign with a bang, as her single I Wrote A Song debuts at number 30.
That’s an improvement over last year’s contestant, Sam Ryder, who only made the top 40 after finishing second in Turin.
Mae Muller has been announced as the UK act for Eurovision 2023.
Mae Muller: Who is the United Kingdom’s Eurovision entry?
Muller is, in fact, the first UK act to enter the chart ahead of Eurovision since Blue in 2011.
Her first Top 40 single as a solo artist is I Wrote A Song. She previously peaked at number 32 in 2021 as the lead vocalist on Better Days, a collaboration between producer Neiked and US rapper Polo G.
Muller was revealed as the UK’s hopeful last week, but in an interview with the BBC’s Eurovisioncast podcast, she revealed that she had been keeping the secret for a few months.
“It was difficult because I’m a bit of a chatterbox and quite open,” she explained.
“However, I did tell my parents because I didn’t want to shock them.”