Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide is no longer just a strong follow-up to Stick Season — it is officially a global commercial event. The Vermont singer-songwriter has secured his second UK Official Albums Chart No. 1, while also delivering the biggest opening week for an international artist in the country so far in 2026.
Released as Kahan’s fourth studio album, The Great Divide debuts at the summit this week, giving him another major milestone after Stick Season’s breakthrough run. That 2023 album not only reached No. 1 but evolved into one of the UK’s defining long-term success projects, later ranking among the Official biggest albums of both 2024 and 2025.
The UK victory arrives the same day Kahan also opened at No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart.
Elsewhere on the UK chart, Foo Fighters land another major placement as Your Favorite Toy debuts at No. 2, marking the band’s 14th UK Top 10 album. Notably, one of the week’s biggest broader stories belongs to Michael Jackson, whose catalog has surged dramatically following the release of the Michael biopic.
Five Jackson titles now occupy the Top 40 simultaneously. Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture leads at No. 4, followed closely by Number Ones at No. 5. Thriller vaults 57 places back into the Top 10 at No. 8 for the first time in 17 years, while Bad returns to the Top 40 for the first time since 2014 at No. 13. The Essential Michael Jackson also re-enters at No. 14.
On the singles side, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean reclaim No. 1 with “Rein Me In,” earning a ninth non-consecutive week atop the chart after Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” briefly interrupted their run last week.
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