Charts – 12 April 2015
So, no reviews this week – because there’s nothing to review, aside from anything else – but don’t forget there’s a new podcast, one post down. Meanwhile… for the second week running, the midweek charts get it wrong.
40. Meghan Trainor – “Dear Future Husband”
Third single from the album, and the bloom seems to be off the rose at this point. This has been climbing from the lower reaches for four weeks now, and conceivably it could go further, but this track hasn’t done brilliantly internationally, and the doo-wop revivalist schtick only goes so far.
27. OMI – “Cheerleader”
24. Major Lazer & DJ Snake featuring MØ – “Lean On”
Up 10 and 14 respectively. Remember I said last week that these were very low entry points for singles that had done well internationally? Well, turns out that because I forgot to check when they actually go on sale; they’re charting at the moment on streaming alone. They’re now on sale (“Cheerleader” has been brought forward because of a cash-in version starting to pick up sales), so both will jump a lot next week.
“Cheerleader” has also now got a different video for the UK market, which is the one embedded above. Don’t know why they bothered, really – it’s not a noticeable improvement on the one they already had.
22. Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Another track charting on streaming alone (well, virtually – apparently a few people managed to buy it as an album track download from the Furious 7 soundtrack before that was stopped). It goes on sale as a single this week, and as of right now, it looks to be fighting with “Cheerleader” for the number 1. It’s a tribute to the late Paul Walker, who appears in the film posthumously. This doubtless explains why it’s, at the least, a bit more reflective in tone than you might expect from something on the Furious 7 soundtrack.
Charlie Puth, making his chart debut here, is a YouTuber who got signed. Somewhat randomly, he’s also in the video for “Dear Future Husband”.
17. Pep & Rash – “Rumors”
Pep & Rash are Dutch DJs, which means they spell “Rumors” the American way. No bloody loyalty to European spellings, these people. And hey, it’s been a while since we’ve had a video quite so transparently going for the women in underwear angle. The vocals, unusually for a hit single, come from the unglamorous source of a sample CD, “Soul Rush Future House Vocals 3”; the uncredited and heavily pitch-shifted singer is Chantelle Rowe, and here’s a track which uses the sample at something closer to its original pitch.
6. Stevie McCrorie – “Lost Stars”
Number 1 in the midweeks, so obviously this one really tanked in the second half of the week. McCrorie is the winner of this year’s Voice UK, a ticket to fame and fortune if never there was one.
The unfortunate reality for The Voice UK is that it’s now completed its fourth season and has yet to produce any remotely successful recording artist. This may be partly because it’s on the BBC, who don’t like promoting commercial products, but that ought to be easily bridged by the classic device of making the winner’s single a charity release. For whatever reason, until now there hasn’t even been a winner’s single.
McCrorie at least has the comfort of knowing that he instantly gets far and away the highest chart position ever achieved by a Voice UK winner. The previous record was a dismal 30, set by Andrea Begley with her cover of “My Immortal”. Obviously the top ten is a lot better, but the bottom line is that the sales here were overwhelmingly in the immediate aftermath of the final, and there was minimal interest after that. That’s not exactly promising.
Following X Factor‘s lead, “Lost Stars” is a cover of a moderately obscure song that wasn’t previously released as a single in this country. The original is from last year’s romantic comedy Begin Again, in which the story involved it being a personal song that was tragically commercialised. It was nominated for Best Original Song in last year’s Oscars, though it didn’t win. The movie soundtrack features two versions, one by Adam Levine, who had a supporting role as (of course) a musician, and this rendition by Keira Knightley.
2. Nick Jonas – “Jealous”
One of the Jonas Brothers starts a solo career – or more accurately, resumes it, since he released a solo album back in 2005, and had a side project in 2009, Nick Jonas & The Administration. (The Administration, rather oddly, were three former members of Prince’s New Power Generation.)
The Jonas Brothers were never a particularly big deal on the UK chart – they had two middling hits in 2008, neither of which made the top ten – so to all intents and purposes this is a fresh launch. The song is pretty self-explanatory, though that doesn’t prevent Wikipedia offering the insight that “Lyrically, the song talks about ‘the feeling of threat men experience when another man looks [at] or interacts with their girlfriend’.”
1. Jess Glynne – “Hold My Hand”
Very unexpectedly, Jess Glynne holds on for a third week at number one, as 2015 stubbornly refuses to engage in the familiar weekly turnover of number 1s. She only just does it – her actual sales, 39,878, are the lowest weekly sale for a number 1 single since 2008, but 1.74 million streams (converted to notional sales of 17,400 for chart purposes) are enough to push her over the edge and retain the number 1 spot.
This is only the second time that the inclusion of streaming data has made a difference to the number 1. It’ll be a miracle if she’s still here next week… but I’ve said that before.
On the album chart, all is quiet
- “Future Hearts” by All Time Low at 1. All Time Low have yet to have a hit single in this country, but their three albums have charted at 20, 9 and 1, so there’s clearly some momentum here. Video: “Something’s Gotta Give”.
- “Undertow” by Drenge at 14. As endorsed by Tom Watson. Drenge’s first album just missed the top 40 but got plenty of good reviews; the follow-up, which sees them expand to include a bass player, does rather better. Single: “We Can Do What We Want”.
- “No Pier Pressure” by Brian Wilson at 25. His eleventh solo album, and his second highest chart placing. (The highest, naturally, was for “Smile”.) Single: “The Right Time”.
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