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Oct 7

Charts – 6 October 2017

Posted on Saturday, October 7, 2017 by Paul in Music

Not a huge amount going on, but there’s still a bit to talk about…

1.  Post Malone featuring 21 Savage – “Rockstar”

Such as a new number one!  “Rockstar” has moved 5-2-1.  It’s also been number one in Australia, Canada and several European countries, so the world is in the mood for a sense of vaguely washed-out shellshock, I guess.  That’s 2017 for you.

Post Malone has three tracks on this week’s top 40, with his debut hit “Congratulations” still hanging around at number 33, and another new entry right at the bottom end, which we’ll get to.  His guest 21 Savage technically joins the list of one-hit wonders – a number one hit and nothing else – though it doesn’t really count if you’re just a featured artist, does it?

Below that, there’s the usual run of climbers.  “Havana” by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug moves 4-3.  “Lonely Together” by Avicii featuring Rita Ora climbs 8-5; so it’s now Avicii’s biggest hit since “You Make Me” back in 2013, and Ora’s biggest since “Poison” in 2015.  “1-800-273-8255” by Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid moves 12-9.  “Bestie” by Yungen featuring Yxng Bane finally makes the top 10 after an excruciatingly slow run: 38-41-30-24-21-18-20-19-17-13-13-10.  “Hurtin’ Me” by Stefflon Don & French Montana moves 14-11, which overtakes “Instruction” to become Don’s biggest hit.  Well, bigger.  She’s only had two.

15.  Chris & Kem – “Little Bit Leave It”

Just what the world needs – a single by two contestants from Love Island, the ITV2 show in which people go to an island looking for a mayfly tabloid career love. The track promotes their spin-off show, Chris & Kem: Straight Outta Love Island, a two-parter in which they performed their very own rap track at Ministry of Sound.  Apparently the track is based (very loosely) on something they did on the main show along with fellow contestant Marcel Somerville, who knows about this stuff because used to be in Blazin’ Squad.  Given all that, the record is better than you might expect – which is to say, it’s not exactly good, but it’s not a completely phoned-in novelty cash-in either.

It was a midweek release and it’s here overwhelmingly on sales – increasingly a sign that your audience is either older, or coming from people who don’t normally pay much attention to music.  On a pure sales chart it would be number 3 – but that’s on the strength of a mere 12,000 sales, which is as good an illustration as any of why the chart is making the shift to a streaming world.

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran rebounds from 34 to 19 now that it’s officially a single.  “Silence” by Marshmello featuring Khalid is up from 26 to 20.  And “Finders Keepers” by Mabel featuring Kojo Funds jumps 29-21.  “Man’s Not Hot” by Big Shaq is up 30-23, which is unusual staying power for a viral comedy hit.  “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B jumps 37-24.  And finally we hit another new entry…

38.  Khalid – “Young Dumb & Broke”

That’s the same Khalid who’s already at number 9 on Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” and at number 20 on Marshmello’s “Silence”, but this is his first hit under his own power.  It’s had some middling success internationally, though it did make number one in New Zealand.  I’m surprised it hasn’t done better, it’s pretty good.

40.  Post Malone – “I Fall Apart”

This is an album track from last year, re-entering after a video of a live performance went modestly viral.  They’re going to stick it out as a proper single because, well, why not?  It gives him the unusual distinction being number 1 and number 40 at the same time, which I’m sure has happened before, but I’m not going to try and figure out when.

On the album chart, it’s a much more busy week.

  • “Now” by Shania Twain at number 1.  This is only her second number one, the other being “Come On Over” back in 1998.  She hasn’t even released an album since 2004.  Single: “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed”.  (It doesn’t start well, but it was growing on me by the end.)
  • “Visions of a Life” by Wolf Alice at 2.  Their second album winds up in the same place as the first, thought it was close.  Single: “Beautifully Unconventional”.
  • “Live at Pompeii” by David Gilmour at 3.  Exactly what it sounds like – David Gilmour doing a live show in the Pompeii Amphitheatre.  Supposedly it’s the first show with an actual public audience at that venue since 79AD.  (Pink Floyd made a film there in 1971, but without an audience.)   Sample track: “Run Like Hell”.
  • “Tell Me You Love Me” by Demi Lovato at 5.  That’s her highest position for an album (just).  The single “Sorry Not Sorry” is at number 28 this week.
  • “Younger Now” by Miley Cyrus at 8.   Miley Cyrus’ last album, “Bangerz”, went to number 1 in 2013, but the imperial phase may have passed for her.  The lead single “Malibu” got to number 11, but title track “Younger Now” stalled at 54.
  • “Scream” by Michael Jackson at 9.  This is, supposedly, a Hallowe’en-themed Michael Jackson compilation.  Really.  It’s got “Scream”, and “Torture”, and “Ghosts”, and, er, “Dirty Diana”.  The only “original” track is this mash-up.
  • “The Best of Feeder” at number 10.  Self-explanatory, really.  Let’s go for “Come Back Around” from 2002.
  • “Road Songs For Lovers” by Chris Rea at number 11.  It’s been five years since his last album, and this is his highest position for a studio album since 1998.  Single: “Last Train”.
  • “Piano” by Benny Andersson at number 12.  So It’s Come To This: Benny from Abba releases a pop classical piano album, with covers of his own material and a few new instrumentals.  Single: “Thank You For The Music”.
  • “A New Career in a New Town – 1977-1982” by David Bowie at 19.  An 11-CD compilation of Bowie’s Berlin period.  The Bowie estate have put the video for “Be My Wife” on YouTube, so let’s go with that.
  • “Desire” by Hurts at 21.  The synthpop duo’s fourth album, and diminishing returns are apparent – the albums reached 4, 9, 12 and 21, in that order.  Single: “Ready To Go”.
  • “Happy Accidents” by Jamie Lawson at 23.  His previous album got to number 1 on the strength of the hit single “Wasn’t Expecting That”, but he’s never really followed that up.  Single: “Can’t See Straight”.
  • “Girl From The North Country” by the Original London Cast at 28.  Girl From The North Country is a play featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, a play, not a jukebox musical, a play.  Alright?  It’s a play.  Single: “Tight Connection to my Heart”.
  • “Back to Blues” by Black Stone Cherry at 29.  Bit generous to include this on the album chart, at six songs and twenty minutes – even the band regard it as an EP.  No video, so here’s the album link on Spotify.
  • “Disstracktions” by KSI at 31.  Another 20-minute EP – hmm.  The title is self-explanatory.  Single: “Little Boy”.
  • “Time’ by Milburn at 33.  Indie band from Sheffield re-forming after a nearly ten year hiatus.  First time round, they got to number 32 once.  Single: “Nothing for You”.

Bring on the comments

  1. K says:

    Hurts gets diminishing returns because… you could not fall more perfectly into the sophomore album curse. They took their name way too seriously and made the ultimate pretentious edgelord album.

    But they’re not actually very good at songwriting, so it just revealed how bad most of the songs were. The first album was just edgy enough to make the songs work, but album 2 forced them to reverse course so hard that it’s all bloodless happy pop now that doesn’t even qualify as a guilty pleasure.

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