Yup, we’re definitely in the dead period before Christmas…

1.  Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – “Havana”

That’s five weeks, the longest run since “Despacito” back in the summer.  It’s very close – a mere 1,000 notional sales ahead of Rita Ora – but it’s a fifth week for all that.

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran edges up 4-3, finally beating the peak of its first run from the spring; the “Perfect Duet” version with a weirdly miscast Beyonce came out on Friday, so he’s clearly angling for the Christmas number one.  “Man’s Not Hot” by Big Shaq moves 6-5, and “I Miss You” by Clean Bandit featuring Julia Michaels jumps 11-6 to restore Clean Bandit’s top 10 strike rate and become Michaels’ biggest hit (her own “Issues” only got to 10).  “17” by MK moves 16-10, technically becoming his biggest hit too.  In theory that used to be “Always”, which reached number 12 in 1995, but this does require you to ignore “Push The Feeling On” by the Nightcrawlers, which was basically his record by the time it was remixed for mass consumption.

11.  James Arthur – “Naked”

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I suspect we’re now in the pre-Christmas phase where not much happens – a bit too early for anyone hoping to score in the Christmas period, a bit too late for anyone hoping to get in a regular promotional campaign before the festive break.

1.  Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – “Havana”

Four weeks, and still leading by a comfortable margin.  “Silence” by Marshmello featuring Khalid is up 5-3, and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran finally makes it back to number 4 – its peak from back in March, when it was charting as an album track.  “Man’s Not Hot” by Big Shaq moves 8-6, and “Blinded By Your Grace – Part 2” by Stormzy featuring MNEK jumps 12-7.  Not quite his highest chart position, but it’s getting close.

9.  Selena Gomez & Marshmello – “Wolves”

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Nice quiet week.  We start with…

1.  Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – “Havana”

Three weeks at number one, and there’s not much more to say about that.  If you’re into statistical quirks, you might be interested to note that it’s not number one on the pure sales chart, or on the pure streaming chart; but what it does have is a balance between both sources.   The streaming number one is “Rock Star”, and the sales number one is “Anywhere” by Rita Ora, which climbs 5-2 to become her biggest hit since “I Will Never Let You Down” reached number 1 in 2014.

7.  Eminem featuring Beyonce – “Walk On Water”

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In which three tracks from the same rather dull album all make the top 40, and I am relieved that the rules don’t allow any more.

1.  Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – “Havana”

So low-budget vertical videos primarily intended for Spotify playlists are going to be a thing, then?  Okay, though YouTube isn’t best suited to handle them.  Can’t really complain, since I thought the main video was pretty bloated.  As a visual, I prefer this one.  Anyhow, Cabello gets her second week at number one.

“Too Good at Goodbyes” by Sam Smith (a former number one) rebounds from 7 to 3 on release of the parent album, and “Anywhere” by Rita Ora climbs 11-5.  “Man’s Not Hot” by Big Shaw jumps 20-11 in its seventh week on chart, as the official video seems to have reinvigorated it.  “Wolves” by Selena Gomez & Marshmello edges up a spot to number 15, and Khalid’s “Young Dumb & Broke” moves 19-17. (more…)

Right, this is late again.  I’ll flag up that there’s a Jean Grey review one post down, by the way.  Meanwhile…

1.  Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug – “Havana”

Blimey, a video which takes two and a half minutes to get to the start of the song?  For “Havana”?  Seriously?  Anyway, “Rockstar” is deposed after a four week run.  “Havana” has actually been the top selling track for about a month now, but it’s taken a while for streams to catch up.  It entered the top 40 at the end of August and it’s been in top ten for eight weeks already, which suggests it probably won’t have enough legs to manage a long a run at the top.  I can’t say “Havana” does a great deal for me; it’s serviceable stuff, but nothing that seems especially memorable.

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A veritable barrage of new entries this week… between numbers 30 and 40.

1.  Post Malone featuring 21 Savage – “Rockstar”

First up, “Rockstar” gets its fourth week at number one.  As for the other two Post Malone singles, “I Fall Apart” is a non-mover at 19, and “Congratulations” falls back to 29.  “Silence” by Marshemello featuring Khalid climbs 9-3, and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran moves 11-7 – re-entering the top 10, but still short of its number 4 peak when it was released in advance of the album.  “Finders Keepers” by Mabel featuring Kojo Funds moves 10-8.  And our highest new entry is…

15.  Taylor Swift – “Gorgeous”

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Nearly forgot to cover this one.  Two new entries, the higher one at 33.  Fortunately we’ve got a few videos to round out the post…

1.  Post Malone featuring 21 Savage – “Rockstar”

Three weeks.  And both the other Post Malone tracks climb as well – “I Fall Apart” moves 22-19, and “Congratulations” edges up to 26.  It’s been hanging around the top 40 since mid July and that’s as high as it’s got.  Under current chart rules, you can’t have more than three hits at a time (as a lead artist, at any rate), so it’s entirely possible that some of his other tracks might be getting spillover as well.

“Lonely Together” by Avicii featuring Rita Ora edges up to 4, which makes it his biggest hit since 2013.

5.  CNCO & Little Mix – “Reggaetón Lento”

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It’s a milestone!  “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran finally drops out of the top 40.  After forty weeks.

Meanwhile…

1.  Post Malone featuring 21 Savage – “Rockstar”

That’s two weeks.  There’s a noticeable spillover effect for Post Malone’s other work, as he now has the maximum three tracks in the top 40.  “I Fall Apart” climbs from 40 to 27 this week on the back of its viral exposure, and previous single “Congratulations” climbs to a new peak of 27 in its fifteenth week on the top 40.  The parent album “Stoney” reaches a new peak of 12; it’s been out since Christmas but didn’t reach the albums top 40 until last month.

“Havana” by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug climbs to number 2; it’s the sales chart number one, but that means less and less.

8.  J Balvin & Willy William – “Mi Gente”

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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.

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I’ll warn you now, there’s nothing much happening until we reach the bottom end of the top thirty.

1.  Sam Smith – “Too Good at Goodbyes”

Three weeks now, which is his longest run at the top, overtaking the Comic Relief re-issue of “Lay Me Down” which managed two weeks in 2015.  It’s very marginal, though – his lead was the equivalent of 693 sales – so he probably won’t be there much longer.

And now, a long list of tracks which are climbing…“Rockstar” by Post Malone featuring 21 Savage moves 5-2.  “Havana” by Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug is up 7-4.  “Lonely Together” by Avicii featuring Rita Ora goes from 10 to 8.    “1-800-273-8255” by Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid is up from 17 to 12.  “Hurtin’ Me” by Stefflon Don & French Montana climbs from 20 to 14.  “What Lovers Do” by Maroon 5 featuring SZA… oh, hold on, this one’s got a video now.

18.  Maroon 5 featuring SZA – “What Lovers Do”

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