Shall we try doing this in reverse order for once, like on a proper chart countdown?  Why not?

36.  Jessica Wright – “Dance All Night”

Oh yeah.  That’s why not.

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Quite an odd one this week, with the Sunday chart not bearing all that much resemblance to the midweeks for a change.  That’s partly because of a last-minute download campaign, partly because the midweek number one had frontloaded sales that couldn’t last the week, and partly because of some tracks gaining real momentum during the week, including the first ever K-pop record to make the UK chart.

But first…

1.  The Script (featuring will.i.am) – “Hall of Fame”

The run of new entries at number 1 comes to a halt.  Unlike everything around it, this single has sustained its sales – and so it climbs from number 2 last week, to become the Script’s first number one.  Their new album “#3” enters the album chart this week at number 2, which is very confusing.

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We seem to be settling back into the routine of singles entering at number one.  This is the fourth consecutive new entry at number one, and probably the least interesting of the bunch.

1.  Ne-Yo – “Let Me Love You”

This is the lead single from Ne-Yo’s upcoming album, and it’s, y’know, above average, I guess.  It’s also very much a typical single for the year, with an equally typical video, and I’m kind of struggling to think of anything else to say about it.  Ne-Yo obviously rates it rather higher, describing it in his press release as a song that “if taken care of the right way, could help the world.”  By teaching us to love or something.

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The week in which we could have had a very, very odd battle for number one…

1.  Little Mix – “Wings”

Coming soon to a Zumba class near you!

This is the first “proper” single from the winners of last year’s X Factor.  It’s their second number one, following the version of “Cannonball” that was banged out as the winners’ single last Christmas, but this is the first real indication of where their career is going to end up.

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It’s late in the week, but still time enough to get this done!

1.  Sam & The Womp – “Bom Bom”

Ooh, a summer novelty record!  More to the point, a record that’s apparently being used in an advert for Southern Comfort.

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One of the weirdest charts in quite some time, and it’s all the fault of the Olympic closing ceremony.  While the opening ceremony was generally acclaimed as a weird but wonderful tribute to all things British, the closing ceremony – which I watched from a hotel room in Switzerland until I lost the will to live – was essentially a middle aged man sharing his record collection with us.  But if you play music to a large enough audience, some of them will go out and buy it, even if it’s music they’ve heard a million times before.  People are strange that way.

1.  Rita Ora – “How We Do (Party)”

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Bringing us up to date before the middle aged retro-fest on Sunday…

1.  Wiley (featuring Ms D) – “Heatwave”

Second week at the top.  This is in the post immediately below.  Go see it there.  The midweeks and the iTunes chart both indicate that two weeks will be as far as it goes.

We may now begin this week’s theme: new entries having their one week of glory that look set to plunge in the midweeks.

3.  Lawson – “Taking Over Me”

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Well, hello there!

It’s going to take me a little while to get back up to speed with the comics – I’m now about three weeks behind, at least on the books I buy physically.  But in the meantime, let’s get gently back into the swing of things by catching up with the charts.  NB: The really interesting chart is arguably the one after this, which has the effects of the Olympic opening ceremony, but, oh well.  (This Sunday’s chart, which has the knock on effects of the closing ceremony, looks set to be a veritable back catalogue orgy.)

Frankly, there are quite a few records on the next few charts that I haven’t heard yet.  Let’s see if any pleasant surprises await!

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Don’t forget there’s a new podcast up, and it’s just one post down!

Meanwhile, let’s catch up on last week’s chart.  In fact, it’s another relatively quiet week, so this probably won’t take us all that long.

1.  Florence + The Machine – “Spectrum”

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Don’t get too comfortable, this won’t take long.  The week ending 8 July 2012 was utterly dead for new releases, resulting in a chart with only two new entries, both miles down the chart, and with only one major climber (“Pound the Alarm” by Nicki Minaj, jumping 34-16).

1.  Maroon 5 (feat Wiz Khalifa) – “Payphone”

Haven’t we been here before?  “Payphone” was number 1 two weeks ago, it got knocked off by will.i.am’s “This Is Love” (which drops to 3 this week), and now it’s back.  It’s probably not going to manage a third week, though you never know.  Judging from the video, the quality of aim among American gun-users has improved little since the days of the A-Team.  Also, it’s remarkably easy to just run out of a bank besieged by the cops.

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