Charts – 18 November 2012
I haven’t had a chance to properly read most of this week’s X-books yet, so in the meantime, here’s this week’s chart post to be getting on with.
The number 1 single from September. It’s back because of the overspill of hype from their new single, which we’ll come to in a bit.
37. Example – “Close Enemies”
This is the follow-up to “Say Nothing”, which reached number 2 in September. Considering that it’s had over a month of promotion, number 37 is hugely weak (and since it was 31 in the midweeks, it’s a fair bet it won’t be going further).
Charts – 11 November 2012
You may or (more likely) may not be interested to know that this is the week that the Official Charts Company chooses to deem the sixtieth anniversary of the chart. Strictly speaking, it’s a bit of a fudge. The current “official” chart, which is official in the sense that it’s recognised by the British record industry, actually dates from 1969. Before that, there were various unofficial and frequently contradictory charts. But because of the obvious desirability of having a list of “official” number 1s stretching back to the dawn of rock and roll, the OCC recognises two of the earlier charts as being retroactively official. So what actually happened sixty years ago was the first appearance of the NME chart – though even that’s a rather grand description of a bloke ringing round some record shops and preparing a top 12 (it was meant to be a top ten, but the sample size was so low that there were several ties).
But hey, from small acorns and so forth.
40. Pink – “Try”
Charts – 4 November 2012
Charts – 14 October 2012
Looks like we’re back in a phase of new entries going straight to number one each week. Rihanna’s “Diamonds” turns out to have been a bit front-loaded, dropping to 4 in its second week out. It’s a grower, though, so perhaps it’ll have a resurgence.
Before we get to the chart proper – yes, the Rolling Stones did release a new single last week, and no, it’s not on the charts (even though it’s surprisingly decent for a Rolling Stones single made after 1980). That’s because it’s being offered as an advance download for people pre-ordering their upcoming compilation album, and as such, it’s ineligible for the chart. Judging from the iTunes chart, if it had been eligible, it would probably have been somewhere in the 30s.
On with the chart.
40. Skrillex (feat. Sirah) – “Bangarang”
This has been hovering around the lower end of the chart for ages and never seems to entirely go away.
This was covered by Carolynne Poole on the first X Factor live show. Slightly surprising to see it in the chart, considering she came last. Minaj’s current single “Va Va Voom” is a non-mover at 20.
26. Disclosure (feat. Sam Smith) – “Latch”
Charts – 7 October 2012
It’s a podcast week, so don’t forget to check out the podcast thread one post below! And now…
Psy only managed one week at number 1, largely because he had the misfortune to run smack into a strong week for new releases – his sales actually went up from the previous week. He winds up at an eminently respectable number 2, and he looks set to hang around the top 10 for a few weeks yet.
Meanwhile…
37. Adele – “I Can’t Make You Love Me”
Charts – 30 September 2012
Let’s stick with the countdown format, shall we? But before we start, a brief diversion.
You may have heard in the news that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s apology for breaking an election pledge on tuition fees two years ago was “racing up the charts” in an autotuned remix. This was, of course, complete nonsense. The record exists – and it does indeed have 1.8m views on YouTube – but at no stage was it actually selling in any significant quantities. Naturally, this didn’t stop plenty of journalists from talking about it as if it somehow mattered. Its chart position is number 104. And to put that into perspective, there’s a knock-off cover version of Lucy Spraggan’s “Last Night” at number 74.
35. fun. (feat Janelle Monae) – “We Are Young”
A re-entry after two weeks spent at number 42. Nothing to see here, move along.
Charts – 23 September 2012
Charts – 16 September 2012
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.
Charts – 12 September 2012
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.
Charts – 2 September 2012
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.
