Well, I told you that Jason Derulo wouldn’t be number one for long.  Having sneaked a week at the top during a scheduling lull, he drops to number three this week.  And so, it’s back to business as usual, with yet another grime act making the leap from an underground following to the singles chart.

That’s “Pass Out” by Tinie Tempah. His real name is Patrick Okogwu, and he’s a Londoner with Nigerian parents.  Now, 2009 saw a string of grime MCs booting their underground credentials into touch at the first opportunity in a (largely successful) effort to cross over to the mainstream.  “Pass Out” sticks rather closer to its roots; it’s more electro, really, but it’s certainly not a shameless leap to pop music.

Officially, this is his debut single.  But like a lot of acts who’ve come up through this root, he’s been churning out videos on YouTube for a while now.  Some of this stuff is only barely underground; here’s the official video for “I’m Hot”, a track from a mixtape he self-released last year, which even has a guest appearance by M.I.A.  Frankly, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a “proper” single.

He’s pretty polished, and he’s managed to make the transition to a wider audience without jettisoning all pretence of credibility.  He could go far.

Also this week…

• Naughty Boy presents Wiley featuring Emeli, “Never Be Your Woman”, at number 8.  Wiley is the godfather of the grime genre, and this is his second top 10 hit.  This is based around “Your Woman” by White Town (a surprise number 1 in 1997), an excellent single which in turn was based around a sample from 1930 crooner Al Bowlly.
• Boyzone, “Gave It All Away” at number 9.  A 19th hit single for the Irish boy band who were a poor man’s Take That in their heyday, and who have reformed only to be a poor man’s Take That again.  It’s written by Mika, which is at least an attempt to break from the format… but it ends up just sounding like UB40 instead.  If it doesn’t progress further, it’ll be the second-lowest chart placing of their career.
• Gramphonedzie, “Why Don’t You” at number 12.  Serbian novelty single, apparently big in the clubs.  It’s basically a remix of “Why Don’t You Do Right” by Peggy Lee, recorded in 1942.
• Daisy Dares You featuring Chipmunk, “Number One Enemy” at number 13.  Speaking of UK rappers who’ve completely abandoned any pretence of underground credibility, Chipmunk notches up his sixth chart hit with an incongruous guest appearance on this bubblegum power pop single.  “Daisy Dares You” is 16-year-old Daisy Coburn, the subject of a minor record company bidding war last year.  I quite like it, actually.
• The Black Eyed Peas, “Rock That Body” at number 23.  You know… I don’t hate this.
• Mary J Blige, “I Am” at number 32.  Her 31st chart credit since 1993.
• Mumford & Sons, “The Cave” at number 37.  Second hit single for the folk group; they’ve sold a lot of albums.  It’s a bit of a stomper once it gets going.
• The Glee Cast, “Defying Gravity” at number 38.  You know the deal.