{"id":134,"date":"2009-12-14T20:25:28","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=134"},"modified":"2009-12-14T20:34:38","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:34:38","slug":"number-1s-of-2009-13-december-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=134","title":{"rendered":"Number 1s of 2009: 13 December 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wasn’t expecting to write another one of these until next week, when the X Factor<\/em> winner’s single is virtually guaranteed to become the Christmas number one.\u00a0 But, as it turns out, after two weeks the Peter Kay charity single has run out of steam enough for a normal record to snatch a week at the top.<\/p>\n

If you think that winning singles from talent shows don’t really count, then this is effectively the last “proper” number one of the year.\u00a0 And in a happy symmetry, it’s from the same woman who dethroned Alexandra Burke back in January to start the year.<\/p>\n

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As if you need telling, that’s Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 It’s the lead single from “The Fame Monster”, officially a reissue of her album “The Fame” with a second CD of new material.\u00a0 Given the price point and the number of new songs, they could just about have gotten away with billing it as her second album, with a free copy of “The Fame” thrown in.\u00a0 Then again, it’s hardly a massive departure from her previous singles (unsurprisingly, since it’s by the same producer), so maybe this is the best way of presenting it.\u00a0 Albums are an artificial format in the digital age, anyway.<\/p>\n

This is her third number one of the year, following “Let’s Dance”<\/a> in January and “Poker Face”<\/a> in March.\u00a0 That equals the Black Eyed Peas’ record.\u00a0 But then, they only had three singles out in 2009 (plus will.i.am making a guest appearance on a Cheryl Cole track).\u00a0 Lady Gaga managed a total of seven top 40 hits this year, the others being “Paparazzi” (number 4), “Lovegame”<\/a> (number 19), “Chillin'”<\/a> (with Wale, number 12), and the album track “Telephone”<\/a> (number 30).\u00a0 Turns out there’s a seven-minute version of the video to “Paparazzi”, so let’s see if it makes any more sense that way.<\/p>\n

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Well, maybe a little bit. Still, I’m all for pop stars who want to make videos as absurd as that. It’s what they’re for<\/em>, after all.<\/p>\n

Seven hits in a year is a lot – actually, she could still make it eight, depending on when the single version of Beyonce’s “Videophone” is released, because she’s on that too.\u00a0 It’s definitely been her year.<\/p>\n

We’re not completely getting away from X Factor<\/em> with this record, because it did climb to the top after she plugged it on the Sunday night show.\u00a0 However, that’s following a seven week climb up the charts – this is a genuine hit rather than a one-week hype job.\u00a0 And it’s not as though the X Factor<\/em> results show is a guarantee of chart success.\u00a0 The other guest on the show that night was Janet Jackson, and her new single has tanked, entering this week at number 73.<\/p>\n

This aside, it’s been a quiet time on the singles chart.\u00a0 Everyone in their right mind is either waiting for this week (for the Christmas chart) or January (when things get back to normal).\u00a0 But here are the other records to chart over the last two weeks…<\/p>\n