{"id":3280,"date":"2015-12-28T23:20:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T23:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3280"},"modified":"2015-12-28T23:20:54","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T23:20:54","slug":"charts-december-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3280","title":{"rendered":"Charts &#8211; December 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, Christmas. \u00a0That wonderful time of\u00a0the year when the chart abandons\u00a0even the faintest pretence of making sense.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s try starting with the\u00a0month&#8217;s number ones, and then have a look at\u00a0the rest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4, 11 and 18 December 2015 &#8211; Justin Bieber, &#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oyEuk8j8imI?rel=0\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--more-->The\u00a0astonishing newfound popularity of Justin Bieber &#8211; who, let&#8217;s not forget, went over five and a half years before getting his first number one &#8211; continued apace, with the third number one from his current album. \u00a0It&#8217;s a decent enough break-up song, recognisably co-written\u00a0by Ed Sheeran,\u00a0but more surprising is that it replaced his own single\u00a0&#8220;Sorry&#8221; at number one. \u00a0This makes him only the fourth act to have consecutive number one singles in the UK. \u00a0The others were Elvis Presley (at the start of\u00a02005, when they were\u00a0doing a weekly reissue programme of his old hits),\u00a0John Lennon (in 1981, for the obvious reason), and the Beatles (in 1963).<\/p>\n<p>As I&#8217;ve said before, the fact that Bieber\u00a0finds himself in that sort of company is partly an artefact of the fact that this sort of thing\u00a0is\u00a0easier in the digital era, when\u00a0every track on your album can be a single simultaneously. \u00a0In fact, technically, this isn&#8217;t a single at all, just a very popular album track. \u00a0But the digital era has been going for years now and nobody&#8217;s done it before. \u00a0It&#8217;s still a\u00a0pretty remarkable success.<\/p>\n<p>But\u00a0it&#8217;s the Christmas number one that the public care about, and Justin Bieber is not the Christmas number one.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25 December 2015: The Lewisham &amp; Greenwich NHS Choir &#8211; &#8220;A Bridge\u00a0Over You&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T8qHXlShfUQ?rel=0\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>What we have here is an amateur choir of\u00a0National Health Service staff doing a version of &#8220;Bridge Over Troubled Water&#8221; with a bit of Coldplay thrown in. \u00a0This\u00a0was actually released two years ago, but it&#8217;s the beneficiary of this year&#8217;s\u00a0now-traditional campaign to get something\u00a0to be the Christmas number one. \u00a0It&#8217;s a charity record, but\u00a0it&#8217;s also\u00a0unambiguously intended as a\u00a0political statement of support for the NHS. \u00a0A policy wonk might argue\u00a0about how meaningful a statement that is, since pretty much everyone in the country at least\u00a0<em>claims<\/em> to be in favour of the NHS. \u00a0But the subtext is that it&#8217;s an anti-government record. \u00a0You don&#8217;t stick an Aneuran Bevan quote in your video, and give interviews about how the campaign is designed to boost NHS morale at a difficult time, if the aim is to agree with David Cameron.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, records like this get to number one\u00a0largely on the strength of the message &#8211; people buy them\u00a0as a badge of allegiance and because\u00a0they like the story of getting the single to number one. \u00a0Judged\u00a0purely as a piece of music, this is a superior amateur choir doing &#8220;Bridge Over Troubled Water&#8221;, which is perfectly fine\u00a0but hardly the stuff number ones are made of. \u00a0At time of writing, the NHS Choir single is already down to 37 on the iTunes\u00a0chart, which means pretty much nobody is buying it\u00a0on the back of the publicity it received from getting to Christmas number 1.<\/p>\n<p>The introduction of streaming to the chart makes\u00a0life much more difficult for this sort of record, and in fact Justin Bieber was ahead for much of the week, until he decided to tell his fans to go and buy the NHS record instead. \u00a0Bieber&#8217;s support for the NHS prompted some surprise from certain corners of the press, mainly those who didn&#8217;t previously\u00a0realise he was Canadian. \u00a0The\u00a0choir would\u00a0have taken it anyway,\u00a0on the basis of publicity in the second half of the week, but it might well have been closer.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the more interesting thing, though, is that Justin Bieber was in the running for Christmas number one at all, with a record that had already been on the chart for six weeks and spent three of them at number one. \u00a0Where was the competition? \u00a0The answer, put shortly, is that nobody else wanted to go up against the NHS Choir or the\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> winner&#8217;s single &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WvzjdkY_tlk\" target=\"_blank\">a cover of &#8220;Forever Young&#8221; by Louisa Johnson<\/a> &#8211; which everyone assumed would be a massive seller.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Johnson was always going to be at a disadvantage\u00a0compared to previous winners, for several reasons. \u00a0First, there&#8217;s the streaming effect, which is starting to be significant. \u00a0Winners singles work as the climax of a narrative, and that&#8217;s not something that drives people to listen on Spotify. \u00a0And second, there&#8217;s the change in the chart week, which now runs from Friday to Thursday. \u00a0But the <i>X Factor<\/i> single is still coming out on\u00a0Sunday night. \u00a0And because of its wonky audience, it\u00a0still sells a lot of copies\u00a0on CD at supermarket checkouts. \u00a0Those didn&#8217;t hit the\u00a0shops until very late in the day.<\/p>\n<p>Even so. \u00a0Johnson had first-week sales of\u00a0around 39,000 copies, compared to over 200,000 for last week&#8217;s winner. \u00a0With negligible\u00a0streaming, that was enough to get her to a dismal number 9. \u00a0The <i>X Factor<\/i>\u00a0is still releasing its singles in the week before Christmas to avoid another Rage Against The Machine fiasco, but in its second week out, the\u00a0single dropped to 14. \u00a0By\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> standards this is a deeply embarrassing flop.<\/p>\n<p>Frankly, part of the blame has to go to whoever chose &#8220;Forever Young&#8221;, which is just not a very good song for this purpose. \u00a0But the bigger deal is that\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> simply isn&#8217;t the force it once was, and it&#8217;s probably on its way\u00a0out. \u00a0This year, the\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> single wasn&#8217;t kept off number one by campaigns,\u00a0or even by the\u00a0timing issue. \u00a0The bottom line is not enough people cared, and that has never been a problem for the show before. \u00a0Simon Cowell can live with being hated, but he may find it much tougher to simply be ignored.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, the upshot is that the run of Christmas number ones which are either reality TV or charity singles, or campaigns against them,\u00a0enters its twelfth year. \u00a0(The last Christmas number one which was none of the above was the Donnie Darko version of &#8220;Mad World&#8221; in 2003.) \u00a0Ironically, the NHS Choir are both a charity record\u00a0<em>and<\/em> a reality TV record, since\u00a0they were formed by Gareth Malone for the BBC2 series\u00a0<em>Sing While You Work<\/em>, and the track was originally recorded back then.<\/p>\n<p>Also charting in December:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/8SeRU_ZPDkE\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;You Don&#8217;t Own Me&#8221; by Grace featuring G-Eazy<\/a><\/b>, which has been floating between 4 and 6 all month. \u00a0Grace Sewell is an Australian singer and already had a number 1 with this oddity\u00a0back home. \u00a0It&#8217;s a\u00a0cover, with\u00a0a cut-up production on the verses, but lurching into a faithful original arrangement for the chorus. \u00a0It works surprisingly well. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/JDUjeR01wnU\" target=\"_blank\">The original was by Lesley Gore<\/a>, and got to number 2 in the US in 1963 (stuck behind the &#8220;I Want to Hold Your Hand&#8221;).\u00a0For some reason it wasn&#8217;t a hit in the UK, where her best known single is\u00a0&#8220;It&#8217;s My Party&#8221;. \u00a0It was covered on\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em>\u00a0the previous week, which\u00a0must have helped.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/qj5zT4t7S6c\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Sweet Lovin'&#8221; by Sigala featuring Bryn Christopher<\/a><\/strong>, with three weeks in the top 10, peaking at 3.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/RqQGUJK7Na4\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Shut Up&#8221; by Stormzy<\/a><\/strong>, which got to 8 (beating the\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> single) when he promoted it as an anti-<em>X Factor<\/em>\u00a0campaign type thing. \u00a0This is actually the B-side of &#8220;Wickedskengman 4&#8221;, which got to number 18 in September, but since people are now downloading it as a standalone track, it registers as an entry in its own right.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/MqNcqyeQNCE\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;History&#8221; by One Direction<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0currently at 8 and climbing. \u00a0This is their\u00a0farewell single before their, ahem, &#8220;hiatus&#8221;. \u00a0It scraped 37 as an album track in November, so technically it&#8217;s a re-entry.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yXQViqx6GMY\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;All I Want for Christmas\u00a0is You&#8221; by Mariah Carey<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Back again, as it has been every year since 2007. \u00a0This time, it got to 11.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/j9jbdgZidu8\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Fairytale of New York&#8221; by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl<\/a><\/strong>, which is in similar\u00a0territory. \u00a0It got to 13 this year, which is actually pretty typical for it.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/tS26xch5U24\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Coming Home&#8221; by Sigma featuring Rita Ora<\/a><\/strong>, which peaked at\u00a015 after Ora did it on\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> (where she&#8217;s now a judge).<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/BMaT2nGaEVg\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Girl is Mine&#8221; by 99 Souls featuring Destiny&#8217;s Child &amp; Brandy<\/a><\/strong> at 15 (and climbing). \u00a0A mash-up\u00a0of\u00a0&#8220;Girl&#8221; by Destiny&#8217;s Child (number\u00a06 in 2005) and &#8220;The Boy is Mine&#8221; by Brandy &amp; Monica (number 2 in 1998). \u00a0The\u00a0Destiny&#8217;s Child bit is a sample, but Brandy &amp; Monica&#8217;s bit has been re-recorded by\u00a0Brandy, which is why\u00a0Monica is missing from the\u00a0artist credit. \u00a0And yes,\u00a0apparently it is harder to clear Brandy &amp; Monica samples than Destiny&#8217;s Child. \u00a0Who knew?<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/E8gmARGvPlI\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Last Christmas&#8221; by Wham<\/a><\/strong>, which managed number 18 this year.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/VbfpW0pbvaU\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Stitches&#8221; by Shawn Mendes<\/a><\/strong> at 25 and climbing. \u00a0Canadian singer\u00a0making his chart debut. \u00a0This has been a\u00a0hit internationally, so it&#8217;s likely to do well in the January\u00a0release void.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ZeyHl1tQeaQ\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Merry Christmas Everyone&#8221; by\u00a0Shakin&#8217; Stevens<\/a><\/strong>, the Christmas number 1 of 1985, but not one\u00a0of the reliable\u00a0top 40 perennials. \u00a0It gets to 26 this year, largely because he was promoting a\u00a0new version.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/IM_H4CAAYxc\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day&#8221; by Wizzard<\/a><\/strong>, making 27 this year.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gKwP_13qo-I\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Driving Home for Christmas&#8221; by Chris Rea<\/a><\/strong>, at 29, which is its highest chart position to date. \u00a0(It\u00a0failed to chart on first release in 1988, but did get to number 33 in 2007 when Iceland used it in an advert.)<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bvC_0foemLY\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Sugar&#8221; by Robin Schulz featuring Yates<\/a><\/strong>, peaking at 28. \u00a0It&#8217;s not much, but\u00a0it&#8217;s a follow-up to\u00a0last year&#8217;s &#8220;Prayer in C&#8221;, so it gets Schulz off the\u00a0official one-hit wonder list. \u00a0Francesco Yates is a singer from Toronto, and the track is based on a sample from <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6rgStv12dwA\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Suga Suga&#8221; by Baby Bash<\/a>, a modest international hit from 2003 (though not in\u00a0the UK).<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bjQzJAKxTrE\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Do They Know It&#8217;s Christmas&#8221; by Band Aid<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; the original, obviously &#8211; making 38.<\/li>\n<li><b><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AO7Suyq3xJA\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Light It Up&#8221; by Major Lazer featuring Nyla<\/a><\/b> enters\u00a0at 40 on the Christmas chart, having been climbing from the lower reaches for a few weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, Christmas. \u00a0That wonderful time of\u00a0the year when the chart abandons\u00a0even the faintest pretence of making sense. Let&#8217;s try starting with the\u00a0month&#8217;s number ones, and then have a look at\u00a0the rest. 4, 11 and 18 December 2015 &#8211; Justin Bieber, &#8220;Love Yourself&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3303,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3280\/revisions\/3303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}