{"id":3967,"date":"2017-12-09T20:07:57","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T20:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3967"},"modified":"2017-12-09T20:07:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-09T20:07:57","slug":"charts-8-december-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=3967","title":{"rendered":"Charts &#8211; 8 December 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Oh, here we go. \u00a0Christmas time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. \u00a0Ed Sheeran &#8211; &#8220;Perfect&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/817P8W8-mGE\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In case you were in any doubt that Ed Sheeran would like to be Christmas Number One please, here&#8217;s the audio for the Beyonce version, now on YouTube with snowfall throughout. \u00a0It&#8217;s not an especially\u00a0<em>good<\/em> version of &#8220;Perfect&#8221;, mind you &#8211; Ed Sheeran trades in unassuming sentimentality, and there&#8217;s something wonkily incongruous about Beyonce wrestling with his run-on sentences. \u00a0But here it is anyway.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->This is Ed Sheeran&#8217;s fourth number one, following &#8220;Sing&#8221; and &#8220;Thinking Out Loud&#8221; in 2014, and the interminable run of &#8220;Shape of You&#8221; at the start of the year. \u00a0&#8220;Perfect&#8221; got to number 4 as an album track back in March and would probably have stayed on the top 100 ever since, if it wasn&#8217;t for the fact that they changed the chart rules in July to limit an act to three concurrent hits. \u00a0Now re-promoted as a single &#8211; and it does have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2Vv-BfVoq4g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proper video too<\/a>, which is also big on the snow &#8211; it&#8217;s got a pretty good shot of staying there until Christmas. \u00a0It&#8217;s only got to last three weeks, after all. \u00a0Meanwhile, the album climbs back to 2. \u00a0It&#8217;s been out for 40 weeks now and has still yet to drop below 6.<\/p>\n<p>Even though she&#8217;s probably responsible for putting it over the top, the Beyonce version is officially an alternative take (it&#8217;s not the one used in the video, after all), so the chart company doesn&#8217;t give her a credit. \u00a0We&#8217;ll see how long that lasts. \u00a0It\u00a0<em>would<\/em> have been her sixth UK number one, following &#8220;Crazy In Love&#8221; (2003), &#8220;Deja Vu&#8221; (2006), the Shakira collaboration &#8220;Beautiful Liar&#8221; (2007), &#8220;If I Were A Boy&#8221; (2008), and her guest vocal on Lady Gaga&#8217;s &#8220;Telephone&#8221; (2010). \u00a0Which means, yes, it&#8217;s now been seven years since Beyonce had a number one single.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. \u00a0Rak-Su featuring Wyclef &amp; Naughty Boy &#8211; &#8220;Dimelo&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iqweAdD3DLw\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This is the\u00a0<em>X Factor<\/em> winners&#8217; single, which means it came out halfway through the chart week &#8211; so number 2 isn&#8217;t bad at all. \u00a0Rak-Su are only the second band to win; the others were Little Mix, who were assembled from solo auditionees. \u00a0These guys actually auditioned as a band.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that their record is coming out this far from Christmas would be a clear indication on its own that they&#8217;re re-thinking the winner&#8217;s single as a gimmick. \u00a0But the change of approach goes further. \u00a0This isn&#8217;t a maudlin cover for people to buy at supermarket checkouts; it seems to be a <em>bona fide\u00a0<\/em>attempt to launch the band\u00a0with one of their own songs. \u00a0&#8220;Dimelo&#8221; is a stab at the 2017 sound of Latin pop, which means they keep mentioning Cuba, Puerto Rico and Shakira, even though they&#8217;re from Watford. \u00a0But it&#8217;s genuinely decent, and much more like the sort of thing that used to be held over for the first &#8220;proper&#8221; single by an <em>X Factor\u00a0<\/em>winner. \u00a0This thing\u00a0could plausibly have charted on its own merits.<\/p>\n<p>God knows where they dug up Wyclef Jean, who hasn&#8217;t charted since his guest appearance on &#8220;Hips Don&#8217;t Lie&#8221; in 2006, and hasn&#8217;t had a hit as a lead artist for over fifteen years. \u00a0It&#8217;s been a while since we were hearing regularly from Naughty Boy either; &#8220;Runnin&#8217; (Lose It All)&#8221; reached number 4 in 2015, and then you have to go back to 2013 for another hit.<\/p>\n<p>The Spotify Christmas playlists are in full force, as\u00a0<strong>&#8220;All I Want For Christmas Is You&#8221; by Mariah Carey<\/strong> climbs 22-5, matching its peak from last year. \u00a0<strong>&#8220;Last Christmas&#8221; by Wham<\/strong> climbs 29-6, its highest position since it was first re-issued back in 1985. \u00a0And what do you know&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. \u00a0The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl &#8211; &#8220;Fairytale of New York&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/j9jbdgZidu8\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here we go again. \u00a0Originally a number 2 hit in 1987, a festive staple, and now returning to the top 10 for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Let You Down&#8221; by NF<\/strong> climbs 16-13, and&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>16. \u00a0Band Aid &#8211; &#8220;Do They Know It&#8217;s Christmas&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bjQzJAKxTrE\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Band Aid&#8217;s 1984 famine fundraiser has\u00a0<em>not<\/em> been a regular feature this far up the charts in recent years &#8211; in fact, it hasn&#8217;t been this far up the chart since its reissue in 1985 &#8211; which does suggest that there&#8217;s a shift going on in the streaming market.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21. \u00a0Shakin&#8217; Stevens &#8211; &#8220;Merry Christmas Everyone&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZeyHl1tQeaQ\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Are you spotting a theme? \u00a0This was the Christmas Number One in 1985, and it&#8217;s been returning fairly regularly in the digital era; it got to 17 last year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24. \u00a0Wizzard &#8211; &#8220;I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZoxQ4Ul_DME\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(Yes, that is the video. \u00a0No, I don&#8217;t know why the still looks like that.)<\/p>\n<p>Originally a number 4 hit in 1973 &#8211; and not even Wizzard&#8217;s biggest hit in their heyday &#8211; this one comes back every year. \u00a0It got to 23 last year. \u00a0That&#8217;s all the Christmas singles for this week, but there are more hovering further down the top 75 which must have a decent shot. \u00a0On the other hand, there\u00a0<em>was<\/em> a surge of Christmas listening on Spotify right at the start of the month, which was caught by this week&#8217;s chart, but might not be sustained for the whole run-up to Christmas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Decline&#8221; by Raye featuring Mr Eazi<\/strong> climbs 34-28, and &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>29. \u00a0Pink &#8211; &#8220;Beautiful Trauma&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EBt_88nxG4c\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The title track from her last album, now promoted to a single. \u00a0For some reason the previous single &#8220;What About Us&#8221; rebounds 36-31 at the same time. \u00a0Seems a strange time to try and promote a regular single but it could benefit from a clear run in the post-Christmas lull. \u00a0The album rebounds to 4.<\/p>\n<p><strong>39. \u00a0Louis Tomlinson &#8211; &#8220;Miss You&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/inZzcTXYowY\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Another entry in the genre of lesser One Direction solo singles (sweary category). \u00a0Louis Tomlinson&#8217;s chart record reads like the work of a song title creation robot armed with only ten words: &#8220;Just Hold On&#8221;, &#8220;Back To You&#8221;, &#8220;Just Like You&#8221;, and now &#8220;Miss You&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>On the album chart:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>&#8220;The Thrill of it All&#8221; by Sam Smith\u00a0<\/strong>returns to 1 for a second week (after a three week hiatus at 2).<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Songs of Experience&#8221; by U2<\/strong> at 5. \u00a0Yes, it&#8217;s a studio album &#8211; a companion piece to &#8220;Songs of Innocence&#8221;, in theory. \u00a0U2 are in the phase of their career where they sell albums to an ageing fanbase who want more of the same, and that&#8217;s what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nd_EYo96lmo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;You&#8217;re The Best Thing About Me&#8221;<\/a> delivers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Ibiza Classics&#8221; by Pete Tong, the Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley<\/strong> at 17. \u00a0You liked the orchestra-assisted covers album of rave classics earlier in the year? \u00a0Here&#8217;s another one for Christmas. \u00a0Sample track: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ydOAGxiFvnI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Sing It Back&#8221;<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;On Air&#8221; by the Rolling Stones<\/strong> at 27. \u00a0Basically a collection of BBC sessions from the 60s. \u00a0Sample track: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LCUxr-nyx5Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Come On&#8221;.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Orchestrated&#8221; by Midge Ure<\/strong> at 33. \u00a0Exactly what you&#8217;re imagining (and wondering who would commission such a thing) &#8211; an orchestral retrospective of the career of Midge Ure.\u00a0 Sample track: <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kggGcPdMKJk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Vienna&#8221;<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Life &amp; Soul&#8221; by Tommy Blaize<\/strong> at 34. \u00a0The lead singer on\u00a0<em>Strictly Come Dancing<\/em>. \u00a0Single: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=g9h26wzhtxY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Let&#8217;s Stay Together&#8221;<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8220;Versatile&#8221; by Van Morrison<\/strong> at 38. \u00a0It&#8217;s an album of jazz standard covers. \u00a0Sample track: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hPFjPxUiZ_M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;I Get A Kick Out Of You&#8221;<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oh, here we go. \u00a0Christmas time. 1. \u00a0Ed Sheeran &#8211; &#8220;Perfect&#8221; In case you were in any doubt that Ed Sheeran would like to be Christmas Number One please, here&#8217;s the audio for the Beyonce version, now on YouTube with snowfall throughout. \u00a0It&#8217;s not an especially\u00a0good version of &#8220;Perfect&#8221;, mind you &#8211; Ed Sheeran trades [&hellip;]<\/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,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3967","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=3967"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3969,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3967\/revisions\/3969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}