{"id":502,"date":"2010-09-21T17:00:46","date_gmt":"2010-09-21T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=502"},"modified":"2010-09-20T19:07:27","modified_gmt":"2010-09-20T18:07:27","slug":"charts-5-september-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=502","title":{"rendered":"Charts – 5 September 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing my slow catch-up on the singles chart…<\/p>\n

It’s September. It’s the start of the winter TV season. And you know what that means. Yes, The X Factor<\/em> is back. \u00a0Brace yourselves for the usual bombardment of tie-in singles, charity releases, records by acts vaguely associated with previous years, and songs plucked from back catalogue obscurity by a high-profile amateur cover version.<\/p>\n

Take this week’s number one, which is “Please Don’t Let Me Go” by Olly Murs<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0(It’s not embeddable, so you’ll just have to watch it on YouTube, if you want to hear it.)<\/p>\n

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Olly Murs was the runner-up in last year’s X Factor<\/em>. \u00a0I haven’t checked the release schedules, but if past years are any guide, 2009 winner Joe McElderry should be releasing his own follow-up single shortly, to coincide with the start of the live finals. \u00a0Murs, who was also signed by Simon Cowell after the series, gets to release his debut to coincide with the start of the auditions. \u00a0It all works out nicely.<\/p>\n

When last we saw him, Olly was a nice young chap with a bit of stage presence, more of an entertainer than a great singer, who was being positioned as someone in the mould of early Robbie Williams. \u00a0Now that he’s a “proper” recording artist, “Please Don’t Let Me Go” isn’t bad, as these singles go. \u00a0It’s a bouncy little thing, with the mildest conceivable hint of reggae, which should probably have come out in midsummer, and will have picked up decent airplay on the MOR stations. \u00a0Fair enough, that’s his natural audience.<\/p>\n

The single only lasted a week at number 1, but it’s still hovering in the top 5, so it’s done alright.<\/p>\n

Thwarted by the reality show juggernaut,\u00a0“Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry<\/a> <\/strong>ends up\u00a0at number 2, thwarted by the reality show juggernaut. \u00a0(Again, it’s not embeddable.) \u00a0In fact, its sales have held up better than Murs’ – it’s currently sitting at number 3. \u00a0It’s her eighth UK hit, and the fourth in a row to reach the top 3. \u00a0Not sure about this one, to be honest. \u00a0It’s less gimmicky than many of her singles, but not especially catchy either. \u00a0Still, she’s trying to broaden her range, at least a little bit.<\/p>\n

Now the next one is interesting. \u00a0It’s another talent show single, but it’s not X Factor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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“You Took My Heart” by Pepper & Piano<\/strong>, at number 7, is\u00a0a song from Must Be The Music<\/em>, an X Factor<\/em> clone commissioned by Sky One. \u00a0MBTM<\/em> is meant to be\u00a0X Factor<\/em> with a bit more credibility. \u00a0The judges are Dizzee Rascal, Jamie Cullum and Sharleen Spiteri. \u00a0Some actual bands made it past the auditions. \u00a0And generally, it seems to be looking for real songwriters.<\/p>\n

All of the songs performed on the live semifinals were also recorded in the studio, and released online immediately after the show. \u00a0They’re not charity singles, they’re just straightforward download tracks. \u00a0(And yes, apparently the acts are getting paid for these.) \u00a0X Factor <\/em>doesn’t do this, for the very good reason that it would give away which act is winning the public vote. \u00a0If that had been public knowledge last year, for example, there would have been no tension going into the final at all, because everyone would have known that Joe McElderry’s win was a foregone conclusion. \u00a0All of the MBTM<\/em> semifinalists had singles out, and this is the one that made the top 10. \u00a0Rather gives away who was winning that week.<\/p>\n

But Must Be The Music<\/em> is on Sky One, which has a far smaller audience than ITV, so to be honest they probably weren’t expecting to shift many copies. \u00a0The appearance of a MBTM<\/em> track in the top ten is unexpected, to say the least. \u00a0And there’ll be more of this in the next couple of charts. \u00a0Given that Sky One has nowhere near the market clout of ITV, it’s nice to see that you can put a complete unknown on a minority TV channel, and people will actually go and buy the record if you make it easy enough.<\/p>\n

The other new entries this week:<\/p>\n