Official Singles Chart on 16/12/2016

Hi Martin, thanks for spotting this - we'll look into it now.

How high is Rockabye in the US?

It debuted at #100 last week, and hopefully, it'll rise. Lots of European hits work like this, taking a while to get to the US. Most don't stick though unfortunately.

It's up 100-90 this week despite 11 J. Cole songs debuting higher, and it's doing well on American radio. I'm pretty optimistic for its chances.

Problem is, I thought the same about lots of European hits like "Lush Life" by Zara Larsson, or especially "This Girl" by Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners. The latter got pretty high, and then dropped like a rock and ended up missing the year-end list.

'Fix Factor'

I don't know what happened, they started off strong at the start of the week then all of a sudden, it's like people just stopped buying and supporting the single halfway through. Strange.

Good review. I just want to know if your Disqus account is working fine? It isn't showing replies or upvotes or anything? It says I haven't commented today. I clicked your name and didn't see your latest comment either.

Hey Jstar! I really liked your review as well. :)
I'm sure you're very pleased to see 'Million Reasons' become Lady Gaga's 18th Top 40 hit in the UK. :D
Yeah, I'm having the exact same problem as you; no notifications on my feed, even though I know people have upvoted or responded to my posts today... :/

Well I'm glad it just isn't me lol. I was like what the heck lol. I am happy of course for Gaga. I know that Taylor and Zayn will for sure debut in the top 10 in the U.S though. So I know you look forward to that. Well hopefully Disqus will have it fixed shortly. Hope your evening is going well. It is still cold today. But I am feeling a little better today.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing! It's good to know it's a general problem & not just myself... LOL
Well I'm still hoping that IDWLF can debut in the Top 5 on the Hot 100, due to it's strong sales (Kworb predicted 188k on Monday) & the strong start on radio (#25 on Pop Songs). Like you said, YouTube will definitely boost streaming for it next week as well. :)
I just did some Christmas shopping today & have a quiet evening, so everything is fine with me! Well I also hope Disqus is fixed by tomorrow, but if you have to wait a while getting a response from me, you know why! :P haha
I'm pleased to hear that you're feeling better than you were yesterday. You'll be pleased to know that Sunshine Gal should be joining us shortly too. ;)

You never knew how difficult it would be without the notifications page. You actually have to wait and see if you get a response. That is boring haha. Too bad they didn't have that lyric video last week. It definitely would of helped them debut higher in a number of countries. But sales are still good and radio is off to a great start.

I'm glad your evening is quiet. That is cool Sunshine Gal is suppose to come. But it will definitely be harder to converse until they get the problem fixed.

Also, the 'Fifty Shades Darker' movie isn't released until Feb. 10, so there's a chance IDWLF could get another big boost eventually. We should also be getting an official video soon hopefully. :)
Incredibly, I'm starting to get notifications coming through again... weird, isn't it? :P LOL
Anyway, 'Rockabye' actually debuted at #100 on the Hot 100 this week. Do you think it could eventually become a big hit in your country like 'Rather Be' did? ;)

I saw that it showed one of your newer comments. But it is coming in at a snails pace. The movie will definitely boost it aswell as a video. I doubt Rockabye could be that big as Rather Be. Rather Be was basically huge in every country. I would say Rockabye could reach the top 40 maybe.

Well mine are all updated now, so hopefully yours will be soon as well. :)
Regarding 'Rockabye', I was also very pleased to see it become Clean Bandit's first #1 in Australia recently too! Another interesting observation I found out about 'Rockabye' (which I'll edit in to my review) is that it is the longest #1 for a group in the UK charts in 2016, passing Major Lazer's 'Cold Water' & Lukas Graham's '7 Years'. :D
Regarding next week's Official Charts, any song could be #1 due to Christmas, but I'm currently predicting Matt Terry. Most X Factor winner's singles only chart in the UK & Ireland, but last year was the only time that one didn't go #1. Matt debuted at #3 this week, but that was only after five days after his single being released.
Oh if you're interested, I posted Top 10 predictions for how my personal charts will look for next Wednesday. You can find them beneath my current Top 40 chart. ;)

Everything is good now. Minor technical difficulties I guess lol. I saw that Rockabye went number 1 in AUS which is cool. That is cool it was the longest number 1 for a group in the U.K this year.

I know the X-Factor is huge in the U.K. It only lasted 3 years in the U.S though. But it did produce Fifth Harmony. I will check out your predictions later. But I saw you had I don't wanna live Forever at number 1 on your current chart which is cool.

Also with 'Rockabye', it's the second longest #1 of 2016 by any act. The longest is Drake's 'One Dance', which has a huge lead of 15 weeks at #1 over here. I read somewhere that the Official Charts Company are thinking of changing the streaming to sales ratio to 150:1 from 100:1, which would thankfully increase the importance of sales once again. Speaking of which, 'Million Reasons' is #13 on the Sales Chart over here this week! :)
Well with me being a Swiftie, the #1 debut on my personal chart was inevitable to be honest. Oh regarding Sunday, it looks like Lady Gaga had a couple of songs that peaked at #6, so I wonder which one you'll choose...

hey mate!! thanks as always for putting this in your recommendations....i hope you got my last comment thru my notifications...you're still not getting the same problem, right?

No one is probably going to top 15 weeks for a while lol. Well if they gave more importance to sales then it would change the chart a little and allow there to be more movement.

I definitely am not like some people who think streaming shouldn't be included. It is the most popular way people consume music in 2016. You have to include it or your chart would be inaccurate lol. But I don't mind them reducing streaming a little. That is nice about Million Reasons. It is still top 10 in sales in the U.S. Hopefully after the end of the year radio freeze, radio will finally start playing it a lot so it can finally take off. Lady Gaga will not be number 1 on my 6 peaking list but will make an appearance with 1 song.

Yeah, your last comment appeared in my notifications fine! :)
Anyway, what do you think of the new UK charts today? All I can is I'm very impressed that 'Rockabye' is still #1, considering the huge competition it had this week. :D
So did you get a chance to hear the new songs from Zayn & Louis then? ;)

hey young man!! lots of bulls and blackhawks for me...but we lost to minnesota last night >-< been watching also the golden state warriors, steve kerr is their head coach. part of my bulls' dream time and a college legend here in tucson. what's up with you?

i did hear the zayn single...didn't care for it too much, sorry mate :/. louis' single is better, but i do prefer him and zayn back in the group. oh mate, i'm gonna sign off in about 15 min. but i'll be back after my lunch and my practice walk. but i also got the bulls tonight :)

so, where did zayn and tay-tay enter @?

I agree that streaming should be included, as that matches today's general music consumption like you said, but I'm pleased that sales are potentially becoming more relevant again. I'm pleased that there are no recurrent rules or radio inclusion into the UK charts though.
I don't think 'Million Reasons' can out-peak 'Perfect Illusion' on the Hot 100, but I think it will have much better longevity. Well Taylor Swift is going to be #1 in my list for Sunday, but I'll let you guess what song it will be with! :) LOL
Also, considering Lady Gaga will be performing at the Super Bowl, which songs do you think she'll be singing at the event?

Hey Sunshine Gal. I'm sorry. My notifications page is not getting any replies right now. But I hope your doing well. I remember Steve Kerr on the Bulls though. He hit a few big shots.

Well I know IDWLF isn't for everyone. To be honest, I like the song, but it'll probably fall from #1 to just inside the Top 5 on my personal chart next Wednesday. It's a very good collaboration, but I've heard better from Tay-Tay to be honest. Zayn & Taylor debuted at #16 over here this week.
Anyway, my notifications are unfortunately delayed again, but I saw your message on FB. Chat to you soon Sunshine Gal! ;)

Dang it. Disqus is not working for me again lol. I actually have to get back to work since i have to work late on Friday's. I will answer some of your questions later on. See you later on Piran.

Same here, but I guess we just have to accept the problems with technology... LOL
Anyway, I hope it's working for both of us later. I'll chat to you soon Jstar & enjoy the rest of your day buddy! ;)

hey mate, let me know if you got this comment ;)

Matt Terry is about to be knocked off No.1 on i-tunes

Hmm... I can respond to this comment fine now. :P
Anyway, someone else on this thread said that the lead on iTunes that Matt Terry has (this was explained in my review from earlier) is much less than I thought. We'll see what happens over the weekend, but now it wouldn't surprise me if 'Rockabye' was the Christmas #1 of 2016. To be fair, it does have a good message about single mothers, so some people could definitely relate to that around this time of year.
Anyway, I'll definitely keep you updated. There are definitely going to be a lot of debuts & climbers in next week's Top 40 over here!

Who do you think will be Christmas #1 next week then? :)

hi... i really dont like x factor no1 but at least this one is real christmas possible no1

Yeah, I could definitely see 'When Christmas Comes Around' being Christmas #1 as well at the moment. If it does, it will be interesting to see if it falls further than 'A Bridge Over You' by the NHS Choir did last year (that was 1-29 if I remember correctly).

hey mate! hopefully you'll get this comment ;) can you let me know if you do?

sorry mate, i have no idea who matt terry is...a british pop artist?

I can respond to you on the comments thread for this article, but your last post still isn’t coming through in my notifications or home page feed.
Anyway, try replying to this comment if you get it! :)

hey mate, are you able to get this comment?

Yeah, I can respond to you fine now. :)
On another note, what song do you think will be Christmas #1 over here next week? I'm thinking probably 'Rockabye', but 'When Christmas Comes Around' might still have a chance.

woo hoo!! success LOL! i dunno how your guys' chart works ;D i guess it'll be the same #1 as this week. oh mate, who the heck is matt terry?

Finally... :P LOL
Anyway, it'll be seven weeks at #1 for 'Rockabye' if Clean Bandit are atop the Official Charts again next Friday! :)
Matt Terry won the 13th series of the X Factor last weekend & his winner's single (debut single) is called 'When Christmas Comes Around', which was co-written by Ed Sheeran. Last year was the only time that the X Factor winner's single didn't go to #1 in the UK. ;)

Clean Bandit should walk it they near top of i-tunes and spotify, rag'n'bone man is suffering from lack of spotify plays and Matt Terry is stuck at No.22 on spotify.

i know right!! so any new news on any of our mates? i'm watching highlights from the bulls 1998 season *they're 6th championship* i can't watch the bulls today without kicking their fannies :D

hey if you wanna join our chat, just go directly on the uk article and post on there. me and piran are able to post our comments without any problems.

Yeah, 'Rockabye' has a slight lead on Spotify & is currently #3 on iTunes, but it seems to be stationary on both charts right now.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if Clean Bandit are #1 for the rest of 2016. I wonder if 'Rockabye' can be the next 'One Dance'...

If you're talking about 1D, Louis debuted at #2 this week with 'Just Hold On', Zayn entered at #16 with IDWLF, while Niall Horan is almost out of the Top 100 with 'This Town' already.
Well to have three members of the group out of five in the charts at the same time shows how popular 1D really were over here! ;)

well, that's good...niall made the top 10 over there right? any news on take that and westlife?

Yeah, Niall peaked at #9 over here, but I think he was only in the Top 10 for one week.
Take That & Westlife aren't making any music at the moment, but I'll keep you updated if they do.
Also, did you see my Top 10 early predictions for my Crown Note charts for next week? I posted them beneath my current Top 40. :)

hey mate, just left a comment under your chart ;). i'm surprised the zayn single didn't make the #1 spot ;D. so, in british football, do you guys play in indoor arenas? nothing outside, right?

Yeah, I just responded to you there. :)
British football is mostly played in stadiums. Some minor matches often happen on outdoor fields. :D
Any, you didn't like IDWLF if I remember correctly? It should be debuting around #5 or #6 on the Hot 100 on Monday, based on the figures that Billboard recently posted! ;)

yeah, i didn't think it was that good ;D, i like louis' single better...but that's good for them to still debut in the top 10. any other new entries on the hot 100 this coming wk?

Louis is probably going to debut around #40 on the Hot 100 for Monday I think. Lots of J Cole songs should also be entering due to the release of his new album. :)
Do you think either Harry or Liam will release any solo music soon then?

oh i wanted to mention, american football (some are indoor stadiums) the guys play in all the weather elements ;). so, all that cold front in the upper part and east coasts of the u.s., if it's an outdoor stadium, the guys play no matter what the weather is like ;).

well, i do wish our mates liam and harry the best, but get ready for the u.s. challenge ;). and i wouldn't take the jt comparisons too seriously. the comparisons will be there ;). i would advise them just to have fun with it, not too many big expectations and whatever happens, happens.

Yeah, the UK has some indoor stadiums. British football is often played in all weather conditions, except extremely dangerous ones, such as: heavy snow, torrential rain or thunderstorms. :P
Anyway, I'm going to sign off for about an hour or two, but hopefully you'll be on again later. Oh can you ask our Billboard friends (Jstar, Ines, etc.) to respond to me on this article as my Disqus notifications are still not working... :/
Chat to you soon Sunshine Gal! ;)

sure mate, i'll see if i can reply to them ;) they're all on the hot 100 article? i'll talk to you in a lil' bit unless i'm on my lunch break...and you guys don't play in heavy rain or snow?!! over here, it don't matter :D

Hey Sunshine Gal! I'm back on for another couple of hours now. :)
Oh have your notifications updated yet? Mine are still not working that well.
So American football is played in all types of weather? You mean they don't even delay games if it gets extremely windy or if there's a big storm?? We would never have matches going on in that type of weather... :P LOL
So didn't you say that you were getting The Weeknd's new album? Please tell me what you think of 'Starboy' when you've heard all of it! ;)

I don't think so their streams are only in the upper 300,000's Drake was in the 500,00/600,000s, it will only take a song one get a bit of popularity like Little Mix or a surprise Friday drop song to overtake it on streams. 300,000 is quite low for a song not to be caught.

The only non-mover? [mind explodes]

Hopefully not, Rockabye is actually worse than One Dance IMO, just that One Dance had a stupid run

I doubt Rockabye will be a hit in the US, it's too housey and dancey for them

Yeah, I was surprised to see that as well, especially considering how stagnant the charts have been in 2016.

EDM sometimes does well on the Hot 100, but not really tropical or house like you said. Oh regarding the question you posted to another commenter on this thread, 'Rockabye' is only at #100 in the US right now.

EDM only when by an American act, Calvin Harris, Avicii or David Guetta

Yeah, that's mostly true. 'Rather Be' did peak at #10 in the US though.

Hey Jstar! I hope your weekend is going well. :)
So are your Disqus notifications working fine yet? Mine are loading sometimes, but only temporarily. :/
Anyway, I'll see you on the BB200 article later. (if Billboard don't post it too late!) LOL
I'm excited for your #6-peaking songs list & got my choices ready! ;)

Oh yeah, that was pretty mad, but I think if songs are REALLY big in the UK they automatically do well in the US. This Girl being another example

I still can't believe 'This Girl' didn't get to #1 in the UK though, considering it was leading the midweek update charts three times & got blocked by 'One Dance' each time... :/

Hey Piran! So did you hear that they'll change the formula next year for the Official Charts Singles so that 150 streams = 1 sale? I'm pretty sure it was a necessary change to reduce the influence of streams, given their growth in the UK. Now if only BB had enough courage to make such a change in the U.S. They've kept that formula that's obsolete, since streaming has close to double the last two years. It could easily be 500 streams = 1 sale.

See you later in the BB 200 article and Hot 100 one! :)

Yeah, I did read about yesterday & mentioned it in my conversation with Jstar below.
Well I'm very happy about that to be honest; the charts were very stagnant in 2016 & the #1s lasted for too long. I think the rest of the Official Chart commenters should also be pleased with that news. :)
So do you when the last time Billboard changed their chart formula was? I think the last time I checked (a few weeks ago) it was 120 streams = 1 sale. Is that still correct?
Anyway, my Disqus notifications still don't seem to be working, so I have to comment directly on the articles now... :/
See you back on the BB200 article then! ;)

hey mate! hope you'll get this post ;) and yes, u.s. football players play in all weather conditions...no matter if it's raining, snowing, hot and humid ;). that's why we have the real football :P well, i can't buy anything now, remember, still learning to walk again ;). when i'm ready then yes i'll get his album.

Hey Sunshine Gal! :)
Yeah, I can get replies from you here, but not on the current Hot 100 article unfortunately, so sorry if I miss a response from you. :/
Well American football must get quite dangerous in extreme weather conditions then. How did your walking go today then? ;)
I'll see you over on the new BB200 article if you're going to be on for a while!

hey mate! yeah, what's up with the hot 100 article? i couldn't reply to ines & techfan even you! and yes, american football really tests your skills as an athlete. and remember, that's 100 yards across the field to run up and down ;). no matter the weather condition, they always play :). my walking is getting better, haven't done my practice walking yet, i'll do that during my lunch break in another hr or so, def. want us to catch up on our chatting :).

ok, i'll see you on the 200 article :) oh and to answer your question about which throwback i liked the best about our lm mates, it'd be a tie with jade's and perrie's bdays. when jade was born, 'i will always love you' would be locked @ #1 for those thrilling 14 wks which i enjoyed tracking and perrie's bday, when perrie was born, i was all over the hot 100 by then! :) by that time, i loved checking out the chart each week and during her birthday janet jackson and swv were doing really good over here, 2 of my fave pop acts during that time ;)

IKR, that's what about the mainstream

If there's any justice it will be Greg Lake's I Believe In Father Christmas, but STILL hasn't charted!

It's sad that streams now get songs to number one, the music industry is in a really bad place now, It would be better to have a sales chart, and a stream chart.

Yes, I agree. In the US, in addition to the Hot 100 Singles chart, there are also the Digital Songs Sales, Streaming Songs and Radio Songs (they take that into account which I'm surprised they don't in the UK), the three component charts that get blended into the Singles chart. That way, it is possible to determine, relatively speaking, what is causing a song to have success in a particular week.

Unfortunately, for the Official Singles chart it is impossible to do so due to the use term "combined sales" in the weekly chart highlights article. I don't think they even cite the actual sales nor actual streaming numbers most of the time. One thing that's probably good that's happening next year is the change to increase the number of streams to get an equivalent sale from 1000 to 1500 which hopefully will result in less stagnant charts.

There is a sales chart and a streams chart, just click on the blue boxes that say so at the top and bottom of the page. Just a pity that the sales chart isn't the priority one these days

They change it because consumption of ad-based streams has been on the rise, meaning the value of the average has suffered the effects of inflation. The changes to the formula are merely an acknowledgement of that new value; changing it to 500 right now would be arbitrary.

So, for example, I saw on YouTube, "PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)" by Piko-Taro (you know, that really weird meme), as an advertisement, and it would contribute to streams for that song?

Because of streams, "Panda" by Desiigner got to #1 in the United States.

Oh that sounds kind of good but won't make too much of a difference

Unfortunately, I think the growth of streaming has been so large that any kind of change is long overdue. And yes, due to the lateness of the change, it won't have the desired effect, which is preventing what happened with One Dance being at #1 for so long and so few #1 songs overall for the year.

No, streams collected by this chart are strictly of the audio variety, like Spotify. This means that any video-based services, especially YouTube, don't contribute to the chart.

Hey Piran! So I guess your looking forward to the Christmas #1 to be revealed. I looked at the list from years past and I don't believe I know many of them (probably know half or less. Are some of those covers of a well-known song?). Probably don't even know a good amount of the artists mentioned.

Hey Techfan! I hope your week is going well. :)
Yeah, I'm very excited about the Christmas Charts. I've got the Top 40 on the radio right now & the charts are going to update on this website in just over an hour from now. :D
Well from this century, most of the Christmas #1s are the winner's single from the X Factor, which are indeed usually covers. However, some of them are either originals by choirs for charity or campaigns to get novelty songs to #1. A majority of these songs were never hits in the US though, hence why you don't know most of the artists.
I'll keep you posted about the #1 later today though! ;)

Thanks for the info! Probably the most unexpected #1 in the list is Rage Against the Machine. Among the #1s from familiar acts, I don't think I've ever hear Earth Song. Finally, I see why the Slade Xmas song is considered to be a classic in the UK and why it's able to re-chart during the season.

You're welcome! :)
Well the Christmas #1 of 2009 was one of the most interesting & shocking charts of all-time in the UK...
So the winner of the X Factor that year was Joe McElderry (a one-hit wonder in the UK) & his song was a cover of Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb'. It was predicted to be the Christmas #1 that year, but that would be the fourth consecutive year X Factor had got the Christmas #1. So a family set up an online campaign to change that & give another song a chance. The song they chose was Rage Against The Machine's 1991 hit 'Killing In The Name'. It actually worked when they got 500k signatures & 'Killing In The Name' actually got to #1! :D LOL
'Earth Song' is actually one of my favourite MJ songs of all-time & 'Merry Xmas Everybody' is also one of my favourite Christmas songs of all-time. ;)
On another note, how do you feel about 'Starboy' probably being the new Hot 100 #1 next Monday then?

YouTube streams don't count towards the Singles Chart. However, the song did also get a Spotify release in this upcoming tracking week, so that on the other hand will give it a benefit of additional streams counting towards the chart.

Black Beatlesis an okay song and it's a hit, but yes thank god Juju on the Beat is out! What's with all the novelty songs at the moment? Sweatshirt was bad enough!!!!

Actually Clean Bandit are only No.4 in the real chart. The sales chart, while Matt Terry is No.1

Dont give me this BS mate. They are the official number 1 still, they are no 4 on the sales chart FACT

Obviously the X factor winner's single will hit 1 in the sales charts though. I bet that happened last year with flop-machine Forever Young