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Official Singles Chart on 19/10/2018

19 October 2018 - 25 October 2018

The Official UK Singles Chart reflects the UK’s biggest songs of the week, based on audio and video streams, downloads, CDs and vinyl, compiled by the Official Charts Company. The UK Top 40 is broadcast on BBC Radio 1, the Top 100 is published exclusively on OfficialCharts.com. View the biggest songs of 2024 so far.

 

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etin

3

Cliff Richard #30, take that #35 in real chart.
What is their official chart position?

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Dan Love

4

in the sales (not real and increasingly irrelevant) chart cliff richard is #30
in the official (real) chart he has not charted

in the sales (not real and increasingly irrelevant) chart take that are #35
in the official (real) chart they have not charted

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Foxes

0

Some stats to back up https://disqus.com/by/manwoohoo/:

Last week, with 836k actual single sales, was the 21st week in 2018 where the total single sales have been under 1m, and was the 18th consecutive week. It was the 7th consecutive week where total single sales have been under 900k, and sales were below same-week, last-year sales for the 271st consecutive week. Streams, on the other hand, made up just over 15m chart sales last week, and now make up over 95% of total chart sales each week in the UK. I don't have figures for this week yet, but it will almost definitely just be more of the same.

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etin

-1

sales chart can be irrevelant but it's real. Because people buy and give money!

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Eoin Sioda

1

What? No "Loyal to Me" by Nina Nesbitt? Lunacy. That song deserves to be #1. It's just so catchy and sounds like it could be a mega hit. Instead we get the likes of Calvin Harris and Drake with their uncatchy tunes. Very disappointing if I say so myself.

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I.B.

0

I wasn't so sure why that had to clock a sixth week at number one. It's always dance or R&B taking over.

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Eoin Sioda

0

LTM is infectiously catchy. If the radio stations were playing it enough, it'd easily be in the top 10 by now, and deservedly so.

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I.B.

0

Yawn at number one. Sorry, but I was vouching for Lady Gaga to steal Dave and Fredo's thunder.

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Nischal Joshi

1

Hope Empty Space makes the chart next week. Hopefully near the top of the chart.

T

Ted

0

James Arthur is terrible lol, he's never released a good song

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Conner Harper

1

Love james is going back to his original stuff!

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Piran

5

My thoughts & observations on the UK charts as always…

- ‘Promises’ by Calvin Harris & Sam Smith rebounds to #1 on the singles chart for a sixth non-consecutive week at the top! It was a close one though; leading by just 1,026 combined sales. Notably, it’s #1 overall without being at the top of either the sales nor streaming components.

- ‘Funky Friday’ by Dave ft Fredo might have dropped 1-2 this week, but with 7.13 million plays over the past week, it’s still this week’s most streamed song.

- ‘Promises’ also remains at #1 on the airplay chart for a seventh consecutive week!

- With ‘Shallow’ rising 6-4, it now becomes Lady Gaga’s highest charting song in seven years (since ‘Born This Way’ hit #3 in 2011).

- ‘Venom’ by Eminem debuts at #1 on the national YouTube chart with 2.59 million views over the past seven days, thanks to the release of the movie of the same title. I think ‘Girls Like You’ could sneak at least more one week at the top there thanks to a Volume 2 version recently being uploaded.

- LITTLE MIX FT NICKI MINAJ – WOMAN LIKE ME (#5)
Given the hype of this over the past month, I’m not at all surprised that this was the top debut of the week (in fact, I’m shocked it’s not even higher). Anyway, it’s so good to see this group back! The track appears to start with this one string kind of tempo & just when you think the instrumentation is going to be unnoticeable, it builds up to this dance-style drop which carries a lot of energy & flavour, even if those chipmunk-like vocals effects kind of killed it a bit for me. That being said, I’m a sucker for the girls’ powerful & sassy delivery throughout the song (which is a reasonable fit given the lyrics), despite not being so impressed by Nicki Minaj’s rap part, she brings wat less attitude than I know she can. This only fuels my excitement for LM5 even more though, so I’m giving this a light 8/10 for now!

- KODAK BLACK FT TRAVIS SCOTT & OFFSET – ZEZE (#11)
Ugh… I’m incredibly frustrated that this nearly debuted in the Top 10! The thing is, Travis Scott & Offset don’t even sound all that bad here, but Kodak Black being on the song at all (let alone as a lead artist) just ruins it so much for me. The latter has recently been released from county jail in America & claims he’s changing for the better, so why does he brag about when he committed fraud or being cocky in general for that matter? For as much as I want to believe he’s becoming a better man, my gut instinct just isn’t believing it. This song could also indicate the recent beef between him & 6ix9ine based on the title (think back to: ‘Keke’, ‘Bebe’ & ‘Fefe’). Even then, the boring chimes make the instrumentation some of the most basic I’ve heard in rap music in recent weeks & probably very easy to replicate. It might not be a complete failure due to the featured artists, but it’s still by no means good & I’m surprised I had this much to say about it! Yeah, this is bad, 3/10.

- BAD BUNNY FT DRAKE – MIA (#13)
When I looked at the two names attached to this song & what most of their singles in 2018 have been like in terms of quality, I wasn’t exactly excited to hear it. That said, I definitely underestimated how addictive this would be & how much fun the song in general is. Of course, I’ve always considered Bad Bunny to be one of worst vocalist in mainstream Latin music since he had his big breakthrough in English speaking countries a few months ago, but he sounds way more engaged & memorable in this than his other hits. However, Drake sounds even better still, with his chilled singing & rapping in Spanish; his soulful delivery is always a side of him that I wish we saw more of & even then, he does a better job at it in Spanish than in English. My only criticism is that the lyrics might be too overprotective for the most part, but between this & ‘Taki Taki’, I’m glad reggaeton is continuing to stick around, because this is a strong 7/10 for me!

- JESS GLYNNE – THURSDAY (#24)
There’s no surprise that this has been pushed as the next single from ‘Always In Between’, as I knew as soon as I heard it that it would be a highlight of the album! The biggest reason for that is definitely Jess Glynne herself, who sounds flawless even after having vocal surgery twice, showing off her incredible range & even opening this song with an a cappella! Ed Sheeran’s song-writing on this is also a huge positive too, as Jess focusses on self-care; an important message. The acoustic guitar strums work wonders again, all while the song itself sounds raw & relatable, all while being fairly simple. Some of the lines do stray off-topic with some weird details, particularly at the start of the second verse, but that’s only a minor nit-pick when the song overall is this beautiful. For me, it’s a solid 8/10!

- CADET & DENO DRIZ – ADVICE (#40)
This seems to be getting some support from Radio 1XTRA lately & I’ve got really mixed opinions on this song after the first couple of listens. It didn’t take me long to see that both artists have decent rap skills & I was especially a fan of the chemistry & banter the two of them have between each other. That said, the production falls into a similar lane as that of ‘ZEZE’, so if you already read my review of that song above, you'll know I'm not a fan of it at all. As for the lyrics, they might be generic in the sense that a majority of the song is about a girl catching the attention of each artist, but Cadet giving advice to Deno Driz who doesn’t take it seriously is a somewhat intriguing & rather unusual pairing, even if I still have my doubts whether or not it works for what it’s trying to achieve. Again, I’m not sure where I fall on this as a whole, so as a rating… I’m thinking a 5/10.

- On the albums chart, ‘Always In Between’ becomes Jess Glynne’s second #1, debuting at the top spot with 36,500 combined sales. It’s the first album by a British female artist to reach #1 this year.

- The rest of the Top 5 is: ‘A Star Is Born’ [Soundtrack] (1-2), ‘The Greatest Showman’ [Soundtrack] (4-3), ‘Blood Red Roses’ by Rod Steward (3-4) & ‘Kamikaze’ by Eminem (stationary at #5).

- Looking ahead to next week, these songs could enter the Top 40 for the first time: ‘Empty Space’ by James Arthur, ‘Sunflower’ by Post Malone & Swae Lee, ‘Kiss & Make Up’ by Dua Lipa & BLACKPINK, ‘Ruin My Life’ by Zara Larsson, ‘When’s The Party Over’ by Billie Eilish, ‘Moves’ by Olly Murs ft Snoop Dogg, ‘It’s Not Living [If It’s Not With You]’ by The 1975, '1999' by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan, 'Trip' by Ella Mai & maybe even more.

- Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you all have a good weekend. :)

- My latest Crown Note chart: http://crownnote.com/charts/piran-delves/pirans-top-40-98

SM

Sebastian Melmoth

12

Nothing to say about Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Toy or Barry Harris' great records. And the wonderful thing about these bands is that I'm able to get up so close to see them live that I can see their footwear. When can you say that about Drake?

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Foxes

1

Hey Piran! I don't mind seeing 'Promises' go back to #1, but I definitely would've preferred 'Funky Friday'. I like that it's still holding it's own, though, and manages to only be marginally behind. I'd still say that this is a massive achievement for Dave. 'Promises' climbed in sales this week, so it looks like we'll have a few more weeks of tough competition between it, 'Funky Friday' and 'Happier', since it won't be going onto ACR just yet. Other than those 3 tracks, 'Shallow' and 'Woman Like Me' could be contenders for #1 if they improve on streams, or it could be something completely new.

I thought that most of the debuts this week were at least decent, even if they weren't all great. For me, 'Woman Like Me' is definitely one of Little Mix's better tracks, with a strong 7/10, even though I think it would've been better without Nicki on it. 'ZEZE' was one of the weaker entries of the week, since I'd only give it a light 6/10, but 'MIA' was probably my favourite entry of the week with a solid 8/10. 'Thursday' and 'Advice' were both only decent for me, both getting a solid 6/10.

I like seeing Jess Glynne top the albums chart, but I really hope that 'Dua Lipa' can reach #1 next week with the release of the Complete Edition. I do think it's much more likely that 'A Star Is Born' will be #1, though. I also like that 'Shape of You' stays in the Top 100 for a 93rd consecutive week, making it the sole 2nd longest consecutive run in the Top 100 ever, behind only 'Thinking Out Loud's 95 weeks.

It looks like 'Sunflower' will probably have the biggest debut next week, since it's currently the highest of all new tracks on Spotify at #12. With the release of Khalid's 'Suncity' EP, 'Better' looks like it'll climb, currently up to #13 on Spotify, while the 2nd biggest new track on Spotify is the title track of that EP; 'Suncity' is at #29. 'Empty Space' is the biggest of them all on iTunes at #5, but it's only at #88 on Spotify so I don't think it'll have a big debut. Probably down near the bottom of the Top 40.

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Piran

1

Hey Gameskiller! :)

Yeah, the competition for #1 will be very interesting to watch over the next few weeks. 'Shallow' seems secure atop the sales chart right now, but the biggest song on Spotify right now (that still being 'Funky Friday') only had 430k streams yesterday, which seems like a fairly low figure for what we've been seeing in 2018.

Based on this weekend, here's how I see the Top 5 ending up next week (I'm pleased that my last
prediction was reasonably accurate!).

#1: Calvin Harris & Sam Smith - Promises (=)
#2: Marshmello & Bastille - Happier (+1)
#3: Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow (+1)
#4: Dave ft Fredo - Funky Friday (-2)
#5: Rita Ora - Let You Love Me (+1)

'Woman Like Me' has a chance at replacing 'Let You Love Me' at #5 though. 'Funky Friday' could also very well end up above 'Shallow' for #3.

Neither 'Suncity' nor 'Empty Space' look like they'll make the overall Top 40 now, so 'Sunflower' looks like it might be only song to manage a Top 40 debut on Friday.

As for the quality of the debuts we got this week, it seems like we mostly agree, except for 'Thursday' (which I liked a fair bit more than you) & 'ZEZE' (which it seems you tolerated far more than I did).

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Foxes

0

Yeah, Spotify figures are pretty low right now, since the #1 tracks usually seem to have around 500k streams. At the moment 'Funky Friday' is getting around the same amount of streams as 'River' was getting near the start of the year while it was #1, though both tracks could've done better on Apple Music than they did on Spotify. 'Funky Friday', at least, hasn't left #1 on Apple Music since it got there near the start of last week. It is getting much more than the Spotify #1 did on the very first day of the year, at least, where 'River' got only 297k streams to be #1.
That does look like a very believable Top 5; the only change that I would make is swapping 'Funky Friday' and 'Shallow'. It looks like 'Funky Friday' will at the very least stay in the Top 3 on all 3 big streaming services for the rest of the week, while 'Shallow' is down at #9 on Spotify, #17 on Apple Music and #12 on YouTube. I could even see 'Shallow' dropping a place or 2 if it doesn't recover over the rest of the week.
'Sunflower' looks pretty good for a Top 20 debut at the moment, currently at #13 on Spotify, #16 on Apple Music and #3 on YouTube, but you might be right in thinking that it'll be the only Top 40 debut next week. Nothing else really looks to be doing good enough anywhere to make it. That said, 'nASSty' by D-Block Europe had a big #8 debut on YouTube and is climbing on both Spotify and Apple Music, currently at #81 on the former and #36 on the latter, so if anything else is going to make it I think it'll be that.

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Piran

1

Yeah, I guess if 'Shallow' continues to take the losses it's been having so far since Friday, it'll definitely end up below 'Funky Friday', even despite sales for it being stronger than ever before. 'Let You Love Me' looks to have passed 'Woman Like Me' for now, although I could definitely see the latter rebounding over the course of the next month given how stable it is across the board right now.
I actually haven't heard 'nASSty' yet, but it could very well get a Top 40 debut if it isn't too frontloaded on YouTube & continues to gain in other streaming services. Either way, we're in for a quiet week ahead I reckon.

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Foxes

2

I think that 'Woman Like Me' will probably rebound into the Top 3 when Little Mix's next album releases, but think it'll drop a little over the next few weeks. I can't really see it leaving the Top 10, though.
I wouldn't really recommend listening to 'nASSty' if I'm being honest. I went to listen to it just after posting my last comment and I really wasn't a fan. Probably a strong 3/10 to light 4/10 at best. Knowing that I usually like hip-hop songs more than you, you'll probably like it even less than I did. I kind of hope that it doesn't gain enough to chart in the Top 40.

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Piran

0

Yeah, I agree.
'Woman Like Me' is fairly stable on sales, even if it is still on discount, but the bigger thing to watch out for is it growth on streaming throughout the week, which should be further fuelled next week thanks to the release of the official video.
Okay, I won't plan to check it out in that case, unless it does make the Top 40 today & I have to review it, but it's not a good sign if even you're not a fan of it & you generally like most hip-hop songs in the chart currently.