Official Singles Chart Top 40 on 02/9/2016

Can you imagine if "Top Of The Pops" was still on TV, the same artists on week after week. Can't imagine the viewing figures would be too high

After next week, we'd better be back to having one #1 song per week, because Sia and Melanie C have released new singles and they're #1 worthy!

Where has Bruno Brooks gone and the Top 40 countdown with a song climbing steadily up the charts or a "rare" new entry at No 1. It's all now....by the way I am 46 and a dinosaur but come on ....I use Spotify regularly and also buy albums regularly mainly on vinyl and if you look at that chart it's a breath of fresh air compared to this rubbish! Am I wrong....?

Florence and the machine enter at no 41 in the sales chart but fail to make the top 100 in the stagnant rotted pathetic ageist chart. Why the sarcasm and anger, simply because the now ruined singles chart serves no purpose except for fans of it to moan weekly. They the OCC are meeting to apparently talk about having a monthly chart, why not scrap it altogether, you have already destroyed it!
NO! Understand you tried it and it didn't work, revert back to the sales chart and possibly posthumously credit songs based on correct sales chart positions if they were higher than the standard new chart. Artists still get paid for streaming and most popular streamed tracks will still make high chart sales positions anyway and it will let new entries into the chart. Keeping a chart where Sod all enters the top 40 and nothing ever changes is like this pencil I'm holding 'pointless'

The Irish charts and the UK charts are exactly alike; the same number one singles at the top for the same amount of weeks.

What ever happened to novelty hits?

"Shame Kungs hasn`t been able to return to the top 10.Stuck at 11 for 4 weeks now. This Girl is still such a tune, hopefully it can sneak back in next week!"

Kungs' singer sounds like Jermaine Stewart who had a number two hit in the 1980s with "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWZisnZ-RGE

Nudists hated this song! :P

Who else knows the guy singing in Closer is one of the Chainsmokers?

Shame Kungs hasn`t been able to return to the top 10.Stuck at 11 for 4 weeks now. This Girl is still such a tune, hopefully it can sneak back in next week!

Ok fair enough, my point was streamings killing the chart and the traffic jam has become very boring. rant over!!!

If people think the streaming/sales chart is a bit static, check out the UK Top 40 Rock Singles Chart:

No: 1
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Cant Stop

NON MOVER | 191 weeks in chart

No: 2
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
UP 6 | 480 weeks in chart

480 weeks in chart? LOL!

Olly Murs climbing again? He's doing the Hokey Cokey right now

This weeks charts was good until number 13, from then on besides 1 & 3, everything was a non mover from then and Calum Scott IS STILL IN TE TOP 5

Can people please stop complaining over lack of movement in the chart? The top 5 on both this chart and sales are exactly the same, while the ancient Chandelier (the kind of song people moan about being in the chart so long) is in the top 40 on sales, so it's hardly less stale.
But the most important part is this: Streaming is a very popular way of listening to music. That's what the chart is supposed to represent: Song popularity. The fact that the top 2 streamed songs have daily plays of over 1 million is an important indicator that a lot of people use streaming, and it is quite unfair to not count it considering there are a lot of songs that perform a lot better in streaming than sales. Yes there is the unfortunate downside that there are songs (such as Ain't Giving Up) which would have been in the top 10 and instead had quite dismal chart runs, but if there are few people streaming it, it's obviously not as popular as, say, In The Name Of Love, which performed considerably better on streaming. You can't blame service created playlists either, as Ellie Goulding's new song is the fifth listed on Spotify's 'HITS' playlist, but 50th in the streaming chart.
Maybe the ratio could be improved, but there is no way streaming should ever be removed from the chart.

Seriously, the OCC should definitely adjust the streaming/sales ratio, like it is now it doesn't make any sense anymore. Two years ago, there was a new entry at number one nearly every week and several in teh top10, now the highest new entry is at number 50 and there is no movement in the first 13 places except two songs switching places. When the OCC intruduced streaming to the single chart the highest streamed song had around 1,5 million streams every week, now it is around 5 million every week, no wonder streaming absolutely dominates the chart if you dont change your method when streams are obviously exploding in numbers.
The OCC should drastically cut down the influence of streaming and emphasize sales a lot more, otherwise the chart becomes more of a joke every week!

I was just reading the comments and i cant keep my mouth shut anymore!!!
I 100% agree with chartwatcher
and james england.
8 number 1s this year?????, numbers 4 to 14 exactly the same as last week???.
There was a time when a song wouldnt stay at number 1 for longer then 2 weeks or artists would sell 100k copies of a song in one week and only get to number 2, oasis, steps, 5ive do i need to carry on?
it was bad enough that drake was at number 1 for 15???? How many copies of that song were sold 10k - 15k a week????.
i have lost all interest the charts, its a disgrace!!!
OCC please sort out this mess!!!

at first glance i was thinking the charts hadn't been updated. i'm glad to see another number 1 but i think i could come back in 5 weeks time and find practically the same top 20.

The current charts seem to have started to reflect a traffic incident!!!!! Most songs are in a huge traffic jam with none of them going anywhere. While right up ahead at the front is a steaming mess of a horrific crash!!!!

ANOTHER rubbish chart and ANOTHER rubbish no. 1 They hasn't been a decent no. 1 since Xmas 2009 wen Rage Against The Machine topped the chart wiv "Killing In The Name" It's all been downhill since then

Here is a joke for you, these charts, junk at the top like the school kid anthem closer, which comes complete with a grating voiced young female singer and tinny beats over some odd arcade noises here and their all in keeping with the modern trend of rubbish, then you got talent at the bottom like John Newman not entering the top 100, Olly Murs still not entering the top 10 with his new heartbreak ballad possibly the best song of his career, and in general all stuff worth applauding not hitting a decent number, boo charts get off the stage you , your jokes are not funny anymore okay, make us smile instead of putting us asleep yawn.

Painmix King wrote "I didn't think the charts could get any worse. But this week has really gone too far. e.g 1) The Top 14 exactly the same as last week except for positions 1 and 3 swapping places. 2) Only 3 new entries in the entire Top 100 and 3) Number 50 being the position of the highest new entry. Why can't the OCC see that it's broken and go back to using the sales chart as the priority chart. It's not much better than this but a truer reflection of peoples tastes."

I believe this is the beginning of the end of the singles chart. The decline is apparent. The chart will continue, I don't think the OCC will scrap it (!), but songs will be in the chart for over a half a year! That isn't going to be unusual, it's going to become standard.

I think singers and groups will focus on the album chart and hope for success there. Given the lack of new entires each week I can't see how this will inspire new singers and groups. Streaming chart 'sales' is not showcasing enough new material each week and I think many singers not with major labels nor with decent exposure on Youtube and other sites will flop. But there's also a chance to crack the top 40 album chart or even lower down the album chart : 41 - 100.

Extremely disappointed that the top 14 is exactly the same except for number 1 and 3 swapping places, absolutely terrible, however this is the charts!! It's not the OCCs fault nor can they change anything this is the way that they will calculate the charts and 100 streams will count for sale as this is a good way of showing what peopl are buying but it is definitely not the OCCs fault it is the consumers faults because they are choosing to stream older songs therefore they will get more sales than new entries because they are not well-known enough to be streamed by people, anyway it's the way things are now and am honestly so distraught to see this!! And only 3 new entries this week!!? And why hasn't Cheap Thrills dropped out of the top 40 never mind the top 20 and tiwycf (Calvin/Rihanna) & CSTF! & One Dance dropped out of the top 20 and perfect Strangers and Don't let Me down still in the top 10!!!

I didn't think the charts could get any worse. But this week has really gone too far. e.g 1) The Top 14 exactly the same as last week except for positions 1 and 3 swapping places. 2) Only 3 new entries in the entire Top 100 and 3) Number 50 being the position of the highest new entry. Why can't the OCC see that it's broken and go back to using the sales chart as the priority chart. It's not much better than this but a truer reflection of peoples tastes.

I agree. Ole is a brilliant song and for those of you that haven't twigged it yet it was written by Calvin Harris as a break up song with Taylor Swift from Hiddleston's point of view. I mean, I would even say Calvin was being to obvious with this lyric- "Low key(Tom Hiddleston in the avengers) you won't tell none of your friends about me"...

Good to see a song at number one that is actually number one on sales too. Shame to see John Newman at 45 on sales but not in overall top 100.

A week ago, one of the contributors suggested that music fans should decide with their wallets and clicks how the charts turn out. It got me thinking what kind of role a consumer can play in the process of creating a chart these days. I'm not against streaming itself, it's way better than illegal downloads, but the chart methodology is prone to errors and obvious subjectivity. I'd like to look at some problematic areas.
Streaming-based charts are more complicated because they work with ARBITRARY numbers determined only by the compiler and their objectivity is questionable, e.g.:
1) A chart compiler has to attach a value to a stream. It's their own choice and in many countries the value of a stream vs a download differs substantially (and can be revised).
2) There is the daily limit - users can stream as they please, but after a certain arbitrary number (I believe it's 10 but why 10?) the streams are capped and not counted anymore. (Is there a similar cap with downloads?)
3) Next the minimum 30 seconds play limit. Again why 30? Why not 10, 60 or the whole song? I've never heard any explanation for this.
4) Then the issue of what kind of streams should count - only paid, all, including/excluding pre-generated playlists, Youtube audio streams, etc.
5) Another arbitrary number covers a much more sinister area - missing streaming figures. On many occasions (and I'm afraid more than the OCC would like to admit) there are no streaming numbers reported at all. So the OCC has to 'cook up' the figures by literally faking streaming figures on a hypothetical basis (probably using some kind of weighted mean). And even if they made a mistake and got the real numbers eventually, they would never admit it or correct it. (Just imagine the uproar if a 'wrong' song got to number one.) This is my main criticism because we're no longer talking about just compiling but inventing and twisting the reality as someone sees fit. And if you changed one arbitrary variable, you might get a completely different chart.

Therefore I'm asking how much of this intricate corporate game can we as consumers really influence? And is it just about music anymore?
I'm not claiming downloads were without their controversies but the current level of chart data manipulation (or adjustment if you will) is out of this world. The OCC had jumped on board probably too quickly without realising the full future implications of their decisions.
Billboard at least stopped pretending (since the Haarlem Shake disaster) their chart is objective because they tweak and bend it every time they are not happy with the results. The OCC is still trying to pretend they continue the legacy of the sales-only predecessor but as we all see, it's no longer working (sorry Drake, One Dance will never be the same league as Wet Wet Wet or Bryan Adams).
They should probably rename the chart a tracks chart and be done with it. Because to a certain extent it's a fake chart and the OCC cooks it up in their kitchen without letting anyone take a peek under the lid.
I would appreciate your comments, thank you. (Sorry for the length.)

1. Closer isn't great (Halsey's vocal contribution is DIRE) but it's a more worthy #1 than the dismal Cold Water.

2. Craig David's big comeback has been so disappointing. 3 songs and not one of them have been as entertaining or melodic as classics like Fill Me In and 7 Days. Get your act together, Craig.

This week's top 20 is the textbook case of "when it rains, it pours". XD

The charts have come to a standstill.....no big new entries except Bieber songs....by changing the computation of the list the whole idea of a weekly chart has gone to pot!! Only the tastes of teenagers are accounted for yet it's older people who actually buy songs or records. Look at the album chart, it's like chalk & cheese comparing it with the singles. Something needs to be done to shake things up a bit!!! As a pub DJ of some 48 years, I can tell you no-one is interested in the singles chart anymore.

Congratulations to The Chainsmokers & Halsey as 'Closer' becomes the 1st UK #1 for both artists. There have only been 8 #1s on the singles chart so far in 2016, but this is probably already my favourite & such a fun summer song to end the holiday season with. I've seen it get around twice as many iTunes downloads than 'Cold Water' over the last couple of days (from the latest Kworb updates) & it also overtook 'Cold Water' on Spotify streaming earlier in the week too. 'Closer's lead above 'Let Me Love You' is also likely to increase a lot more next week, so I think 'Closer' may be another hit to have a few consecutive weeks atop the UK charts, unless we get an unexpectedly big debut within the next couple of months.
Not too much to say about the rest of the Top 100, but other than the change between 'Cold Water' & 'Closer', the Top 14 is completely stationary. Great to see: 'In The Name Of Love', 'Is This Love?' & 'Sunshine' climb into the Top 20 though... & I think this is one of my favourite charts of 2016 so far. :)
Also good that Barbra Streisand got her 7th UK #1 album with 'Encore' this week as well.

Closer is okay but not the best song of The Chainsmokers

Can't believe that ROSES only peaked at 16 in UK and 6 in US, it's the songs of 2015 of course!

side to side at 72? thought it would've been higher. hoping it'll clime over the weeks