Official Singles Chart Top 40 on 28/9/2018

On a separate note, does anyone know if there is an archive of the New Releases?

How ironic that the best song in the chart by far - the Wolf Alice one - is at the bottom

I wonder if Rita Ora or Lady Gaga will nab the top spot next week.

My thoughts & observations on the UK charts as always…
- ‘Promises’ by Calvin Harris & Sam Smith is #1 on the singles chart for a fourth week in a row, with a lead of around 6,500 combined sales. It was streamed 6.6 million times over the last seven days.

- ‘Promises’ additionally keeps at #1 on the airplay chart for a fifth straight week!

- ‘I Love It’ by Kanye West & Lil Pump was the most viewed official video across the country over the past week, as it leads the nation’s YouTube chart for a second consecutive week with 3.72 million views (down 18.5% from the week before). It’s also #1 on streaming overall, with 7.32 million plays this past week.

- LIL PEEP & XXXTENTACION – FALLING DOWN (#10)
As some of might know, both of these artists died at a fairly young age earlier this year. As for this song, I’m really unsure what to think of it is a whole. Lyrically, the song is about being down when a lover is not nearby & the production could almost be seen as an alternative-rock, which was actually a very nice surprise! Lil Peep brings his usual emo vibe to this, but I’m sorry, XXXTENTACION just sounds dull & mediocre. That said, the fact that this collaboration came together is just disturbing, not only that record producers are milking both these artists of the money that them or at least their families could’ve had, but also, Lil Peep has said many negative things about XXXTENTACION’s offenses, so they probably wouldn’t have collaborated anyway. As for the record itself, it’s not bad, but it won’t have a high replay factor for me… 5/10.

- EMINEM – KILLSHOT (#13)
I’m really not sure how I feel about this one. Yeah, it stands out more than everything on ‘Kamikaze’ & it seems like both his delivery & some of the punchlines he delivered make most of the internet say Eminem won the beef between him & MGK. ‘Killshot’ is more of a rant than a song in terms of its structure & while ‘Rap Devil’ sounds like it should be the bigger hit, Eminem’s aggression here was a solid response to Machine Gun Kelly! I laughed at a few of the fun jabs at Diddy too & I don’t really care much for the production, which is annoying since rap disses from last decade actually had instrumentation that made an impact too! Overall, I’ll go against the majority when I prefer ‘Rap Devil’ to ‘Killshot’ as a song, but as a diss, the latter is better. That being said, my rating for this song is a solid 6/10.

- RITA ORA – LET YOU LOVE ME (#14)
So I’m happy that we should finally be getting a sophomore album from Rita Ora in a couple of months from now, since six years seems like an incredibly long time for a follow-up given how many hits she’s had in that time! This, however, sounds like a song that should be pushed as a single later on in the album cycle instead of the lead single. I think Rita highlights the insecurities of being a relationship well in this & she’s easily one of the best female pop singers Britain has had to offer this decade, but the production in this doesn’t build on what we’re used to from her in most of her other charting songs. It’s decent for sure, but I’m not sure I see this growing on me. On that note, strong 6/10.

- FRENCH MONTANA FT DRAKE – NO STYLIST (#21)
I’ve only heard this song once & I have no desire to hear it again, mostly because there’s not a lot I can say about it! This is just a repeat of what you’ve heard from both of these artists countless times before, including bragging bars & materialistic raps. There are a couple of subtle threats here too, as well as the odd shots at Kanye which I didn’t find funny at all. French Montana tries to do a Rae Sremmurd impression on the falsetto & somehow fails at that too! I will say that Drake’s brings a better rhythm in his flow, but he still sounds monotonous & as if he doesn’t care about the song, but with everything I’ve said about this, I wouldn’t blame him. 3/10.

- KHALID – BETTER (#31)
Khalid is undeniably among some of the most successful new artists of 2018, both commercially & critically, especially in R&B! Honestly, I think his songs as a lead artist get better with every release, if only slightly. His voice might be autotuned more than usual here, but as least his vocals are: smooth, relaxing & soulful! The desaturated pianos & the misty instrumentation pair together well with his voice here, although I will admit that the outro falls flat for me & the content is a little underwhelming in comparison to what we’ve heard from him before. This song still does have some issues, but Khalid as an artist is definitely growing on me. On that note, this is a solid 6/10.

- MUMFORD & SONS – GUIDING LIGHT (#40)
I’ve always liked the folk-rock blend that this band have bene going for & thanks to huge support from Annie Mac on Radio 1, thankfully it means they got another Official Chart appearance! The guitar melody is addictive in the verse, then builds up intensity & explodes towards the end & I definitely love the suspense & excitement in the instrumentation here; that’ll keep me tuned into any song! Not only that, but the vocals have such an emotional weight to them, with lyrics about being there for somebody despite all hope seeming lost. My only criticism with this is that the chorus isn’t too memorable, which might stop this from being an incredible song, but it’s still very good nonetheless! As a rating, light 8/10 from me.

- On the albums chart, ‘Kamikaze’ by Eminem is at the top of the chart for a fourth consecutive week!

- The rest of the Top 5 is: ‘The Greatest Showman’ soundtrack (3-2), ‘Chris’ by Christine & The Queens (debuts at #3), ‘Living The Dream’ by Slash with Myles Kennedy (debuts at #4) & ‘The Blue Hour’ by Suede (debuts at #5).

- Looking ahead to next week, these songs could enter the Top 40 for the first time: ‘Shallow’ by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, ‘Moves’ by Olly Murs ft Snoop Dogg, ‘I Want You To Freak’ by Rak-Su, ‘What You Waiting For’ by Sigala ft Kylie Minogue, ‘Taki Taki’ by DJ Snake ft Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B, ‘Back & Forth’ by Mk x Jonas Blue x Becky Hill, a couple of Lil Wayne tracks & 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-40-95
(next one will be posted tomorrow)