- LW: 1,
- Peak: 1,
- Weeks: 15
- LW: 2,
- Peak: 2,
- Weeks: 2
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
ED SHEERAN/
- LW: 4,
- Peak: 4,
- Weeks: 7
- LW: 5,
- Peak: 3,
- Weeks: 11
LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME
SELENA GOMEZ
- LW: 6,
- Peak: 3,
- Weeks: 4
- LW: 7,
- Peak: 7,
- Weeks: 16
- LW: 9,
- Peak: 6,
- Weeks: 24
LOSE CONTROL
MEDUZA/
- LW: 14,
- Peak: 11,
- Weeks: 5
TURN ME ON
RITON & OLIVER HELDENS FT VULA
- LW: 12,
- Peak: 12,
- Weeks: 9
- LW: New
- Peak: 13,
- Weeks: 1
- LW: 10,
- Peak: 6,
- Weeks: 22
- LW: New
- Peak: 15,
- Weeks: 1
- LW: 11,
- Peak: 8,
- Weeks: 10
HIGHEST IN THE ROOM
TRAVIS SCOTT
- LW: 13,
- Peak: 2,
- Weeks: 6
DOWN LIKE THAT
KSI/
- LW: New
- Peak: 18,
- Weeks: 1
- LW: 18,
- Peak: 18,
- Weeks: 8
THIS IS REAL
JAX JONES FT ELLA HENDERSON
- LW: 19,
- Peak: 19,
- Weeks: 8
- LW: 22,
- Peak: 12,
- Weeks: 9
- LW: 26,
- Peak: 22,
- Weeks: 6
- LW: 16,
- Peak: 3,
- Weeks: 5
- LW: 42,
- Peak: 24,
- Weeks: 2
BE HONEST
JORJA SMITH FT BURNA BOY
- LW: 17,
- Peak: 8,
- Weeks: 13
- LW: 20,
- Peak: 15,
- Weeks: 8
- LW: 15,
- Peak: 6,
- Weeks: 3
DON'T RUSH
YOUNG T & BUGSEY FT HEADIE ONE
- LW: New
- Peak: 28,
- Weeks: 1
- LW: 24,
- Peak: 21,
- Weeks: 10
- LW: 21,
- Peak: 10,
- Weeks: 19
SOMEONE YOU LOVED
LEWIS CAPALDI
- LW: 25,
- Peak: 1,
- Weeks: 46
- LW: 38,
- Peak: 32,
- Weeks: 8
- LW: New
- Peak: 34,
- Weeks: 1
10000 HOURS
DAN & SHAY FT JUSTIN BIEBER
- LW: 29,
- Peak: 17,
- Weeks: 6
- LW: 43,
- Peak: 36,
- Weeks: 5
TELL ME
KREPT & KONAN/
- LW: 23,
- Peak: 23,
- Weeks: 2
TAKE ME BACK TO LONDON
ED SHEERAN FT STORMZY
- LW: 33,
- Peak: 1,
- Weeks: 16
FLOSS
AJ TRACEY FT MOSTACK & NOT3S
- LW: 27,
- Peak: 22,
- Weeks: 3
- LW: 54,
- Peak: 40,
- Weeks: 3
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FG
Frank Griffin
If you really want to know why I think the sales chart should be the proper chart then take a look at this https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20170310/7501/
RC
Richard Clarkson
Hey Frank
OMG I have just clicked on the link and saw that chart. It is mostly Ed Sheeran songs. How can anybody call this the proper chart after looking at that chart. We should of stuck to the sales charts in 2017.
FG
Frank Griffin
I know. That's why we like to call the sales chart the proper chart because the chart from 10th March 2017 for example.
RC
Richard Clarkson
I am suprised that Don't You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds has not re-entered the Official Charts after being played on this years Argos Christmas Advert.
FG
Frank Griffin
Well it didn't enter this chart but it did enter last weeks sales chart at #26 as a new entry.
RC
Richard Clarkson
Really? The Song was originally released in 1985 so how can it be a new entry?
FG
Frank Griffin
I don't know. Anyway, Christmas songs are re-entering the charts now so there might be a couple more entering tomorrows Chart. Last Christmas by Wham was in the Official Singles Chart Update.
Pete Buss
I’m fine with streaming being included but I think there’s a fundamental flaw when you can’t distinguish between personal streaming and the streaming of playlists in restaurants, shops, workplaces (when it becomes what you’re being forced to listen to and therefore not representative of what’s popular). It also doesn’t distinguish the obsessive who are are just playing the same track over and over again. We’ve all been obsessive in the past but it only counted as one sale rattan hundreds and thousands of plays (and the streaming ratios don’t seem to be accurate to cater for that yet).
akyovbashiev
I think the impact caused on the charts by music played in public places, such as restaurants and stores, is negligible at best, considering that it's either going to be the popular hits of the day, which are going to get the streams regardless, or some more niche stuff that's hardly going to get any significant boost based just on that. It's not like radio airplay counted towards other charts, like the Billboard Hot 100, where it's a completely different metric and is measured in a completely different way compared to normal streams and sales, and could boost a song up just based on being spammed on radio.
Regarding your other point, as far as I'm aware streams are limited to 30 a day per person, per track, which is a fair cap, and I think it's far more representative as to what's actually popular, rather than fluke tracks that are hot for a day, due to curiosity and what not, and the next day no one cares about them. Take for example the RSPB song 'Let Nature Sing', released a couple of months back - #1 on the sales chart and #17 officially - I doubt many people were actually listening to the track, consisting purely of bird sing, and were just buying it due to money going for charity. It's one thing to make a one-time purchase of a song, it's a whole different to see how much said song gets played down the road, and again, I find that represents what's actually popular far better.
FG
Frank Griffin
Shall we just say that this chart is the proper chart?
RC
Richard Clarkson
Yeah I think we should before we make people even more angry.
Indie Top 39
Well, if you are craving for brand new independent music chart you should check out https://indietop39.co.uk/18-11-19/
FG
Frank Griffin
Be funny if Scott Mills on Radio 1 actually did say, "the Official Sales Singles Chart is actually the proper Chart!",
RC
Richard Clarkson
Yeah that would be funny.
FG
Frank Griffin
I think the Official Charts should go back to just counting sales!
RC
Richard Clarkson
I agree to that actually. If we keep this is up, the Official Charts Company will say that they are no longer counting streams!
FG
Frank Griffin
Yeah. The Official Charts should only count sales not streams
RC
Richard Clarkson
Yeah. To be honest it was a whole lot better when the Official Charts Company only counted Sales.
FG
Frank Griffin
Yes it was.
RC
Richard Clarkson
I remember in early 2017 when Ed Sheeren dominated the Charts.
FG
Frank Griffin
Yeah. That's why I said that when an artist releases a new album, people should only listen to one song off of the album
RC
Richard Clarkson
Shut up. That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard in my life.
FG
Frank Griffin
You shut up. Anyway, when an artist releases a new album, there should be a blanket ban on all the tracks and just leave one track avalable for people to listen too.
RC
Richard Clarkson
So basically, when an artist releases a new album, all the tracks should be banned and just leave one track unbanned?
FG
Frank Griffin
Yeah
RC
Richard Clarkson
That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually. Why didn't I have that Idea before?
FG
Frank Griffin
However there is a problem
RC
Richard Clarkson
Really? What's that?
FG
Frank Griffin
What if the person wants to listen to the whole album?
RC
Richard Clarkson
He or she would have to go to HMV or wherever and buy a phsyical copy!
FG
Frank Griffin
Does anyone remember Top Of The Pops
RC
Richard Clarkson
Yeah I used to love that show. But then they stopped it and now they only have the Christmas Special and the new Year Special.
FG
Frank Griffin
I know. Top of the Pops was a brilliant show. I have been watching Top of the Pops from the 80s and they were really good
RC
Richard Clarkson
Anyway. Have you been listening to any Christmas Music. I have
FG
Frank Griffin
Yeah I have been listening to quite a few Christmas songs to be honest. My favourite Christmas song is Last Christmas by Wham. It could be this years Christmas number one
FG
Frank Griffin
By the way. You know that you said I should listen to more modern music? Well I have been doing that. I have been listening to someone you loved by Lewis Capaldi alot.
RC
Richard Clarkson
That's good then. At least you are starting to listen to more of the modern music.
FG
Frank Griffin
Yeah I do like Shotgun by George Ezra alot as well
RC
Richard Clarkson
Yeah that is a good song. Do you still think that the sales Chart is the proper chart?
FG
Frank Griffin
No I don't anymore. I now think that this is the proper chart because it is. The only reason why I said that the sales chart was the proper chart is because that is how it was done years ago.
FG
Frank Griffin
I was also thinking about becoming a singer myself. If I was to release my very own debut single, what would I have to do to make it get to number 1 in the singles Chart?
RC
Richard Clarkson
It would need to have loads of streams and downloads. You need to make it a very good song and it has to be very popular.
FG
Frank Griffin
Oh ok. Anyway, you know most Youtubers are releasing songs, well do you think that Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes should release a song together?
RC
Richard Clarkson
What like a duet. Yeah I think they both should. That means that they will be vloggers and singers. Imagine if Zoe and Alfie were to release a song together and it ended up in the Charts, that would be good.
Jodie Spice
yes watched it regulary from 1973 till it ended
Gerry Adams is a modern day pr
I'm surprised quite miss home by James Arthur hasn't got anywhere the top 40
Piran
Look guys, you know it's very rare I have to rant on this forum, but I feel this needs to be clarified;
It's rather clear at this point that there are the same one or two people each week who think that the sales chart is the "proper chart". So, the chart that excludes over 95% of what the British public are actually currently consuming is better than the one that doesn't? Yeah, no, that's the whole reason why the OCC introduced streaming into the chart formula in the first place.
Ultimately, using just the sales chart to determine popularity of hit songs is like using the number of old £1 coins to determine who are the richest people in the country. Outdated, unreliable & frankly, utterly ridiculous!
The more interesting thing is that, at the time of this post, there are nearly 40 comments on the chart that so many people here are criticising, but absolutely none on the chart that apparently should be used instead! If you prefer the sales chart, it makes sense to post about it there. OCC work hard each week to gather all the download data & refresh that every Friday night too, so you know, you might as well make use of it!
Preferring the sales chart to the official chart is absolutely fine (sometimes I do myself), but calling the latter a fake just because it's not your music taste comes across as really childish.
Hopefully this gets my point across...
Yolanda Merkel
I agree wholeheartedly. Pop music is a commodity. The charts have always existed to reflect the state of the industry and what the public is consuming (whether they are purchasing a 7" single, a cassette, a cd-single, a download, or simply streaming the same song 20 times in a row), not to please the individual tastes of music "critics" or stans of a particular "artiste." If that means that for one week or two (or ten) we have to endure a load of rubbishy songs at the top then so be it.
As long as performers are being compensated for streams then we need to take into account the impact that all songs, irrespective of their "deserving" a higher placement on the charts, quality, or seasonality have on the market. I don't even like many of the new entries on a regular basis, but some people need to step off their high horse and quit the "this is not the real chart" b.s.
Piran
Exactly! It's okay not to like the songs in the Official Chart, but like you said, the whole point of this chart is to show what the most popular songs in the country are.
That's why the charts were created in the first place after all! :)
Saint Perth
TRUTH HURTS drop while stay top 10 in the U.S!! No MANDY MOORE, CELINE, WESTLIFE, PINK, AVA MAX, TINASHE and KESHAon this charts.... Even in U.K (Harleys in Hawaii) not a hits.
Jodie Spice
once again we are nearing christmas and the chart will soon be full of christmas songs would they be in there if only paid for downloads were elligable for the chart i doubt it you wouldn't buy the same old records over and over again the chart has no meaning today it doesn't reflect what people are buying its what it was origanally set up for they should stop streaming as it hypes the chart. i don't condone what he did but gary glitter another rock n roll christmas is one of the best christmas songs of all time so lets all stream that and get it to number one to show the chart up for what it is a meaningless piece of
theboy
Where’s Ava Max’s Torn?
Where’s Tove Lo?
Where’s Kim Petras?
Jax Jones’ singles (Jacques, Harder...) are going quickly. They have no time to be a success.
All the chart is full of unknown artists. What’s happening during this season? On top of it all, Xmas songs are coming in 3, 2, 1....
Damián
Absolutely agree!
redflag1
REALLY VERY BAD CHART, ALL HIP HOP THE NEW ENTRIES, AND THE DANCE AND BRITISH POP ?? WHAT HAPPEN, IT S A SHAME, ALL MONEY FROM USA ... PLEASE PEOPLE FROM UK, CHANGE ... THE WORLD NEED POP AND DANCE BRITISH MUSIC....... NO ALL HIP HOP AND RAP FROM AMERICA
2pcj
I'm not sure if you've noticed, but hip hop has become quite popular worldwide over the course of the last 35 or so years. You might even call it pop music!
Gavin Iball
Where's the new George Michael track? Guessing the Last Christmas soundtrack album will hit the chart next week and no doubt last Christmas track will be top 3 by Christmas.
Rob Parkinson
The last Christmas soundtrack album entered at 11 this week on the album chart did it not?
Kasper Elbjørn
It's down to #21 on the sales chart from last week's #10 debut. It wont chart because of the stupid chart rules that favor streaming
akyovbashiev
I review everything hot inside and bubbling just under the UK's official chart - the proper one, since there seems to be a bit of confusion regarding that. Anyhow, let's get started!
(New Entry) #05: J Hus - Must Be
I don't really understand the hype behind J Hus, his music is mostly fine, but nothing of his has grabbed me just yet - this included, but maybe it'll grow on me. Light 6/10
(New Entry) #15: Dave - Paper Cuts
I feel like 'Professor X' underperformed a bit, the reason for which could be that it was never properly pushed as a single and was always just an album track from a soundtrack. This is doing mostly fine, but it dropper immensely throughout the week, and… look, I love Dave, but maybe drill just isn't his thing. Despite that, strong 6/10
(New Entry) #18: KSI ft. Rick Ross, Lil Baby & S-X - Down Like That
I've always respected KSI greatly, without being a huge fan of him, and I was obviously rooting for him at the Logan Paul vs KSI fight - which is why I'm pretty disappointed this isn't any better than it is. JJ's part is fine, and, for the most part, so is Rick Ross; S-X's voice I find a tad bit annoying though, and Lil Baby is just… awful, sorry, his flow here is dreadful. 5/10
(New Entry) #36: Endor - Pump It Up
While I can certainly appreciate songs like 'Ride It' and 'Lose Control', recent dance hits have all felt a bit lazy, and when they aren't sampling or straight-up copying another song, they're about as basic and unexciting as could be - see 'Post Malone' (sorry coolocelot!). So imagine my surprise when this tune managed to both be sampling another song and be boring at the same time! On second thought, I don't think this is much different to the original at all! Sorry, light 4/10.
Another pretty busy week, and unfortunately I can't cover everything. Coincidentally, it's also a pretty busy week on my own CrownNote chart! Check out the brand new one here: http://crownnote.com/charts/akyovbashiev/crystal-top-40-week-462019
Piran
Hey Akyovbashiev! :)
I actually agree with you a lot more on the debuts this week, except for 'Pump It Up', which always gets me hyped, haha.
I'm certainly with you on Lil Baby sounding absolutely terrible on 'Down Like That'! Honestly one of the worst falsettos I've ever heard, at least from this year.
I'll comment on your Crown Note chart shortly, but I hope you're doing good in general!
akyovbashiev
Hey Piran! :D
I'm glad we agree on some of the debuts this week - I haven't actually heard all of them yet, and there's even some new entries from last week I've yet to listen to, although there's also some I'd gladly skip, like the M Huncho song (based on everyone's reviews on here anyways, haha) Looking back at my review now, there is actually a song I overlooked - "Better Half Of Me" by Tom Walker - because I didn't imagine it'd actually make the top 40 by Friday, and it's a strong 7/10 for that one definitely, with huge potential to grow! (which I'm just noticing is precisely the same as the score you've given it!)
'Down Like That' is one of the biggest disappointments chart-wise for me this year, because it seemed like it had everything going for it - high-profile featured artists, being released at the right time; as far as I'm aware, a snippet was even performed at the actual fight by Rick Ross! Now to be fair, the song is growing on me a bit, and I'm less and less annoyed by S-X's vocals, but Lil Baby is still easily the worst part on it - it sounds like he's not even trying! It's funny, because every song of his I've listened to he's sounded unexciting - but when he paired up with D-Block Europe, a mostly unexciting duo, he was actually the best part of the song!
Anyway, thank you for your comment! I've been doing great lately, and I really hope you have been too!
D
Daniel
Maybe you need to give it away, if you want to serious about reviewing, you maybe should not refuse to listen to songs based on other people not liking a song and then announce yourself as a reviewer. Just saying
akyovbashiev
I get what you mean... but I'm not a serious reviewer. I don't get paid to give my opinion on songs, this is all in good fun. I listen to the songs I want to listen to, and some I just happen to hear on radio/TV, and give my thoughts on them. None of this is serious, nor do I claim it is.
Also, negative/positive reviews on songs don't influence my decision on whether I listen to a song or not. There's been multiple cases where songs have been widely disregarded as bad on here, but I've still enjoyed said songs and expressed a positive opinion on them. With this particular case, the song 'Thumb' by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz, I was simply stating that I will not be going out of my way to hear the track - not only due to the negative opinion, but also because I never intended to do that in the first place, doesn't mean that couldn't change with time. (perhaps I could've expressed this a bit better)
Again, none of this is serious. If I actually took myself seriously and claimed to be a music critic, I wouldn't be doing two lines per song and some random score.
Piran
Hey Akyovbashiev! :)
Haha, that's alright, nine debuts in one week is a lot to get through, as my lengthy analysis shows.
Given your tendency to prefer rap songs, I'm actually surprised that 'Better Half Of Me' scored as high as it did for you. Oh yeah, please avoid 'Thumb' at all costs! :P
I actually think I agree with everything you said regarding 'Down Like That'! I mean, Lil Baby's rapping has mostly been boring for me, but at least he didn't sound in pain when he was doing that.
You're welcome! I'm not too bad thanks, still looking for a graduate role, but at least I'm feeling more confident in interviews now. Thanks, hopefully you have a nice week ahead!
akyovbashiev
Nine debuts in a week is quite a lot, especially when you consider we had multiple weeks just this summer with no debuts or just one-two! Thankfully, I'm starting to catch up with recent releases, and next week looks to be a lot more relaxed when it comes to new entries.
Honestly, with 'Better Half Of Me', it's not the best I've heard from Tom Walker, but it's good enough for now, as it's mostly his vocals that win me over in most of his songs - 'Leave A Light On' is actually one of my favorite songs of the decade, and I loved 'Now You're Gone', but his highest-charting hit, 'Just You And I', I find just a little annoying, haha.
Regarding 'Down Like That', another thing that's struck me is how well it's holding up, even a week after the fight - I think it's doing a bit better than its chart peak would suggest! Also interesting is the fact that it's managed to somewhat crossover here in Bulgaria as well - not to the same extent obviously, but it's easily in the Spotify Top 100! This never happens with UK hip-hop songs, but maybe it's because of the featured artists, who knows.
Thanks a lot, and I wish you all the best luck with your endeavors! :)
Piran
I guess in Bulgaria, it's mostly down to KSI!
Unlike all of the other artists featured on the song, not only is he a rapper, but he's the only one of them who's a global YouTube personality.
FG
Frank Griffin
Hopefully there should be more Christmas songs re-entering the top 100 next Friday. There are already 2 Christmas songs in the Sales Chart already. I am not too keen on Dance Monkey and to be honest I quite like Don't start now by Dua Lipa. It could be the biggest selling number 2 in the UK unless it gets to number 1 next week knocking Dance Monkey off the number 1 spot. Elsewhere in the Chart Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas in you has re-entered at number 77 and to be honest it's not my favourite Christmas song. Shotgun by George Ezra has dropped to number 95 this week so there could be possibility that next week, it could finally drop out of the top 100. I am going to look at the Sales Chart or should I say the Proper Singles Chart and do a review of that as well.
RC
Richard Clarkson
Will you stop saying that the sales Chart is the proper Singles Chart. It's not the proper singles Chart at all, this is the proper singles chart. The only reason you think that the sales Chart is the proper singles chart is because there are songs on there that you like. If you like the sales Chart so much, go on comment on that page instead of this one!
FG
Frank Griffin
Shut up. Modern Music these day is rubbish. Back in the 80s you had artists like Simple Minds, Pet Shop Boys, Elton John, Queen, Howard Jones, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, A-ha U2, Shakin Stevens and much more. They were good artists and their music made sense where as todays music is mainly samples and remixes.
RC
Richard Clarkson
What on earth are you on about? Modern Music is not just all remixes and samples so I don't know where you got that from. You obviously have not been listening to modern music much. You have been listening to 80s music so much that you have not been paying attention to what music has been released today!!
FG
Frank Griffin
Ok maybe I should pay more attention to modern music. Also if an artist releases a new album, people should just listen to and download one song off of that album because there might not be multiple entries from the same artist
RC
Richard Clarkson
What do you mean that if an artist releases a new album that people should only listen to and download one song. Even if in some strange world we did all listen to one song off a new album, it won't make any difference. There will still be multple entries from the same artist
akyovbashiev
Sorry to interrupt this exchange, but... are you two trolling? On second thought, I retract that question, of course you are. (if there's even two of you.)
To Frank Griffin: you keep repeating the same thing over and over, maybe you should indeed listen to even a little bit of modern music before you make the assumption it's all trash.
To Richard Clarkson, and this is where it gets interesting: what caused the change of heart in your opinion about the singles chart? Just under a week ago you were on this exact forum, claiming the exact same things you're trying to disprove currently: the sales chart is the "proper chart" and that streaming shouldn't be counted towards the official chart. I'm all up for changing your opinion, and if you have indeed, that's great, but... it seems unlikely.
It's also very suspicious that you are the first person Frank has replied to when being called out on his opinions...
FG
Frank Griffin
I was listening to music from 2008 and to be honest, most of it was quite good
RC
Richard Clarkson
Music from 2008 was really good but that was 11 years ago. Now we are in 2019 and loads of new artists have come out since then. Maybe you should listen to newer songs and not songs that are 11 years old.
Piran
I noticed that too!
Honestly Akyovbashiev, this is exactly why I had to post what I just did at the top of the page.
Goodness me, for as much as I'm not a fan of Thierry's regular spamming about Lizzo, he at least stays on topic! :/
FG
Frank Griffin
I am going to take a look at the charts from the 1980s.
RC
Richard Clarkson
Go on then, look at the Charts from the 80s. To be honest, I like 80s music too but modern music good too. You can't go around saying modern music is trash. You have good artists like Dua Lipa, Lewis Capaldi, Billie Eilish, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and many more.
FG
Frank Griffin
I love Animals I do.
RC
Richard Clarkson
What on earth are you on about. What has Animals got to do with music. That is a completely different subject all together. This comment section is here so people can purely talk about Music and songs that are in the Charts. If you love Animals go on a Zoo website or any website based on Animals. This is the Official Charts website not a Zoo website.
RC
Richard Clarkson
Do you like Basement Jaxx. They are a good band.
FG
Frank Griffin
No they are the worst band in the world. Infact, they are the worst band to ever ever ever go near a microphone.
akyovbashiev
You two- scrap that, the single person that's running both these accounts: you're losing your mind. I hope you have something more interesting to do than to alternate between two accounts on a music forum and pretend to fight with yourself.
If you really wanted to, you could at least try to make this fake conversation seem a bit more cohesive. No one communicates in this way. And the animals segment is simply adorable.
Piran
My thoughts & observations on the UK charts as always…
‘Dance Monkey’ remains atop the singles chart for a seventh week running, thanks to 83,000 combined chart sales, including 9.6 million streams! That’s the longest #1 by a female lead artist since ‘Bleeding Love’ by Leona Lewis back in 2007!
‘Orphans’ by Coldplay rules the national airplay chart for a third consecutive week.
On YouTube, ‘Dance Monkey’ holds at #1 for a fifth straight week, increasing 4.6% in weekly views from last week to 4.20 million!
J HUS - MUST BE (#5)
Look, almost a quarter of the songs in the Top 40 are new entries to the region, so my reviews for each new arrival are going to be a little shorter than usual. In J Hus’ case, since this is his first new solo track since his recent release from prison, I definitely saw the hype coming for this one! The hard part is that I just can’t get on board with this the same way everyone else is. One thing I did love are some of the jazz elements that shine over the production, particularly the trumpets & strings, but they would’ve been so much better on their own than trying to mix them in with standard grime elements. I also think he could’ve used this platform a lot better lyrically, because all we’re getting is him discussing “opps”, hence acting as an opposition himself just to associate with these kind of people. Eh… look, I’m glad J Hus is finally out of jail, but honestly, I’ve heard what he’s capable of before & I hate to say it, but it’s much better than this. Strong 5/10, although even that’s being generous!
FREDO - NETFLIX & CHILL (#13)
We’re still only at the beginning of a highly successful week for new grime songs, so this is a big opportunity for Fredo if he can get the second highest new entry of the week! That being said, I don’t know how to feel about this on first listen. Fredo’s arguably showing much more charisma & attitude than average, which is actually slick over guitar-driven production, even if the whole vibe of the song is still ultimately drill that we’ve heard millions of times already this year. I guess the writing is why I can’t completely get into this, since it seems that Fredo is ditching any “lover boy” personality & wants to get flirty with his girl, even if she just wants to “Netflix & Chill”, which is a bit of a hard idea to get on board with. Overall though, if you’re going to do this kind of braggadocious UK urban style, you’re going to need to come up with something that grabs my attention more than this. Solid 5/10 here!
DAVE - PAPER CUTS (#15)
Based on name recognition alone, I was convinced that this would be the top debut of the week, but listening to the song, I actually understand why it's not. Now, I don’t mean that in a bad way, as this is a much more darker sound for Dave & one that won’t be picked up anywhere outside of Radio 1, which is a shame, because I’m fairly impressed here! Dave proves that his wordplay & sincerity has come a long way before his mainstream success, but what I really love here is his flow, which to put it bluntly, just won me over in seconds! I’m not sure I’m fully sold on the deeper bubbly production, especially later on in the song, but it does at least set a menacing atmosphere that suits Dave perfectly fine. As a whole, yeah, I dig this a lot! For me, strong 7/10!
KSI FT RICK ROSS, LIL BABY & S-X - DOWN LIKE THAT (#18)
Let’s be completely honest, would this have done anywhere near as well if it wasn’t for KSI’s recent fight against Logan Paul? I don’t think so. Unfortunately, a big reason I say this is to do with the overall quality of the song itself! KSI does an okay job at shutting down haters, but at the same time, his lyrics only hit as hard as they do thanks to his win back on Saturday night, at least for me. Also, the beat seems way to blocky to give any of the other artists a chance to shine, but between Rick Ross sounding like he desperately wants to be elsewhere & Lil Baby sounding like he’s just been kicked in the nether regions throughout his falsetto, neither of them probably even deserved the airtime in the first place! I still got a lot of respect for KSI, but his guest stars let him down massively today, so yeah... extremely disappointed here! Strong 3/10!
ARIZONA ZERVAS - ROXANNE (#24)
Given that this song seemed to come out of nowhere on a global scale (especially on Spotify & Apple Music), I thought it must’ve featured on a popular platform to become this big as fast it did. Anyway, it turns out I was right, since this gained almost all of its recognition from TikTok! However, I certainly think this deserves hit status without any of that background, which is a really promising sign given that I’m never usually of these kind of trap songs. The auto-tune here seems to be much less of an issue than it usually is, probably because the hook is actually interesting for once! On the surface, you’ll immediately hear a skittering trap beat, but dig a little deeper, you’ll realise that the watery guitars & keys actually add a bit more character to the percussion this time around. The only real nitpick I’d make is that he seems to explain all the warning signs about a girl, while also still trying to chase her on the hook, but I’m not too bothered about that when you review the song as a whole. Therefore, I’m going with a strong 7/10!
YOUNG T & BUGSEY FT HEADIE ONE - DON’T RUSH (#28)
It really doesn’t surprise me that Young T & Bugsey collaborated again, given that ‘Strike A Pose’ went on to become a Gold-certified Top 10 hit, while Headie One has also been having success on the albums side of things with his latest project. Bring that all together & this is mostly rather likeable! It’s clear that the chemistry between the two lead rappers is very much still there & remains just as playful as it did on ‘Strike A Pose’, although while the tropical beat is undeniably addictive, I’m not sure whether or not I’d place this in the sharp-edge club territory or put it under something that would fit pop radio stations either. To be honest, it probably would work just as well in both! I’m not sure how either Young T nor Bugsey would perform on their own though & I wish that Headie One came in a little harder than he did, but I did go into this song with no real expectations, although I come out of it feeling slightly positive. So for that, strong 6/10!
DARKOO & ONE ACEN - GANGSTA (#34)
Unfortunately, while I was listening to the Radio 1 chart show earlier, this really just became background music to me. I mean, the warm afropop melody gave this potential, but it quickly fades away when you realise that neither artists’ performance here is all that memorable, especially when it’s paired with content that seems to describe more of a physical attraction to someone than genuine affection. I get that this song is trying to be fun, which is a real issue here because it seems to come across as really boring! I don’t know, these kind of smoother urban tracks tend to grow on me, but this probably won’t be one of them. As such, very light 5/10!
ENDOR - PUMP IT UP (#36)
This is the kind of dance hit that I’m liking a lot more than I probably should right now! Obviously, the lyrics probably couldn’t get any more repetitive, but they’re surprisingly effective over a heavy, pulsing beat alongside a bass groove that would work either in the gym or on the dancefloor, for example! It’s also got a clever interpolation of the 2004 original from Danzel & remains extremely catchy all the same! I’m not sure this stands out in the way that DJs are going to revisit it next summer, but for the rest of the year, this’ll certainly stick with you. As for me, I’m thinking a light 8/10!
TOM WALKER - BETTER HALF OF ME (#40)
Phew… the last of nine new entries this week! Anyway, it’s this kind of track that highlights why I’m surprised Tom Walker isn’t a bigger artist on the charts! He’s always had such a raw & powerful tone in his vocals, but you can tell from the songwriting that he’s very much in love & his delivery conveys that emotion incredibly effectively! I mean, Ed Sheeran & Lewis Capaldi have been topping the charts like this lately, so why can’t Tom Walker? I do wish the instrumentation stood out a bit more beyond the guitar melody as the arrangement is rather simple, but this is still very well-written & beautiful all the same. For me, solid 7/10!
On the albums chart, The Script earn their fifth #1 with ‘Sunsets & Full Moons’, as their sixth studio album opens with 32,000 combined sales for the tracking week.
The rest of the Top 5 is: ‘Back Together’ by Michael Ball & Alfie Boe (debuts at #2), ‘’Reworked’ by Snow Patrol (debuts at #3), ‘Ghosteen’ by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (debuts at #4, #1 on vinyl) & ‘No.6 Collaborations Project’ by Ed Sheeran (3-5).
Looking ahead to next week, these songs could enter the Top 40 for the first time: ‘Everything I Wanted’ by Billie Eilish, ‘Beautiful Ghosts’ by Taylor Swift, ‘Jerry Sprunger’ by Tory Lanez & T-Pain, 'We Got Love' by Sigala ft Ella Henderson, ‘Fresh N Clean [Silence The Critics]’ by D Double E & maybe even more.
Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you all have a good weekend. :)
My latest Crown Note chart: https://crownnote.com/charts/piran-delves/pirans-top-40-155
Matthew Wadden
Young T & Bugsey isn't a collab, they've always been a group
Piran
Really? Thanks for that, never noticed before.
Sergej Dordij
Hi Piran!
For this week's top 40, my best of the week goes to: Endor - Pump It Up (A great remake of dance song that has grown on me).
For the worst I'm giving a tie between KSI & Collaborators - Down Like That and Arizona Zervas - Roxanne. Sorry for the latter song, I just don't get this song at all.
V
Vikingman
Is there a site that shows all the combined sales figures etc?
T
Tony
Hi piran!
Still love dance monkey at the top spot! It could be on its way to becoming the longest number one this year which I wouldn't mind. Don't start now is a really good song and a different approach for dua. I've been listening to her music from before she became popular so it's been amazing to see her grow. I wouldn't mind it if 'don't start now' overthrow dance monkey. Remember, senorita spent two weeks at number 2 before reaching the top spot. I liked 'pump it up' entering the top 40. This year has been very successful for dance songs, but even better for rnb. I don't mind there being rap songs in the chart, but I hate it when it blocks a good song from entering the top 40. I don't mean to hate and I respect anyone who listens to rap, I'm fond of the genre to. I also hope billie eilish has success with her new single as well, it's actually so nice. Similar to dua lipa and halsey (who I'm seeing in tour next year) i've been interested in her ever since before she hit radio. I found her out through Lovely, then started listening to her old music and now her new. Anyways, I'm probably boring u!!! Hope u have a great weekend and an even better week!
Piran
Hey Tony! How's it going? :)
I certainly don't mind seeing 'Dance Monkey' spend a seventh consecutive week at #1 (as well as it looking to tie 'I Don't Care' as the longest #1 of 2019 next week), but I do feel that the overplay is killing it for me a little now, haha. Still a really awesome song though, however, I'd love 'Don't Start Now' to pass it whenever it goes on ACR!
I'm also very glad that dance music is having a successful year so far! I do think 'Pump It Up' will climb a bit further, given that it's finally starting to find traction on other components than just sales, but I'm not expecting it to be anything massive! Interestingly, while we've had three EDM songs reach #2 so far in 2019 ('Giant', 'PIece Of Your Heart' & 'Ride It'), none have gone all the way to the top of the singles chart, so that would be nice to see before the New Year.
Haha, don't worry, your comment never bored me at all! In fact, it actually did the opposite. Hope you have an enjoyable week ahead too!
Piran
UKMix would probably be your best bet.
Here's the link to this week's combined sales data, but I'm not sure it covers all songs: https://www.ukmix.org/showthread.php?123962-UK-OCC-Charts-15th-21st-November-2019&s=d68b7794f961681b594e95ae91c8e0af
Piran
Hey Sergej! Nice seeing you here. :)
I actually agree with you entirely on the best & worst of the week then, but given how similar our music tastes are from Crown Note, I guess that's not too surprising, haha.
Yeah, 'Roxanne' seems to be the only we disagree on, but I guess I just found it really addictive & a lot memorable than you would expect for this kind of trap song!
Foxes
Hey Piran! I like seeing 'Dance Monkey' get a 7th week at #1 this week, though I do think next week will be it's last week at #1 unless it can somehow increase in sales equivalent streams.Still, 8 weeks at #1 is an incredible achievement! I'm pretty sure it'll either be 'Don't Start Now' or 'everything i wanted' replacing it, though 'ROXANNE' may the dark horse in this race, currently at #6 & #7 on Spotify & Apple Music, respectively, and climbing quite fast on both! I also really like seeing 'Lose Control' coming ever closer to the Top 10 - hopefully it can reach it soon!
For the debuts. I'll cover the ones I missed last week first, but there were a lot of debuts both last week and this week so I'll try to go reasonably fast! I found 'Don't Start Now' to be good enough, but I don't think it really holds up to many of her songs from Dua's debut album, so light 7/10 here.'Tell Me' is probably one of the best songs D-Block Europe have been a part of, but that's still only a strong 6/10 from me.'G-Love' would get the same score from me, while 'Thumb' would be my 2nd least favourite debut of last week at a solid 5/10. 'Kiss and Tell' was my favourite debut of last week, and while I thought that both Skepta and AJ Tracey have done better in the past, it's still a strong 7/10 - light 8/10 from me! On the other hand, 'Break Up Bye Bye' was my least favourite song of the past 2 weeks with a solid 4/10. I appreciate the context behind it but I just can't get behind the song itself. Lastly, 'Opp Thot' would be a solid 5/10 from me.
As for this week's debuts, I thought they were generally much better than last week's, which is probably pretty obvious since many of them ended up on my personal charts! Personally I thought that 'Must Be' was a pretty good return for J Hus, even if he has done better in the past. Light 8/10 here. I also thought that 'Netflix & Chill' was above average for Fredo, so a strong 7/10 - light 8/10. 'Paper Cuts' was of course by far my favourite debut of the past 2 weeks, though that shouldn't be surprising at all since it's Dave, so a strong 9/10 here! I wasn't really a fan of 'Down Like That', though I agree with you that it was mostly the featured artists letting it down. Strong 4/10 from me. I only heard 'ROXANNE' for the first time yesterday, but I do actually like it a good amount. Probably a strong 7/10 - light 8/10 for now, with the definite potential to climb! 'Don't Rush' is a track that I found myself liking a lot more than I expected, so a strong 7/10 here! I actually liked 'Gangsta' a decent amount, probably a strong 6/10 - light 7/10 here. I wasn't really a fan of 'Pump It Up' though, light 6/10 at best. Lastly, I quite enjoyed 'Better Half Of Me', so a light 7/10 from me for this.
Looking ahead to next week I think it's pretty obvious that 'everything i wanted' will be the highest debut, almost certainly in the Top 5 at least, and I think this even has potential to reach #1 in the coming weeks if it can climb a little bit on streaming before 'Dance Monkey' hits ACR. 'ROXANNE' will almost certainly be making a big climb into the Top 10 as well, and 'Jerry Sprunger' will probably be making a debut lower down in the Top 40. A couple other Tory Lanez tracks may be able to debut, but other than those I think next week will be a significantly quieter week for debuts than these past 2 weeks have been!
Piran
Hey Gameskiller! How's your weekend going? :)
Yeah, as I was discussing with David Eve over on the other singles chart article, while 'Dance Monkey' increased in overall streams this week, it actually fell on sales-equivalent streams, so it'll be on ACR next week if this happens again. That said, with eight consecutive weeks at #1, it'll tie 'I Don't Care' as the longest running #1 single of 2019 in the UK so far, which is really amazing for a breakthrough single!
I guess we agree on the debuts for the past couple of weeks, although I seem to like 'Don't Start Now' a lot more than you did, since it managed to reach the top of my personal chart in only its second week, while 'Thumb' is much worse for me! In the latter case, it might even be the second worst song I've reviewed on this forum after 'Robbery'.
I do think that 'Everything I Wanted' is looking at a potential Top 3 debut next week, while 'Roxanne' has a very strong chance of climbing into the Top 10!
Overall though, it looks like next week will be a much quieter one for debuts than this past week was.