Chartchat

So despite going down last week Beyonce climbed two places to steal the top spot with ‘If I Were A Boy’.  Her success meant that the previous occupants of the number one positiong X Factor Finalists 2008 fell a place to no.2 with their version of Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’.   Killers climbed a place to no.3 with ‘Human’ but TI featuring Rihanna failed to capitalise on the thirty seven place rise enjoyed last week by ‘Live Your Life’.

Katy Perry rose to her highest position to date with ‘Hot N Cold’ as it climbed two places to no.5 while Alesha Dixon went down a place to no.6 with ‘The Boy Does Nothing’. Girls Aloud went down a place to no.7 with ‘The Promise’ and The Guru Josh Project went back up a place to no.8 with ‘Infinity 2008’. ‘Womanizer’ went down a place to no.9 for Britney Spears and the top ten was rounded off by Leona Lewis who got a non mover at no.10 with ‘Forgive Me’.  

There were a further six climbers in the remainder of the top twenty. P!nk went back up a place to no.11 with ‘So What and Akon climbed six places to no.14 with ‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’. Duffy climbed seven places to no.15 with ‘Rain On Your Parade’ and Pussycat Dolls went up three places to no.16 with ‘I Hate This Part’. Kings Of Leon climbed four places to no.17 with ‘Use Somebody’ reaching its best position to date while Nickelback rounded off the top twenty with ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ going up six places to no.20.  

There were two new entries, two re-entries and four climbers in the lower half of the chart.  The Bellamy Brothers climbed seven places to no.21 with ‘Let Your Love Flow’ and Katy Perry went back up four places to no.26 with ‘I Kissed A Girl’.  Also climbing back up four places to no.27 was ‘Disturbia’ by Rihanna while Snow Patrol re-entered at no.28 with ‘Run’ thanks to the interest created by Leona Lewis’s recent cover version.  Christian Falk featuring Robyn got a new entry with ‘Dream On’ at no.29 while N-Dubz went straight in at no.30 with ‘Papa Can You Hear Me’. Sugababes went back up four places to no.33 with ‘Girls’ and the final re-entry went to Madcon with ‘Beggin’’ at no.38.  

Take That are about to release ‘The Circus’, their second album since reforming and their fifth in total.  To date they have notched up ten number one hit singles and they will be hoping to make that eleven with the release of their new single ‘Greatest Day’. It comes released on CD single and features the bonus track ‘Sleepwalking’ while the video was filmed in Los Angeles by renowned producer Meiert Avis who has also directed videos for Damian Rice, U2, and Bruce Springsteen.  It looks like being a battle at the top end of the chart but Take That have the biggest fan base and should be able to make that count in their favour.  Just like McFly they performed on the recent fundraiser Children In Need and have plenty of promotional appearances booked to boost this release.  

McFly have been chosen to record the official Children In Need single ‘Stay With Me/ Do Ya’.  As with the X Factor Finalists it is a poor single but for a worthy cause.  ‘Stay With Me’ is a truly awful take on the Faces classic while ‘Do Ya’ is another track taken from their current ‘Radio:Active’ album. They are a little behind Take That but have seven number one hits to their name and have an unbroken run of fifteen top ten hits. The single comes on CD and DVD formats with the CD featuring their cover of Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed A Girl’ alongside a live version of ‘The Last Song’.  Fans were offered the chance to pre-order this following their BBC performance and that could help to sway the battle at the top in their favour.  Looks like being an interesting week.  

‘Womanizer’ is the first single to be taken from Britney Spears forthcoming ‘Circus’ album.  She has never enjoyed a number one album but has reached the no.2 spot on four occasions. Britney has notched up five number one hits so far and this release has already become her nineteenth top ten hit in the UK . It comes released on CD this week with the bonus track being the Kaskade mix of the track. Curiously she is most popular in Israel where she has already had ten number one hits with her second most successful return coming from Ireland where she has had seven chart toppers.  Britney is seems remains a troubled soul but on this showing her music shows no sign of suffering.  Not quite as good as ‘Piece Of Me’ but very good nonetheless.  

George Sampson won Britains Got Talent earlier this year thanks to his dancing skills but his mentor Simon Cowell has opted to give him a music career too.  His debut single is ‘Get Up On The Dancefloor’ and is one of four songs featured on his forthcoming DVD ‘Access 2 All Areas’ with others included being ‘Singing In The Rain’, ‘Headz Up’ and ‘Candy Girl’.  The single hits the shops this week on CD format with the bonus track being ‘Headz Up’. This year has seen him star in the stage show ‘Into The Hoods’ while next month will see him perform at the Royal Variety Performance in London .  It caps a remarkable year for the 14 year old who a year earlier had failed to make it into the final of Britains Got Talent.  Now it seems the world is truly at his feet.  

Despite being an animated Childrens TV character Bob The Builder has a 100% record when it comes to single releases.  His debut ‘Bob The Builder : The Album’ release spawned two hit singles ‘Can We Fix It’ and ‘Mambo No.5’ both of which made it  to the top spot as soon as they were released.  Now he is back with a brand new album entitled ‘Never Mind The Breezeblocks’ and a single to accompany it in the shape of ‘Big Fish Little Fish’.  The video comes with a series of actions for children to learn and it is a bound to be a hit at childrens Christmas parties across the land! Bob is voiced by actor Neil Morrissey who will be delighted to secure Bob another hit.  It will be interesting to see if Bob can topple the big name acts who have singles out this week!  

What can you say about Madonna?  She has enjoyed forty four top five hits over the last twenty five years including thirteen number ones. Add to that sixteen top five albums of which ten made number one and you have an amazing career.  Hoping to add to that tally is her new single ‘Miles Away’ which is the third single to be taken from her current ‘Hard Candy’ album. It comes released on CD and 12” with the CD featuring the Thin White Duke mix with the 12” vinyl format also featuring the Demo Rebirth and the Johnny Vicious Club Mix.  It follows hot on the heels of ‘Give It 2 Me’ which became her sixty second top ten hit.  Recently she has been in the papers for her divorce from Guy Ritchie so she will be glad that this release will turn the spotlight back on her music career.  

Katy Perry burst onto the scene earlier this year with ‘I Kissed A Girl’ which made number one over the Summer. Now her second single ‘Hot N Cold’ gets its full physical release this week having already made the top ten in the UK on download sales. It has reached the top three in the US , Ireland and Netherlands and has made the top in Canada . It’s also the second single to be taken from her ‘One Of The Boys’ album which made the top ten in the US and Canada but has yet to make the top ten here, stalling at no.11 so far.  It comes released on CD format and features the Innerpartysystem Main Mix as the bonus track.  There is no confirmation yet on the follow up single though the title track to her album has charted in the lower reaches of Australias top 100.  

Pussycat Dolls release their latest single ‘I Hate This Part’ this week and it has already edged up to no.16 on download sales.  It gets a full release on CD this week with the bonus track being a Moto Blanco mix of the main track. Their first six singles made the top ten with the first two going all the way to the top spot.  Their current album ‘Doll Domination’ made no.4 which is a four place improvement on their ‘PCD’ debut so things are looking good for the band. As usual its Nicole Scherzinger who takes the lead and despite her clearly being the force behind the Dolls singing and songwriting her own solo career failed to take off.  She is tipped to return with another solo album though and if that does hit the big time it might finally spell the end of the band.  

Leon Jackson has now released his debut album following his X Factor win last year while the runner up Rhydian is also about to release his album.  Also featured in last years show were brother / sister duo Same Difference and it is their turn to release a single ‘We R One’ this week followed by an album ‘Pop’ next week. Both acts returned to the show this week to showcase their new material and both received excellent reviews. The single is released on CD with the bonus track ‘Like A Miracle’ while the album includes the High School Musical classic ‘Breaking Free’ and the Stock Aitken Waterman song ‘Turn It Into Love’ which has previously been recorded by Kylie Minogue and Hazell Dean. With even Louis Walsh now convinced anything is looking possible.  

Other singles released this week include ‘Right Now (Na Na Na)’ by Akon, ‘What Is Happening’ by Alphabeat, ‘Crocodiles & Prostitutes (EP)’ by Andy J Gallagher, ‘Seattle’ by BPA featuring Emmy The Great, ‘Morning Rain (EP)’ by Chocolate Puma, ‘Superhuman’ by Chris Brown, ‘Tomorrow’ by Clinic, ‘Friday Night’ by Envy, ‘3 Little Words (EP)’ by Frankmusik, ‘The Christmas Tree Ship (EP)’ by I Like Trains, ‘Who Is It’ by Jayess, ‘Tape Song’ by The Kills, ‘Gimme It Back’ by Koopa, ‘Better To Be’ by Liam Finn, ‘Miracle’ by Mediaeval Babies, ‘Busy Bein’ Born’ by Middle Class Rut, ‘Papa’ by N-Dubz, ‘Something Special’ by Nick Harrison, ‘My Kinda Girl / Humarahee’ by Raghav featuring Redman, ‘Fabulous’ by Sister Love, ‘How Soon Is Now’ by The Smiths, ‘William It Was Really Nothing’ by The Smiths, ‘Sandcastle Disco’ by Solange, ‘Being Here’ by The Stills, ‘Live Your Life’ by TI featuring Rihanna and ‘Infinitys Lobby’ by The Wow Signal. Download only releases include ‘Mommas Boy’ by Chromeo, ‘Play’ by Dirty Diegos, ‘Love Can’t Turn Around 2008’ by Farley Jackmaster Funk, ‘Catch A Falling Star’ by Nina Wall and ‘Better Days’ by The Wolfmen.  

I’m not sure Beyonce will hold on with the smart money being on Take That though expect McFly to run them close. Don’t forget to stop by next week when artists releasing new singles will include Oasis, Will Young, Status Quo and The Streets.  Until then have yourself a good week.