JHME - Chart Chat

First up is Limp Bikzit whose last single 'Rollin' spent two weeks at the summit. 'My Way' is nothing to do with the Frank Sinatra classic of the same name but is nevertheless a slightly mellower outing than some fans may be used to. Don't get me wrong, this is no ballad! However the song manages to change from it's synth based verses to its harder chorus without too much difficulty. Huge sales of 'The Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavoured Water' album means that I suspect this will not get to number one, but then again with such a huge army of fans as they have anything is possible.

'Changes' was 2Pac's biggest UK hit, peaking at number three. Hoping to go one or two better than that is his new single 'Until The End Of Time'. Sampling Mr Mister's 'Broken Wings' this is much more commercial than the music Tupac made while he was alive and you have to wonder what the great man would have made of such exploitation. Of course the record company would have us believe that we should be allowed to hear the great mans recordings. I feel privilidged to hear more from Tupac, as he was undoubtedly a great talent. While I doubt the record company motives are 100% pure the end result is that we get to enjoy more of his immense legacy. Top five without a doubt.

Daft Punk are another band who will have an eye on a top three debut this coming Sunday. With vocals sounding a little like Trevor Horn's Buggles back in the late Seventies this new single 'Digital Love' has all the ingredients of a classic pop song but with the bizarre twists that we have come to expect from the Frenchmen. Vinyl seems to be making a comeback as this, among with many of this weeks other releases, is available on not just CD but 12" too. Top ten, but maybe not quite enough steam to challenge for the top.

Just look at Steps and S Club 7. The male / female group singing fluffy pop songs to an adoring mass of young teenagers is a formula which seems to work to excellent effect. Add to that a television series as S Club 7 and Hear'say did to good effect and you have an almost guaranteed smash hit on your hands. The latest band to follow this path are allSTARS who feature in the television series 'Star Street'. It's bubblegum pop alright, but it is not executed quite as well as the aforementioned bands do it. One TV band too far? Quite possibly.

The sign of a good critic is being able to hold his hand up and admit "I was wrong!". No, I'm not talking about one of my wayward tips for the top that do not even make the top ten - I am talking about Kelly Jones and the Stereophonics. I retain that 'Pick A Part That's New' and 'Just Looking' did not deserve top five rankings but 'Mr Writer' which ironically achieved their biggest first week sales with their fourth best peaking song was awesome. The album is much better than many critics would have you believe and new single 'Have A Nice Day' is an excellent slice of singalong summer pop. Prepare to be delighted. A top ten hit.

There seems to be a real battle going on between the girl r'n'b bands. 3LW have been the latest to enjoy chart success while none can touch the popularity of Destiny's Child. Other contenders include Dream and this weeks single releasers Mis-teeq. 'Why' was a top ten success for the band earlier in the year and now they follow it up with 'All I Want'. It is just as good as the first single but with competition from the acts mentioned above it would appear that the girls will have their work cut out if they are to make the top ten.

It is rare these days to see a single released by popular demand but that is indeed the case with the new single from ace balladeer Lionel Richie. Entitled 'I Forgot', the song was co-written with one of France's leading stars Pascal Obispo and was intended as a bonus track for the French market. However the song went down so well on Lionel's recent tour that he has bowed to public pressure and has chosen to release it as a single in the UK as well. This is Lionel back to his very best and if you wanted a reason to buy it there is a live version of 'Still' on the CD. Go and buy it - you don't have to tell anyone!

One of my favourite songs of the year to date has to be Roni Size and Reprazent with 'Dirty Beats'. That single was out much earlier in the year and now the band return with live favourite 'Lucky Pressure'. As you would expect the drum and bass beats come at 100 mph as do the vocals, ably delivered by Onallee. This is unlikely to dent the top thirty as despite his critical acclaim Roni Size is a rare visitor to the top twenty. It would be nice to see it hit the top forty though.

Bearing strictly no resemblence to the Pogues song of the same name is R Kelly and Jay Z who combine to good effect on 'Fiesta'. Deemed by critics and clubbers alike to be one of the strongest dancefloor tracks on R Kelly's album this has now been remixed and put out as a single. With the hot summer sun now beginning to make its presence known this is likely to become the theme to many a hot night out in the clubs of the UK. A top twenty hit for sure.

This year has been much slower for number ones. At this time last year Sonique was in pole position and was the 18th number one of 2000. Shaggy was the 14th number one of this year and was the 6th single to make a second week at the top. This weeks number one is a tough one to call but I think it is safe to say that we will have a 15th chart topper of the year. It will be close - AllSTARS could easily enter at the top with their first single but my money is on Limp Bizkit to score their second number one of the year.