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[ThePensmith]

Afternoon campers, time once again to bring you my personal top 20 hits for this week. Is Mabel about to make it three weeks at number one, or has the challenge of the song from the big summer movie Yesterday with Himesh Patel or the combined might of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello proved too strong a challenge? Here's your answer...

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 12th July 2019
© AM LIMITED 2019

1. (HNE) HIMESH PATEL - Yesterday
2. (NE) SHAWN MENDES FEAT. CAMILA CABELLO - Senõrita
3. (1) MABEL - Mad Love
4. (2) JP COOPER FEAT. ASTRID S - Sing It With Me
5. (3) JONAS BROTHERS - Cool
6. (5) NOW UNITED - Paraná / Beautiful Life
7. (4) LITTLE MIX - Bounce Back
8. (7) MARK RONSON FEAT. LYKKE LI - Late Night Feelings
9. (8) KATY PERRY - Never Really Over
10. (6) JULIA MICHAELS - Hurt Again

11. (NE) ED SHEERAN FEAT. KHALID - Beautiful People
12. (9) DANNY JONES - Muddy Water
13. (10) JESS GLYNNE FEAT. JAX JONES - One Touch
14. (11) CRAIG DAVID - When You Know What Love Is
15. (NE) KEYWEST FEAT. UNA HEALY - I'm Not Me Without You
16. (13) KYGO FEAT. RITA ORA - Carry On
17. (14) AVICII FEAT. ALOE BLACC - SOS
18. (15) NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS - Black Star Dancing
19. (12) KYLIE MINOGUE - New York City
20. (16) FOUR OF DIAMONDS - Walk Away


Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats.


KEY

(1) - last week's position
(HNE) - highest new entry
(NE) - new entry
(RE) - re-entry

CHART COMMENTARY



I did say it was the calm before the storm, didn't I? Mabel is knocked off the top after a fortnight in control for a brand new number one - and a very special one at that. You must've been living under a rock the last couple of weeks to not hear about the latest musical inspired box office sensation. But this time, it's been flipped on its head, as the music of the act in question takes centre stage rather than the artist themselves for a biopic of say, Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman proportions.

Directed by Danny Boyle and written by romcom king Richard Curtis, Yesterday, as the title suggests, has the songs of The Beatles at its heart, in the amusing and uplifting story of Jack Malik, a struggling singer songwriter who suddenly finds fame overnight when a freak accident means he's the only one left on the planet who can remember the Fab Four and their era defining songs.



It has captivated cinema goers - yours truly included - and the soundtrack has too, with Jack's singing voice and character portrayed by Brit actor Himesh Patel, and the result this week is that he makes a commanding debut at the very top of my chart with the title track from the film, some 53 years after the original became a hit for The Beatles on both sides of the Atlantic.

This thus marks the first time in my chart history that a Beatles cover has made it to number one on my chart. Others have charted with their versions of Fab Four songs in the past, be they as a main track or B-side, but never hit the top, making this feat all the more remarkable. Himesh is now also the fourth act in my chart history to take a song from the soundtrack of a Richard Curtis film to number one on my chart, following in the footsteps of Ronan Keating ('When You Say Nothing At All' from Notting Hill in 1999), Girls Aloud ('Jump' from Love Actually in 2003) and Jamie Cullum ('Everlasting Love' from Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004). The only near misses have been from Geri Halliwell (#2 with 'It's Raining Men' from Bridget Jones' Diary in 2001) and Ellie Goulding (#2 with 'Still Falling for You' in 2016 from Bridget Jones' Baby).

Himesh's arrival at the top means it's close but no cigar for the #2 single this week - and a brand new entry to boot. No sooner has Shawn Mendes left our top 20 with his last single 'If I Can't Have You' - a #3 hit in May, and down to #30 this week - then he duly arrives with the follow up. 'Senõrita' marks his second collaboration with none other than Camila Cabello, following their 2016 single 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.



That particular song only made a lowly #37 when it was released exactly three years ago, but this is an easily more appealing track with a lilt of summer running through it. Combined with a fairly raunchy video that has set the 'Are they/aren't they' rumour mill spinning into action, it's just rather bad timing that they hit the chart at the same point that the song from the biggest movie of the summer arrives, but we can see this one hanging around for a good while yet.

Now I do have to correct myself slightly before we discuss our next artist. When we last heard from Ed Sheeran back in May, we mentioned very rightly that he was one of the stars of Yesterday, however it since transpires that whilst a handful of his songs feature in the film, none of them are on the main soundtrack that's commercially available. It's probably just as well given his 'mixtape' album, 'No.6 Collaborations', is out today, and which he probably wants more focus on.



But whilst 'Beautiful People', his collaboration with Khalid makes a radical twenty two place improvement on the lowly #33 entry of the album's first single 'I Don't Care' with Justin Bieber, debuting at this week's #11, it's still a far cry from the number one hits that opened his last two studio albums proper. If this ends up being the biggest hit from the album, don't say we didn't warn you - it's clear from recent performances that all he needs is to be by himself with his guitar again for his usual chart topping ways to be restored.

Our last newcomer this week marks a debut top 20 hit for Keywest. 'I'm Not Me Without You' enters at #15 for the Irish folk rock group, who have collaborated with Una Healy, formerly of The Saturdays of course, for this single. It thus marks her sixth solo hit on my chart, and twenty fourth overall if we're including her singles as part of the 'Higher' and 'What About Us' hitmakers.



FLASHBACK TOP 10

Your chance to see how my personal top 10 was looking on this week in the last 20 years. This week in 2010: JLS grab their fourth number one hit in a row with 'The Club Is Alive', plus classic hits from Kylie Minogue, Yolanda Be Cool vs D Cup and Eminem with Rihanna



1. (HNE) JLS - The Club Is Alive



2. (1) KYLIE MINOGUE - All The Lovers
3. (NE) YOLANDA BE COOL VS D CUP - We No Speak Americano
4. (2) EMINEM FEAT. RIHANNA - Love The Way You Lie
5. (NE) ELIZA DOOLITTLE - Pack Up
6. (3) B.O.B FEAT. HAYLEY WILLIAMS - Airplanes
7. (5) ENRIQUE IGLESIAS FEAT. PITBULL - I Like It
8. (6) JASON DERULO - Ridin' Solo
9. (7) LADY GAGA - Alejandro
10. (8) TINIE TEMPAH FEAT. LABRINTH - Frisky