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[ThePensmith]

Hello one, hello all, hope you're all A-OK. Time to check out my personal top 20 for this week. Rak-Su romped to their first number one single last week, but have they managed a second week on top, or have they succumbed to the challenges of George Ezra, or new entries from Paloma Faith and Kylie? Here's the moment of truth...


THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 2nd November 2018
© AM LIMITED 2018

1. (2) GEORGE EZRA - Hold My Girl
2. (1) RAK-SU - I Want You To Freak
3. (3) OLLY MURS FEAT. SNOOP DOGG - Moves
4. (6) MICHAEL BUBLÉ - Love You Anymore
5. (4) TAKE THAT - Out Of Our Heads
6. (HNE) PALOMA FAITH - Loyal
7. (8) LAUV - I Like Me Better
8. (7) LSD - Thunderclouds
9. (9) CLAIRE RICHARDS - End Before We Start
10. (NE) KYLIE MINOGUE FEAT. JACK SAVORETTI - The Music's Too Sad Without You

11. (14) ED DREWETT - The Unfortunate Gent
12. (NE) WARD THOMAS - Never Know
13. (10) THE VAMPS - Just My Type
14. (5) LITTLE MIX FEAT. NICKI MINAJ - Woman Like Me
15. (11) MARVIN HUMES - All My People
16. (12) JESS GLYNNE - All I Am
17. (15) ZARA LARSSON - Ruin My Life
18. (NE) CHER LLOYD - None Of My Business
19. (16) NOW UNITED - Who Would Think That Love?
20. (13) ROBYN - Honey

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

CHART COMMENTARY



With only four new entries, one non mover and three records going up this week, it might seem strange to suggest there's a respite of sorts, but there certainly is from the relentless arrival of new releases that we saw throughout October. The top 3 records are also the same ones as last week, but in the case of the top 2, the positions have switched themselves around. And so it is that Rak-Su vacate the number one slot after just seven days at the top, leaving the way clear for another brand new number one in as many weeks.

When, in years from now, the music story of 2018 comes to be written, George Ezra will surely feature highly, thanks to the incredible success of his second album 'Staying At Tamara's'. After debuting in the runners up slot last week, he moves up a place with 'Hold My Girl'. It now means he is the first artist this year to have had three number ones on my personal chart, following 'Paradise' in March and 'Shotgun' in June, but also more amazingly, he is the first artist to achieve such a feat in a very long while.



To find the last time an artist had had three or more chart toppers to their name in a calendar year, we need to set the clock back six years to 2012, when Lawson managed the feat with 'When She Was Mine', 'Taking Over Me' and 'Standing In The Dark'. In the time since, we've only ever had multiple instances of artists having two number ones in a given year. Michael Bublé's moving appearance in a Carpool Karaoke special with James Corden on the Stand Up To Cancer telethon show last Friday has given a boost to current single 'Love You Anymore', as it advances two places to #4.

Honours for the week's highest new entry thus go to the record which lands at #6. Paloma Faith's chart topping fourth album from last year, 'The Architect', has now been specially repackaged as the 'Zeitgeist' edition. One of the new tracks added on there, 'Loyal', now surrenders the album's third hit single, following her Sigala collaboration 'Lullaby' and 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music' from earlier this year. It is also her fifth top 10 hit on my personal chart.



She may not have had three number ones over the course of 2018, but one thing Kylie Minogue has certainly had is four top 10 hits from her chart topping 'Golden' album, the first time she has managed such a feat since the four singles from her 'Fever' album in 2001/2002 pulled off the trick. 'The Music's Too Sad Without You', a collaboration with troubadour Jack Savoretti, makes its bow at #10 this week. The other hits from this current album of Ms. Minogue's: 'Dancing' (#2, February), 'Stop Me From Falling' (#3, April) and 'A Lifetime To Repair' (#5, August).



Gunning for their second top 10 hit, but just missing out (for now) this week are sisterly country duo Ward Thomas. Their third studio album 'Restless Minds' has been pushed back from its original release date of last month, and will now be unleashed in the new year. In the meantime, following the top 5 success in August of 'Lie Like Me', the album's second single, 'Never Know', enters at #12.



Finishing things up this week, it's been five very long years since we last saw Cher Lloyd. An alumni of course, of the 2010 series of The X Factor (or the 'One Direction' series to anybody else), she notched up three top 10 hits from her debut album 'Sticks & Stones' in 2011, including the top 5 hits 'Swagger Jagger' and 'With Ur Love'. Then she went to crack America, and an almost apologetically named second album 'Sorry I'm Late' surfaced in 2014, from which only two singles emerged, neither of which troubled my top 20.



It's a welcome return for the Malvern lass, who has found time since then to get married and become a mum, as well as make a new album. 'None Of My Business' is that forthcoming new album's first single, and is now her fourth top 20 hit on my personal chart and first in six years since 'Want U Back' made #9 in February 2012, debuting at #18.

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 2002: Nelly and Kelly Rowland make it three weeks at number one, plus new entries from Madonna, DJ Sammy and Craig David



1. (1) NELLY FEAT. KELLY ROWLAND - Dilemma



2. (HNE) DJ SAMMY FEAT. YANOU & DO - Heaven
3. (NE) MADONNA - Die Another Day
4. (NE) CRAIG DAVID - What's Your Flava?
5. (2) JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - Like I Love You
6. (4) LAS KETCHUP - The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)
7. (3) BLUE - One Love
8. (NE) ROMEO FEAT. CHRISTINA MILIAN - It's All Gravy
9. (5) BIG BROVAZ - Nu Flow
10. (6) AVRIL LAVIGNE - Complicated

This post has been edited by ThePensmith: 2nd November 2018, 05:12 PM