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[ThePensmith]

Good evening one and all, happy Friday, here comes my first personal top 20 of a new month - we're in March already! P!nk, Rak-Su, Marina and the Diamonds and Mabel all have new singles waiting in the wings but were any of them strong enough to overcome the mighty Julia Michaels and Niall Horan, or has 'What A Time' made it a third time on top? Here's where we find out...

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 1st March 2019
© AM LIMITED 2019

1. (HNE) P!NK - Walk Me Home
2. (NE) RAK-SU - Into It
3. (1) JULIA MICHAELS FEAT. NIALL HORAN - What A Time
4. (2) BUSTED - Radio
5. (3) LSD - Mountains
6. (5) JACK & JACK - Daydreaming
7. (NE) MARINA & THE DIAMONDS - Handmade Heaven
8. (4) TAKE THAT - Everlasting
9. (6) FOUR OF DIAMONDS - Blind
10. (NE) MABEL - Don't Call Me Up

11. (9) WESTLIFE - Hello My Love
12. (8) JAMIE LAWSON - The Answer
13. (7) DIDO - Give You Up
14. (10) NOW UNITED - All Day
15. (11) UNPERFECT - Gots To Give The Girl
16. (12) HANNE LELAND - Ego Talking
17. (13) BRYAN ADAMS - Shine A Light
18. (NE) MUMFORD & SONS - Beloved
19. (17) CLAIRE RICHARDS - Shame On You
20. (16) MATE - Myself

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



You'd have got very slim odds back when she debuted in 2000 on Alecia Beth Moore - better known as P!nk - still being at the top of her game almost two decades later. But that's precisely where she's at. And now, to cap off an amazing week for the pop superstar, which saw her Lifetime Achievement award win at this year's Brits, she is back once again at the top of my personal chart this week.



'Walk Me Home' is the lead single from her forthcoming eighth studio album 'Hurts 2B Human', due out in April, but perhaps surprisingly is only her second number one single on my chart. Her first, 'Stupid Girls', was at the top of my charts twelve years and 11 months ago back in March 2006. Regardless, it's another fantastic single from her, and well worthy of becoming her biggest single since that time - although she has had a litany of number 2 hits in the intervening period: 'Who Knew' in June 2006, 'So What' in October 2008, 'Just Give Me A Reason' with Nate Reuss from Fun in March 2013, and most recently 'What About Us' in August 2017.

If you can hear the sharp exhale of breath from the lads in Rak-Su, that's because they're this week's second highest new entry with the lead track from their new 'Rome' EP. You see, last year was a pretty good year for the former X Factor winners in many respects - their first three singles all going top 3, with the single from last 'I Want You To Freak' crowning them with their first number one in October.



But then they had two slip ups that very nearly derailed them: firstly, being caught in the crossfire of the politics between their old label, Simon Cowell's SyCo and former tour buddies Little Mix that saw them deflect to RCA and postpone the release of their debut album. Then secondly, releasing a much panned Christmas single 'The Real Thing (Holidays Are Coming)' off the seasonal Coca Cola advert they were in which bombed out at #19 in my chart in December.

Thankfully, the #2 entry this week for 'Into It' - their third such record to achieve the feat - not only wipes clean any memories of their seasonal turkey, but also proves that that was but an unfortunate blot on their otherwise flawless copy book. One listen to it and you realise why, for it is nothing short of their best work so far, with a delightful early 90s dance/soul feel to it. We can safely say that their album's release later this year will be a glorious one when it happens.

Marina and the Diamonds waited eight years after her debut before she got her first top 10 hit on Clean Bandit's 'Baby' with Luis Fonsi back in December. She hasn't had to wait long for the second though, as 'Handmade Heaven', the first release from her upcoming new album, debuts at this week's #7.



The top 10 is rounded off with a fourth newcomer - albeit one that's been on the climb for some weeks now. Mabel enjoyed two top 10 hits last year, with both 'Fine Line' with Not3s and her own 'One Shot' reaching #8 in February and September. Since her latest single 'Don't Call Me Up' entered lower down my chart at the end of January, it's run so far has read 39-31-26-22, and on its fifth week this week, it explodes into life as her third top 10 hit - and don't expect this to be where it peaks by any means based on its current performance.



Down at #18 we find our final new hit this week for Mumford & Sons. 'Beloved' is the follow-up to their #13 hit 'Guiding Light' from last October, and is the second single from their third studio album 'Delta'. Now United check out the top 10 after a mammoth thirteen week run with their chart topping 'All Day', which falls four to this week's #14. The new longest runner in the top 10 is now Four of Diamonds' 'Blind', but even that falls three to #9 on its sixth week, so I suspect it won't be the longest runner beyond next week, particularly when Now United themselves are finally set to chart with 'How We Do It', the much delayed follow up to said mammoth hit, as well as new singles from George Ezra, Ellie Goulding and even the surprise return of Emma Bunton. What a corker it promises to be...



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 1999: Britney Spears remains atop for a second week with that all conquering debut single, plus classic hits from Blur and Whitney Houston



1. (1) BRITNEY SPEARS - Baby One More Time



2. (HNE) BLUR - Tender
3. (NE) WHITNEY HOUSTON - It's Not Right But It's Okay
4. (NE) CHER - Strong Enough
5. (NE) THE CARDIGANS - Erase/Rewind
6. (2) THE CORRS - Runaway
7. (NE) STEREOPHONICS - Just Looking
8. (3) LENNY KRAVITZ - Fly Away
9. (4) LAURYN HILL - Ex-Factor
10. (6) BLONDIE - Maria

This post has been edited by ThePensmith: 12th April 2019, 05:55 PM