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[ThePensmith]

Afternoon all, and happy Friday. Time once again to bring you my biggest hits of the week with my personal top 20. Seven days ago, Now United scored their second number one of the year as their double-a-sided single 'Paraná / Beautiful Life' hit the top on its first week out. Will they still be there today, or will new contenders from Little Mix, Danny Jones and Jess Glynne prove too strong a challenge? Let's find out...

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 21st June 2019
© AM LIMITED 2019

1. (HNE) LITTLE MIX - Bounce Back
2. (1) NOW UNITED - Paraná / Beautiful Life
3. (NE) DANNY JONES - Muddy Water
4. (2) MARK RONSON FEAT. LYKKE LI - Late Night Feelings
5. (9) KATY PERRY - Never Really Over
6. (NE) JESS GLYNNE FEAT. JAX JONES - One Touch
7. (3) CRAIG DAVID - When You Know What Love Is
8. (4) KYGO FEAT. RITA ORA - Carry On
9. (5) AVICII FEAT. ALOE BLACC - SOS
10. (6) NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS - Black Star Dancing

11. (7) FOUR OF DIAMONDS - Walk Away
12. (8) CHERYL - Let You
13. (10) LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY - Light On
14. (11) THE VERONICAS - Think Of Me
15. (12) SHAWN MENDES - If I Can't Have You
16. (NE) LABRINTH - Miracle
17. (14) SHAKESPEAR'S SISTER - All the Queen's Horses
18. (15) P!NK FEAT. KHALID - Hurts 2B Human
19. (NE) ANDY BROWN - If I'd Known
20. (16) PAIGE CAVELL - Predators and Monsters


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



Fourteen records go down, one goes up, and five new entries, meaning that Now United relinquish control of the top spot after just one week as my chart pays host to a triumphant return to the top for one band in particular. And let's be honest here. It's not unfair to say that, as the world's biggest girl group of the moment, Little Mix had something of a question mark around them until this last week. The reason for this being attributed to the - by their standards, anyhow - lacklustre commercial performance of their most recent studio album, 'LM5', which for a girl group now eight years into their career, they kind of didn't need.

Case for the prosecution lay with the performances of the album's left of centre lead single, 'Woman Like Me', which did something unheard of for a brand new single from the ladies last October when it debuted and peaked at #4 on my chart before falling away fast. They did of course follow it up with a #2 hit at Christmas for the next single 'Think About Us', but that was about the only other surefire hit that lay on the album. It was evident that, compounded with their label dramas they weathered the storm on at the end of last year, that there was a general feeling of 'could do better', and that they needed to refocus their energies a tad to find the inspiring infectiousness of their earlier hits. And thankfully, that is exactly what they have done.



The first single off what we imagine will be their sixth new album by year's end, and premiered last month at their set for Radio 1's Big Weekend, 'Bounce Back' does exactly that this week and returns Jesy, Perrie, Leigh-Ann and Jade to the top of my chart for the sixth time in all, and the first time since 'Shout Out To My Ex' hit number one back in October 2016. It also means they are now fourth in the all time list for girl groups with most number one hits on my chart behind Sugababes, The Saturdays and Girls Aloud. Its chart topping status is fully deserved and in truth it's their best single since the aforementioned 'Shout Out To My Ex'. Welcome back ladies.

It's welcome back also, to the artist behind this week's second biggest new hit. Danny Jones of course, has had chart topping form no less than ten times over as a member of McFly on my chart. With the band still currently on hiatus, he launched his solo career just shy of a year ago, his first single 'Is This Still Love' debuting and peaking at #2 in July 2018, even if it had a fairly in-out chart run of no more than seven weeks. And then all lay quiet again.



On our screens last weekend both as a returning coach on the new series of The Voice Kids UK, and as a surprisingly competent midfielder for England in the annual celebs and pros Soccer Aid charity football match for UNICEF, all this exposure has helped draw attention to his new single, 'Muddy Water', the first off a forthcoming EP due out a week today. It makes a creditable #3 debut to give him the second top 3 hit of his solo career.

It would appear Katy Perry is making good progress with 'Never Really Over', as her comeback single takes a bullet and rises four places to #5 after debuting at #9 last week, this incidentally enough to make it her first top 5 appearance since 'Feels', the Calvin Harris, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean single she guested on actually topped our chart back in August 2017.

Fresh from supporting the Spice Girls at their well received comeback tour dates, Jess Glynne secures another top 10 hit this week. 'One Touch' is a completely brand new song not available on her current album 'Always In Between', and is a collaboration with Jax Jones, landing a new entry at this week's #6. That may seem a little low given it's a new song currently unavailable elsewhere, but #6 was also the position her last single 'No One' managed back in April, so it's consistency if nothing else.



Labrinth's more commonly been charting as part of LSD, the supergroup he formed with Sia and Diplo, in the last year, notching up three top 10 hits including 'Thunderclouds' which topped our chart for three weeks in September 2018. Now he's back focussing on new solo material - his first in fact since 'Jealous' made the top 5 back in July 2015 - but 'Miracle' falls a little short of expectations by entering at #16 this week.



Finally this week, there's disappointment for Andy Brown. From his last fourteen singles - nine of which of course, were with his old band Lawson, including five number ones - he's never had a record chart lower than #15, but he gets a rude awakening this week with the #19 entry point for current single 'If I'd Known', now the sixth single from his now year old 'Cedarmont' album. It's not too pessimistic of us to say that's as far as it will probably get. He'll be back with new stuff and in his usual charting habitat eventually.



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: 25 years after his death, there's a second week at the top for Elvis Presley and JXL's reworking of his 1968 B-side 'A Little Less Conversation', plus classic hits from Oasis, Christina Milian and Kylie Minogue



1. (1) ELVIS VS. JXL - A Little Less Conversation



2. (NE) OASIS - Stop Crying Your Heart Out
3. (2) KYLIE MINOGUE - Love At First Sight
4. (NE) CHRISTINA MILIAN - When You Look At Me
5. (NE) NELLY - Hot In Herre
6. (4) CHAD KROEGER FEAT. JOSEY SCOTT - Hero
7. (9) SCOOTER - The Logical Song
8. (5) LIBERTY X - Just A Little
9. (6) EMINEM - Without Me
10. (NE) MIS-TEEQ - Roll On / This Is How We Do It