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[ThePensmith]

Hello everyone, time for my personal top 20 this week. All Saints, Gabrielle and yes, Cheryl, all released new singles for my chart this week, but were any of them strong enough to overcome the might of George Ezra? Here's where we find out...


THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 16th November 2018
© AM LIMITED 2018

1. (1) GEORGE EZRA - Hold My Girl
2. (2) MICHAEL BUBLÉ - Love You Anymore
3. (3) TAKE THAT - Out Of Our Heads
4. (8) OLLY MURS FEAT. SNOOP DOGG - Moves
5. (4) BUSTED - Nineties
6. (HNE) ALL SAINTS - Testament In Motion
7. (NE) GABRIELLE - Under My Skin
8. (7) TOM FLETCHER - Don't Turn Out The Light
9. (5) PALOMA FAITH - Loyal
10. (17) KYLIE MINOGUE FEAT. JACK SAVORETTI - The Music's Too Sad Without You

11. (6) RAK-SU - I Want You To Freak
12. (9) THE SHIRES - Ahead of the Storm
13. (10) LAUV - I Like Me Better
14. (11) LSD - Thunderclouds
15. (12) RUDIMENTAL FEAT. TOM WALKER - Walk Alone
16. (13) ED DREWETT - The Unfortunate Gent
17. (16) WARD THOMAS - Never Know
18. (NE) HANNE LELAND - Underdogs
19. (14) CLAIRE RICHARDS - End Before We Start
20. (NE) CHERYL - Love Made Me Do It

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



Not for the first time this year, the entire top 3 remains static, as George Ezra makes it a third week at number one with 'Hold My Girl', with Michael Bublé and Take That retaining their positions from last week too. In fact, the only significant movement in the top 5 this week is the four place climb of Olly Murs. His former number one from October, 'Moves' with Snoop Dogg, is this week's #4 - it's highest chart position for two weeks.



This is owed in part to the release last week of his new double album 'You Know I Know', and also to his performance of the track on last Sunday's results show of The X Factor, albeit with Brit rapper Lady Leshurr appearing in a version that isn't commercially available as of yet. Focus however, is shortly to move onto the album's next single, 'Love Me Again', so if it's outside the top 10 in a couple of weeks, don't say we didn't warn you.

Olly also performed 'Moves' on the BBC Children In Need Rocks event at Wembley Arena during the week, an event that he, George Ezra and All Saints were all on the bill of. 'Testament In Motion' is the third single from the latter's 'Testament' album, and follow-up to their August chart topper with 'After All', and just like its predocessor, is produced with William Orbit. It claims the week's highest new entry at #6, and whilst it fails to become their second number one of the year, it is now their ninth top 10 hit on my personal chart.



Nine is also the magic number this week for Gabrielle. 'Under My Skin' is the third single and title track off the British soul singer's current album, and follows its first two singles 'Show Me' (#10 in May) and 'Thank You' (#6 in August) into the top 10 at #7, marking her ninth such appearance since 'Sunshine' became her first hit on my personal chart back in October 1999, which also reached the same position. Her only chart topper to date remains as 'Rise', which hit the top in January 2000 for a two week run.



TV promo is also the explanation behind the return of Kylie Minogue and Jack Savoretti's 'The Music's Too Sad Without You', as following a performance on Jonathan Ross last weekend, it reclaims the #10 position it debuted at two weeks ago. Rak-Su bow out the top 10 after a six week run with their former number one 'I Want You To Freak'. Given press reports of the last week that their management company Modest (also home to Olly Murs, Little Mix and a newly revenant Spice Girls) is cutting ties with their label SyCo (owned of course, by Simon Cowell) over a professional dispute, it appears they are in the process of switching to RCA, also under the Sony umbrella, so the earliest we are likely to hear their debut album is sometime in the new year.



Hanne Leland becomes the first newcomer of 2018 to land three top 20 hit singles this year. The Norwegian singer/songwriter debuted at #10 back in March with 'Carry On', then followed it up in September with 'Fortress' which hit #12. However, if 'Underdogs', her third single, fails to advance beyond the #18 entry point it debuts at this week, then it will be the smallest of her three hits so far.



It's hard to know where you start with our final new entry of the week. Needless to say, given the intense hype and exposure that accompanies this artist's every move, it's surprising in a sense to see it achieve the position it has. 2015 was the last time Cheryl was on our personal chart. 'Only Human' was the single, the third off her fourth album of the same name released in 2014, and stalled at #17. Being the third single, this was excusable, especially as the first two ('Crazy Stupid Love' and 'I Don't Care') had already been chart toppers. Then came a long silence of over three years on the music front, although the former Girls Aloud songstress and national treasure has hardly been quiet in the time since, her life continuing to operate as some other worldly soap opera as she became a mum to her son Bear, before parting ways with her partner and his father, One Directioner turned solo artist Liam Payne.



Almost ten years removed from her solo debut proper with 'Fight For This Love', and sixteen years removed from her debut with Girls Aloud on their chart topping 'Sound of the Underground', she reappeared this week to nervously test the waters again. 'Love Made Me Do It' is the first release off what is touted to be her fifth solo album. What it has done, in quite spectacular fashion, is set a new low where records by her or any of Girls Aloud in a solo or group sense are concerned with my personal chart, just scraping into the top 20. With a performance on this weekend's edition of The X Factor forthcoming, it is not out the question for it to rise up yet, but for a lady who opened her last three studio albums with number one hits on my personal chart, just scraping the top 20 is a far cry from that kind of performance. Although honestly, much of its failure is down to the song itself, which for all its obscure production and liberal use of the F word, is quite simply nowhere near up to the standard of her other hits. It's a no from us, pet.

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 2003: Kylie Minogue bags a slinky and 'Slow' fourth number one, plus classic hits from Sugababes and Kevin Lyttle



1. (HNE) KYLIE MINOGUE - Slow



2. (1) KEVIN LYTTLE - Turn Me On
3. (2) SUGABABES - Hole In The Head
4. (3) HOLLY VALANCE - State Of Mind
5. (8) STACIE ORRICO - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life
6. (6) BLUE - Guilty
7. (4) ATOMIC KITTEN - If You Come To Me
8. (5) RACHEL STEVENS - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
9. (7) DIDO - White Flag
10. (NE) ROBBIE WILLIAMS - Sexed Up

This post has been edited by ThePensmith: 9th December 2018, 05:47 PM