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[ThePensmith]

Happy new year everyone, and welcome to my first personal top 20 for 2019. Is Jess Glynne about to start the year as she ended the last one - at the top of the charts with 'Thursday' - or will it be somebody else that takes her crown? Let's find out...

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART
Week ending 4th January 2019
© AM LIMITED 2019

1. (4) NOW UNITED - All Day
2. (5) OLLY MURS - Excuses
3. (9) LOS UNIDADES FEAT. PHARRELL WILLIAMS & JOZZY - E-Lo
4. (1) JESS GLYNNE - Thursday
5. (3) LITTLE MIX - Think About Us
6. (2) GEORGE EZRA - Hold My Girl
7. (8) TAKE THAT - Out Of Our Heads
8. (10) CLEAN BANDIT FEAT. MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS AND LUIS FONSI - Baby
9. (12) RAE MORRIS - Dancing With Character
10. (7) MICHAEL BUBLÉ - Love You Anymore

11. (14) ELLIE GOULDING FEAT. DIPLO & SWAE LEE - Close To Me
12. (15) ALL SAINTS - Testament In Motion
13. (17) BUSTED - Nineties
14. (16) LSD - Thunderclouds
15. (13) OLLY MURS FEAT. SNOOP DOGG - Moves
16. (18) JAMIE LAWSON - Testify
17. (RE) KYLIE MINOGUE FEAT. JACK SAVORETTI - The Music's Too Sad Without You
18. (RE) PALOMA FAITH - Loyal
19. (RE) RICK ASTLEY - She Makes Me
20. (19) JAMIE CULLUM - Love Is In The Picture

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



Welcome one and all to 2019! My first personal chart of a brand new year is always an interesting one. Sometimes a single that's already been at number one for some time (i.e. the Christmas chart topper) stays entrenched there until the first big new hits of the year arrive to bump it off the summit a few weeks later.

At other times, a much anticipated new record will be unleashed for the first week of the year to capitalise on a quiet month and make a huge impact. And then there'll be singles that have already been out since the end of last year, which have waited patiently whilst the Christmas classics returned - and then swiftly disappeared again for the next eleven months - before rising up to make a big impact, just as Craig David and Bastille managed this time last year with 'I Know You' being the first number one of 2018.

Quite literally, anything can happen, and it probably will. And with another week with no new entries, 'anything' this week just so happens to be the first ever number one single for multi membered pop combo Now United. Simon Fuller's new charges have not even been on the scene for six months yet, but since their debut single 'Summer In The City' smashed into the top 5 in July last year they've grown with each new release.



'All Day' first entered my chart at the end of November, and now rises three places to number one on its sixth week to be my first chart topper of 2019, finally putting them into the big leagues and ending Jess Glynne's reign at the top after three weeks. It stands them in good stead to potentially become one of 2019's biggest success stories for sure.

Back on our screens this weekend in his second series as a coach on The Voice UK, Olly Murs also zooms up to claim the #2 slot with 'Excuses', helped along by promo including his own ITV special 'Happy Hour' and the release of the song's video over the Christmas holiday period. Following 'Army of Two', 'Seasons', 'Years & Years' and 'Unpredictable', it's now his fifth single to claim silver honours. Meanwhile, Coldplay's Los Unidades project makes good on our prediction to be one of the first big hits of the new year two weeks ago by rising six places to #3 with Pharrell and Jozzy on 'E-Lo'.



TV exposure is also the explanation behind Take That's one place reversal to #7 with current single 'Out Of Our Heads', now on its twelfth week inside the top 10, following the airing of their BBC One documentary 'We've Come A Long Way' over the festive period to celebrate that this year will mark their 30th anniversary since forming. There's also upward movement in the top 10 for Clean Bandit with Marina and the Diamonds and Luis Fonsi, 'Baby' now moving up two to #8, whilst a leap of three places to #9 sees Rae Morris' 'Dancing With Character' become her first top 10 single on its fourth week.



The rest of the top 20 has no less than eight climbers - three of those returning after an absence of two weeks or more. It thus means that with the Christmas evergreens tucked away safely again until the end of November ('Fairytale Of New York' for instance has crashed 35 places from last week's #6 to #41 this week), Kylie Minogue with Jack Savoretti ('The Music's Too Sad Without You', 23-17) Paloma Faith ('Loyal', 24-18) and Rick Astley ('She Makes Me', 25-19) all regain top 20 positions whilst neatly lining up one after another.

Looking ahead to next week, the new year's first handful of brand new releases is set to chart, but I am not yet entirely convinced any of them will be strong enough to challenge the current top 3. But as I said before, anything can happen in January, so I await to be proven wrong.

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 2006: Newly crowned X Factor champ Shayne Ward starts the year at the top, plus classic hits from Pussycat Dolls, McFly and Girls Aloud



1. (1) SHAYNE WARD - That's My Goal



2. (5) PUSSYCAT DOLLS - Stickwitu
3. (2) MCFLY - Ultraviolet / The Ballad Of Paul K
4. (4) GIRLS ALOUD - See The Day
5. (9) SUGABABES - Ugly
6. (11) KELLY CLARKSON - Because Of You
7. (3) THE POGUES & KIRSTY MACCOLL - Fairytale Of New York
8. (7) BLACK EYED PEAS - My Humps
9. (6) MADONNA - Hung Up
10. (14) SIMON WEBBE - No Worries

PS Missed my countdown of my top 40 singles of 2018? Check it out over on the Countdowns and End Of Year Charts forum here.

This post has been edited by ThePensmith: 5th January 2019, 03:13 PM