Ed Sheeran's chart domination continues with Shape Of You topping the singles chart for a tenth week and ÷ still the number one album.
Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You spends a tenth week at number one in the singles chart while his ÷ album also stays at the top of the chart.
Shape Of You joins the elite group of songs which have spent ten or more weeks at the top of the singles chart. Only four songs have had a longer run at the top. Just two others have spent a total of more than ten weeks at number one. They include the all-time record holder Frankie Laine’s I Believe which occupied the summit for a total of eighteen weeks in three separate runs in 1953.
As mentioned last week Frankie Laine used to hold the record for the most songs in the top ten at the same time. He had four songs in the topmost tier - including I Believe - for three successive weeks in October and November 1953. Ed Sheeran annihilated that record last week by filling nine of the top ten places. This week he repeats that feat albeit with the songs in a different order from last week.
Galway Girl is still at number two with Castle On The Hill staying put (as castles tend to do) at number three. Perfect, New Man and Happier are all down one place to numbers five, six and seven respectively. Supermarket Flowers and What Do I Know are up one place each to number eight and nine respectively while Dive falls two places to number ten.
Once again the only non-Sheeran track in the top ten is Coldplay and Chainsmokers’ Something Just Like This which climbs back up to number four. The presence of American duo Chainsmokers prevents the top ten being an all-British affair.
Outside the top ten the remaining seven songs from ÷ all stay in the top forty although not not all of them stay in the top twenty. One of them, Save Myself, only just holds on to a top thirty place, falling ten places to number 29. Eraser also takes a tumble, dropping twelve places to number 26. Bibia Be Ye Ye (number 24) and Hearts Don’t Break Around Here (22) also leave the top twenty. Barcelona is at number thirteen, Nancy Mulligan at fifteen and How Would You Feel (Paean) at sixteen.
After last week’s bumper crop of new entries (not all of them by Ed Sheeran) we are back to something like normality this week with just three.
The highest of the three comes from Bruno Mars. The Hawaiian singer-songwriters scores his sixteenth top forty hit with That’s What I Like at number 35. It has to be said that it is a long way from being his finest work.
One of the things for a judge on a television show to consider is how to tell a contestant that their latest effort is a bit rubbish. One of the phrases favoured by Paul Hollywood on Bake Off is that a bake “has issues”. It remains to be seen whether the new judge Prue Leith has her own preferred euphemism. In the meantime Julia Michaels has a new entry at number 36. with a song called Issues. It is her first single after working with such luminaries as Justin Bieber, Years & Years and, yes him again, Ed Sheeran. I shall avoid euphemisms and describe the song as poor.
For reasons best known to themselves - perhaps one of them needed the money - Steps have re-formed to record a new single, Scared Of The Dark. They had fourteen consecutive top six hits between 1998 and 2001, most of them awful while others were not quite as good. Their comeback song has failed to replicate that success. It enters at number 37 having topped the iTunes chart for a short while at the start of the chart week. It has clearly been bought by their remaining diehard fans but has not sold much outside of that market and has not appealed to users of streaming sites.
For some people their fear of the dark (to borrow a Gordon Giltrap song title) can at least be exacerbated by having company. That brings us neatly (almost) to Scared Of Being Lonely, the Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa song which climbs back up to number 25. The biggest climb of the week is the fifteen place rise to number 23 achieved by Zedd and Alessia Cara’s Stay. Martin Jensen’s Solo Dance climbs thirteen places to number twelve having also had an impressive climb last week despite all the Sheeran songs. Katy Perry and Skip Marley’s Chained To The Rhythm almost returns to the top ten, climbing six places to number eleven.
Ed Sheeran’s ÷, all too predictably, spends a second week at number one in the albums chart. As last week it has trounced all opposition although not on quite the same scale as in its first week. He is also at number three with × and at number six with +.
In other Sheeran news it was announced yesterday (Thursday) that he would be joining Foo Fighters and Radiohead in headlining this year’s Glastonbury Festival. Expect an increase in sales of his albums at the end of June. It is just possible that ÷ might have spent some time away from the number one spot by then.
Rag ‘n’ Bone Man’s Human continues its bid to be the year’s second biggest-selling album. It spends a third week at number two. Stormzy’s Gang Signs & Prayer slips one place to number four.
In an age when it is finally becoming slightly less of a taboo to talk about gender identity it might be considered a little odd for a singer to use the Latin for always a woman as the title of an album. Nevertheless that is what Laura Marling has done with her sixth solo album. Three of her previous five albums have been nominated for the Mercury Prize although she has yet to win. Four of those albums have reached the top ten and they are now joined by Semper Femina at number five.
Viewers of the Top of the Pops repeats on BBC4 have been treated in the last couple years to some classic singles from Soft Cell starting with their brilliant version of Tainted Love. After the duo split singer Marc Almond went on to have a successful solo career including a number one (alongside Gene Pitney) with Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart. Both of these songs along with the equally excellent Bedstitter, The Days Of Pearly Spencer, Jacky and many others are on his latest compilation album, Hits & Pieces. It is a new entry at number seven to give Almond a first top ten album since a previous compilation in 1991.
It’s back to a bit of Latin for the name of the band responsible for the next new entry - half of their name anyway. Circa Waves (who share the second part of their name with a brilliant Blancmange song which also featured in recent Top of the Pops repeats) enter at number eleven with their second album Different Creatures. Their debut set, Young Chasers, went one better by reaching number ten.
In its early years the album chart was dominated by soundtracks from films such as South Pacific (115 weeks at number one) and The Sound Of Music (a mere 70 weeks at the top). For a long time any repeat was prevented by a change in the rules consigning such albums to the compilations chart. However, another rule change allowed such albums into the artist chart as long as they were credited to “Original Cast Recording” or some similar phrase. The latest beneficiary of that change is the soundtrack to Beauty And The Beast which lands at number twelve. The album features songs from actors such as Emma Watsn (best known as Hermione Granger) and Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey).
After missing the chart altogether with their debut, American band Shins had been peaking successively higher with each of their subsequent albums. That progress is halted with album number five Heartworms. Their previous release, Port Of Morrow, reached number eleven but Heartworms can only get as high as number nineteen.
It is a similar story for Cambridge band Mallory Knox. Their second album, Asymmetry, reached number sixteen, beating their previous release by 17 places. Album number three, Wired, is at number eighteen.
The latest attempt to make money from the Beatles back catalogue is a series of releases of albums with a load of other bits and bobs thrown in. The first album in the series is the last they recorded (although not the last to be released), Abbey Road. The album has one of the best-known pieces of cover art and made the studio and the London road famous. The repackaged version comes in at number 21.
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours returns to the chart yet again at number 29. For some reason it seems to have been excluded from last week’s chart before being allowed back in again this week. Olly Murs’ 24 Hrs returns at number 38.
Published on: 2017-03-17 by BuzzJack.com Suedehead2 || 34789 Views
I can't help reading Ed's song as How Would You Feel Peein'. Now that's taking the piss!
Steps "new" song is a virtual rewrite of Unbreak My Heart - I'm sorry, but if I were Diane Warren I would be getting that court order prepared right now and get my name on the writing credits....!
1 1 SHAPE OF YOU SHAPE OF YOU ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 1 10 buy listen 2 3 GALWAY GIRL GALWAY GIRL ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 2 2 buy listen 3 2 SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS CHAINSMOKERS & COLDPLAY DISRUPTOR 2 4 buy listen 4 9 SOLO DANCE SOLO DANCE MARTIN JENSEN DISCOWAX 4 4 buy listen 5 6 CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM KATY PERRY FT SKIP MARLEY CAPITOL 3 5 buy listen 6 4 CASTLE ON THE HILL CASTLE ON THE HILL ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 2 10 buy listen 7 New SCARED OF THE DARK SCARED OF THE DARK STEPS STEPS MUSIC 7 1 buy listen 8 5 HUMAN HUMAN RAG'N'BONE MAN BEST LAID PLANS/COLUMBIA 1 25 buy listen 9 8 CIAO ADIOS CIAO ADIOS ANNE-MARIE ASYLUM/MAJOR TOM’S 8 5 buy listen 10 25 STAY STAY ZEDD & ALESSIA CARA INTERSCOPE 10 3 buy listen 11 7 PERFECT PERFECT ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 7 2 buy listen 12 10 PLAY THAT SONG PLAY THAT SONG TRAIN COLUMBIA 7 8 buy listen 13 13 YOU DON'T KNOW ME YOU DON'T KNOW ME JAX JONES FT RAYE POLYDOR 3 14 buy listen 14 16 SCARED TO BE LONELY SCARED TO BE LONELY MARTIN GARRIX & DUA LIPA COLUMBIA 11 7 buy listen 15 11 IT AIN'T ME IT AIN'T ME KYGO & SELENA GOMEZ COLUMBIA 6 5 buy listen 16 15 SLIDE SLIDE CALVIN HARRIS/OCEAN/MIGOS COLUMBIA 11 3 buy listen 17 New BEST BEHAVIOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR LOUISA JOHNSON SYCO MUSIC 17 1 buy listen 18 65 PLACES PLACES MARTIN SOLVEIG & INA WROLDSEN POSITIVA 18 9 buy listen 19 14 SUPERMARKET FLOWERS SUPERMARKET FLOWERS ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 14 2 buy listen 20 19 BE THE ONE BE THE ONE DUA LIPA WARNER BROS 4 10 buy listen 21 26 THAT'S WHAT I LIKE THAT'S WHAT I LIKE BRUNO MARS ATLANTIC 21 4 buy listen 22 New WATERFALL WATERFALL STARGATE FT PINK & SIA INTERSTELLAR MUSIC/RCA 22 1 buy listen 23 12 GREEN LIGHT GREEN LIGHT LORDE VIRGIN 12 3 buy listen 24 22 BIG FOR YOUR BOOTS BIG FOR YOUR BOOTS STORMZY MERKY 9 6 buy listen 25 49 ISSUES ISSUES JULIA MICHAELS POLYDOR 25 3 buy listen 26 23 PARIS PARIS CHAINSMOKERS DISRUPTOR 9 9 buy listen 27 27 TOUCH TOUCH LITTLE MIX SYCO MUSIC 3 16 buy listen 28 New NO FRAUDS NO FRAUDS NICKI MINAJ/DRAKE/LIL WAYNE CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC RECORDS 28 1 buy listen 29 20 COLD COLD MAROON 5 FT FUTURE INTERSCOPE 20 5 buy listen 30 36 I FEEL IT COMING I FEEL IT COMING WEEKND FT DAFT PUNK REPUBLIC RECORDS/XO 4 17 buy listen
31 28 I DON'T WANNA LIVE FOREVER (FIFTY SHADES I DON'T WANNA LIVE FOREVER (FIFTY SHADES ZAYN/TAYLOR SWIFT RCA/REPUBLIC RECORDS 4 14 buy listen 32 32 ROCKABYE ROCKABYE CLEAN BANDIT ATLANTIC 1 21 buy listen 33 31 NANCY MULLIGAN NANCY MULLIGAN ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 31 2 buy listen 34 17 HOW WOULD YOU FEEL (PAEAN) HOW WOULD YOU FEEL (PAEAN) ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 1 4 buy listen 35 34 CALL ON ME CALL ON ME STARLEY AATW 6 11 buy listen 36 21 DIVE DIVE ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 21 2 buy listen 37 New REGRET IN YOUR TEARS REGRET IN YOUR TEARS NICKI MINAJ CASH MONEY/REPUBLIC RECORDS 37 1 buy listen 38 33 SEPTEMBER SONG SEPTEMBER SONG JP COOPER ISLAND 5 16 buy listen 39 38 SAFE INSIDE SAFE INSIDE JAMES ARTHUR SYCO MUSIC 18 8 buy listen 40 24 HAPPIER HAPPIER ED SHEERAN ASYLUM 24 2
And in the real world, these are the 40 most popular/talked about tracks this week - forgive the rubbish layout, dont have time to format, but only 3 Ed's in the top 10, Steps get a top 10 comeback and lots of middling comebacks for various acts
Making a point, thanks. The difference between the sales chart and the distorted streaming listening chart is huge. This week's will be even bigger. I expect the chart compilers to be forced to make changes as it looks increasingly like an album track chart of huge stars and singles are a thing of the past.