JLS claim their third #1 single and Kylie claims her 4th #1 album, her first in almost 9 years

JLS are of course the boy band who rose to fame after coming second to Alexandra Burke in 2008's X Factor, managed by a certain Louis Walsh. Almost exactly a year ago, the group released their debut single Beat Again which went straight to #1 and has now sold upwards of 500,000 copies in the UK. This was followed up with chart topper Everybody In Love and #6 hit One Shot, all 3 of which their debut self titled album which has sold almost 1.2 million so far. Now is the time then to release the first single from forthcoming album #2 The Club Is Alive, with this they prove that their very loyal fanbase is indeed alive as they top the charts for the 3rd time.

 

Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano enters at #5

Following the appearence of the Marco Calliari cover version last week (which dips 26-63 now), the original version makes its chart debut at #5 this week. It is by the oddly named Spanish / English duo Yolanda Be Cool, consisting of Sylvester Martinez and Johnson Peterson alongside Australian producer DCUP (Duncan McLennan). The track has so far made top 5 in Denmark, Australia, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway, with the UK now added to that list. We No Speak Americano uses a sample of the 1956 hit "Tu vuò fà l'americano" by Renato Carosone, whom I suspect does not speak Americano but rather Italiano!

 

3Oh3 feat Ke$ha - My First Kiss enters at #7

Colorado based electro / hip hop group 3Oh3 make a return to the UK charts this week, alongside fellow US singer Kesha Rose Sebert. My First Kiss is the first single to be lifted from 3Oh3's third album Streets Of Gold and sees the group team up with Ke$ha once again, after Blah Blah Blah hit #11 for Ke$ha feat 3Oh3. They also teamed up with Katy Perry on Starstrukk which hit #3 after being released at the tail end of last year, folowing up twice top 30 hit Don't Trust Me.

 

Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up enters at #12

UK singer songwriter and former child actress Eliza Doolittle gets her second top 40 hit and first 20 hit to date as she Packs Up after wearing her Skinny Genes which made #22 eariler on this year. Pack up is another of this week's new entries to sample an old song, this time it is the 1915 war time song Pack Up Your Troubles In your Old Kit Bag. This track also features an uncredited vocal from Lloyd Wade who made the final of 2004's X Factor. Ms Doolittle won't be packing up just yet as her debut self-titled album is released this week!

 

Kelis - 4th Of July (Fireworks) enters at #32

To find out the date this track was given its full release, you need only look at the title! Released on Independence Day, Kelis now has her second hit of the year with the followup to massive top 5 hit Acapella. 4th Of July (Fireworks) makes its debut at a comparitively low #32 this week. Since her UK debut in 1999, Kelis Jones has amassed 8 UK top 20 hits with the biggest and most famous being her #2 hits Milkshake (2003) and Trick Me (2004).

 

Lee Ryan - I Am Who I Am / Secret Love

Former member of boyband Blue, Lee Ryan makes a return to the UK top 40 with his double A sided single I Am Who I Am and Secret Love. From 2001 to 2005, the band Blue managed 11 top 10 hits out of 12 releases and are probably best known for All Rise, One Love and Flyby, before going their own ways. Lead singer Lee Ryan then managed 3 solo top 20 hits in 2005, including #3 hit Army Of Lovers before anouncing that he was quitting the music business. Now he has decided to try again and hits #33 with the combination of his own Secret Love and cover of I Am Who I Am, originally an album track for Ben's Brother.

 

Drake - Find Your Love

Canadian singer, rapper and actor Aubrey Drake Graham makes his top 40 debut this week at #36 under the single name of Drake with latest single Find Your Love. As well as being a member of hip hop super-group Young Money, Drake has worked with many hip-hop artists including Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Kanye West, Eminem and Jay-Z. Despite also releasing 4 singles in the UK previously, none of these have made the top 40 (except Bedrock by Young Money). This changes now as he finds enough love to make the top 40 as an artist in his own right, his first full album Thank Me Later also made top 20 a few weeks ago.

 

Kylie hits #1 in the album charts with Aphrodite

Over in the album charts, pint sized Aussie superstar Kylie Minogue returns to top form as Aphrodite provides her with her first UK #1 album since 2001's Fever, coming a whole 22 years after her debut hit the top. Last week's top 4 maintain their top 5 positions ahead of Enrique Iglesias with his 9th album in total (4 Spanish and 4 English previously) and first Bilingual offering, in at #6. Feeder enter at #16 with their 7th studio album Renegades, the first of 2 albums due this year from the band as they are now. Rock Choir was established in 2005 to offer the general public an opportuntity to sing pop, gospel and Motown songs, without the need for previous singing experience and no auditions. So the first release from a new 4 album deal sees the 5000+ piece act make their debut at #19 this week. Other acts with new album entries include Mystery Jets, Cherry Ghost and I Am Kloot.

 

Personal opinion

I am not keen on the new JLS song but it is OK I Guess, I can't help thinking that they won a singing competition and this track uses too much autotune for my liking. I don't like BoB's Airplanes much either, although similar in style I do actually quite like Eminem and Rihanna's Love the Way You Lie. I'm not a fan of that Americano track, and I don't like either 3Oh3 or Ke$ha, so it will come as no surprise that I'm no fan of My First Kiss. On a more positive note, I do rather like Eliza Doolittle with her very catchy song Pack Up, it is also great to see Plan B make progress up the charts with the brilliant Prayin'. I like 4th July by Kelis and think it deserves better, especially as a follow up to her massive top 5 hit Acapella. I have always liked Blue but disliked Lee Ryan as a person, however both of his new songs are actually quite good in a Lemar sort of way.

Kylie's No.1 Album, 'Aphrodite', is the first No.1 Album, to be named after a God,

since 1975. Aphrodite' was the Ancient Greek Goddess of Love. Her Roman name

was Venus.

 

In 1975, Wings went to No.1 twice, (2 'Runs' of 1 Week), with 'Venus And Mars'.

The Album was probably named after the Planets, but the Planets were named after

the Roman Gods - Mars being the Roman God of War.

 

The Wings Album was the 156th No.1, & 'Aphrodite' is the 902nd, so it has taken 746

No.1 Albums, to see another Album named after a God.

 

NOTE - There was also 'Night Flight To Venus' by Boney M - the 200th No.1 Album.

But, I'm only looking at No.1 Albums that soley have the names of Gods in their Titles.

 

Before the Kylie Album, the last No.1 Album to be named after someone from Greek

Mythology, was 'Medusa', by Annie Lennox - the 521st No.1, in 1995. Medusa was one

of the 3 Gorgon Sisters, who had snakes in her hair, & turned all who looked into her

eyes into stone.

 

SINGLES - There have been 1134 No.1 Singles, & only 2 have had Ancient Gods

names in their Titles. First there was, 'Diana', by Paul Anka, (1957) - the 63rd No.1.

Diana being the Roman Goddess of the Moon & the Hunt. (Greek name, Artemis).

 

The 2nd was the 126th No.1 - 'Kon-Tiki' - The Shadows. (1961). Named after

Thor Heyerdahl's Raft, which he sailed from South America, to the South Sea

Islands, in 1947. (He was a Norwegian).

He named the Raft after Kon-Tiki Viracocha - the Creator God of the Inca Empire

of South America - destroyed in the 1500's.

(Some say Kon-Tiki was the Incas Sun God, but their Sun God was called Inti).

 

There have been no No.1 Singles called 'Aphrodite', or 'Venus', in the UK. However,

Dutch Group, Shocking Blue took 'Venus' to No.8, in 1970, & Bananarama took a

Cover of that Song to No.8, in 1986. Both versions were No.1 in the USA.

Don Pablo's Animals had a No.4 UK Hit with an up-date of it, in 1990.

Frankie Avalon took a different 'Venus', to No.1, in the USA, in 1959. But, it only

got to No.16 here in the UK. A UK Cover, by Dickie Valentine, reached No.20, at

around the same time.

 

UK ALBUM CHART

 

THE FEMALE SOLO ACTS WITH THE MOST No.1 ALBUMS

 

(To W/E 17th July 2010)

 

(Weeks AT No.1 in Brackets)

 

1) MADONNA - 11 (29W)

2) BARBRA STREISAND - 6 (19W)

3)=CELINE DION - 5 (18W)

3)=KYLIE MINOGUE - 5 (11W)

5) DIANA ROSS - 4 (16W) @@@

 

@@@ = Her Total includes 2 as Diana Ross & The Supremes (10W),

& 1 as Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations (4W)

 

OTHER BIG SOLO FEMALE CHART ACTS & THEIR UK No.1 ALBUMS

 

Mariah Carey has ‘only’ had 2 UK No.1 Albums, (7W).

Britney Spears has had 5 No.1 Singles, but has yet to

have a No.1 Album. She’s had 4 No.2 Albums.

Whitney Houston has had 2 No.1 Albums (8W). However,

some people say that she should be credited with 3. She sang

on 6 of the 12 Tracks on ‘The Bodyguard’ Soundtrack (1992).

It was not allowed into the main UK Album Chart, but was No.1

for 11 Weeks in the Compilation Chart. For 9 of those Weeks it

also outsold the No.1 Album in the main Album Chart. Whitney

would have 3 No.1 Albums, & 17 No.1 Weeks, had ‘The Bodyguard’

been allowed into the main Chart - assuming that one regards it as

a Whitney Album, to begin with, of course.

Norah Jones has had 3 No.1 Albums (7W). As has Eva Cassidy (5W).

Kate Bush has had 3 No.1 Albums (6W). She’s the only British Solo

Female to have had as many as 3 No.1 Albums. Annie Lennox has

been on 5 No.1 Albums, but 3 were in The Eurythmics, (13W), &

2 were Solo (3W).

Dido, & Cher, have each had 2 No.1 Albums. Despite’ only’ 2 each,

they spent 17 Weeks, & 13 Weeks, respectively, at No.1 - more than

Kylie has managed with 5 No.1’s.

Alanis Morissette, & Shania Twain, have ‘only’ had 1 No.1 Album

each, but those Albums were No.1 for an impressive 11 Weeks.

 

I do believe that Kylie’s one of only 2 Solo Australian Females to have UK No.1 Albums.

The other is Natalie Imbruglia, who went to No.1, for 1 Week, in April 2005, with

‘Counting Down The Days’. By coincidence, both Kylie & Natalie became famous

via the Australian Soap Opera, ‘Neighbours’.

 

NOTE - Some would argue that Olivia Newton-John is Australian, & she was

No.1, (13 Weeks), with the ‘Grease’ Soundtrack, in 1978. However, she was born

in Cambridge, in the UK. And, ‘Grease’ was not a Solo Album, anyhow.

She’s never been higher than No.8, in the Album Chart, on her own - ‘Olivia’s Greatest

Hits Vol.2’. (1982). She reached No.2, (with the Electric Light Orchestra), on the ‘Xanadu’

Soundtrack, in 1980.

 

Kylie's Sister, Dannii, has had 9 Top 10 Hits, to Kylie's 33. She's had 1 No.2 Single,

to Kylie's 11. She's never had a No.1 Single - Kylie has had 7. And she's never been

higher than No.8 in the Album Chart - which she managed in both 1991 & 2003.

 

'Kylie', (AKA 'Kylie - The Album'), was the first Album by a Solo Female to reach

2 Million UK Sales. That fact was revealed by Alan Jones, in 1989.

 

It overtook 'True Blue', by Madonna, which had sold about 1,850,000 by the end of

1987 - and about 1,970,000 to date.

 

However,'Whitney', (1987), by Whitney Houston, & 'Tracy Chapman', by Tracy Chapman,

(1988), passed the Sales of 'Kylie', in the end. But, she still was the first Solo Female to

have a 2 Million Selling UK Album.

 

 

 

Good info thanks Zeus.