007 Chart Commentary

The Wanted get an all time high at number one

New 5 piece boy band The Wanted enter straight in at #1 this week with debut single All Time Low, perhaps to the surprise of many. The band were formed last year from a mass auditioning process and have been inspired by the recent success of the likes of JLS. The Wanted have performed alongside the Saturdays and have also collaborated with the likes of Taio Cruz and Cathy Dennis for their forthcoming debut album. They certainly have made a good start with a chart topping single.

Travie McCoy feat Bruno Mars – Billionaire enters at #3

So the track that has been tipped by many to be the next urban / R&B chart topper actually goes in at #3 this week, perhaps surprisingly. Travis McCoy first came to light as the lead vocalist of hip hop group Gym Class Heroes who scored 3 top 10 hits between 2006 and 2008, biggest being the Supertramp sampling Cupid’s Chokehold which made #3. Under the name of Travie McCoy, he equals that peak with Billionaire which features vocals from Bruno Mars who also sung on this year’s chart topping Nothin’ On You by BoB.

Flo Rida feat David Guetta – Club Can’t Handle Me enters at #5

In a top 10 which contains all of this week’s new entries, Flo Rida comes in at #5 after leading iTunes for the latter half of the week. Club Can’t Handle Me is another track to be released early due to the online presence of a karaoke version, also due to the release of the Step Up 3D soundtrack from which the track is taken. US rapper Flo Rida first came to prominence on these shores when Low became a massive #2 hit in 2007, this was followed by lesser top 30 hits Elevator and In The Ayer. Then he hit #1 last year with Right Round in collaboration with a then unknown Ke$ha, again followed by smaller hits Sugar, Jump and Be On You. Now he returns for another top 5, this time hit alongside David Guetta, again looking likely to be very big indeed. The club can’t handle him, I wonder if the charts can!

Swedish House Mafia – One (My Name) enters at #7

Swedish House Mafia is a group of 3 house DJs from Sweden, as you may have guessed from the name. Current members are Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, with Eric Prydz having been a member but no longer following his move to London. All DJ and record producers, Axwell is perhaps the best known with hits of his own such as Feel The Vibe and I Found U. Between them, they have produced remixes for the likes of Adele, Hard Fi, Usher, Robin S, Faithless and Temper Trap. With additional vocals from Pharrel, One (My Name) enters at #7 as the debut UK release for the trio.

Magnetic Man feat Angela Hunte – I Need Air enters at #10

Another of this week’s big new entries to come from a trio of producers / remixers comes from Magnetic Man. The group consists of UK based dubstep producers Skream, Benga and Artwork, who have produced various remixes for the likes of La Roux, Klaxons and Bat For Lashes. Magnetic Man have also featured on NME and are due to play at Glastonbury this year, as well as release their debut album. I Need Air is the trio’s debut single entering at #10 this week, also featuring vocals from Angela Hunte.

Jason Derulo – What If climbs to #15

In a chart devoid of action outwith the top 10, Jason Delrulo manages to climb another 4 places with his 4th single What If. This looks likely to miss the top 10, however the track has renewed interest in his self titled album which climbs to #15 this week to achieve its second highest peak since debuting at #8.

Eminem holds steady at #1 in the albums chart

It is a fifth week at the top for Eminem’s Recovery album which is still continuing to sell very well indeed by fending off some big new entries. Sir Tom Jones came within a whisker of becoming the oldest male artist to achieve a #1 album this week, however Praise & Blame enters at a very respectable #2, his 9th to make the top 5 since his 1965 debut. US rock band Avenged Sevenfold get their biggest hit to date as their fifth studio album hits #5, this is following the sad death of their drummer The Rev. John and Edward Grimes famously made their name in a big way on last year’s X-Factor then scored a #2 hit with Under Pressure and now enter at #17 with their album Planet Jedward … not from planet Earth it seems after all!

Personal opinion of 007!

I am happy to see The Wanted hit the top as All Time Low is actually quite good, better than JLS’s current offering anyway! It is certainly a billion times better than the generic rubbish that is Billionaire by Travie McCoy (ridiculous name anyway). Flo Rida’s new one is ok I guess even if it does sound like most other Guetta produced tracks we’ve had lately. Both Swedish House Mafia’s and Magnetic Man’s new songs are reasonable I guess, just not my sort of thing in either case but it is refreshing to see something different in the top 10. I am happy to see Jason Derulo make a bit of progress with his best song What If, even if it is likely to miss the top 10. I am soooo happy to see the tuneless Jedward twins flopping in both singles and albums, what a joke they really are.