Rihanna feat Calvin Harris - We Found Love returns to #1

It's not often that we get a returning #1. This week is one of those occasions, as We Found Love returns to #1 after spending 3 weeks there then 2 further weeks inside the top 3. The last single to return to #1 was Adele's Someone Like You after 1 week off #1 earlier this year. However the last one to return to the summit after more than a week was Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars around this time last year. So far Rihanna & Calvin have kept off boybands The Wanted and JLS from #1, can she do the same to One Direction next week?

 

JLS - Take A Chance On Me enters at #2

After coming second in 2009's X Factor, JLS have released pre-album singles in July and November which have entered at #1 - Beat Again, Everybody In Love, The Club Is Alive, Love You More and most recently She Makes Me Wanna. New single Take A Chance On Me however breaks that pattern by debuting at #2, due to the huge Rihanna hit. Each following single has peaked inside the top 10, will their next single do the same or peak lower again?

 

Pixie Lott feat Pusha T - What Do You Take Me For? enters at #10

Another act to be following up a #1 single from earlier this year is Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott, and another to break a statistical pattern! Pixie's debut single Mama Do debuted at #1, as did follow up single Boys & Girls, followed by 4 top 20 hits from her debut album - Cry Me Out, Gravity, Turn It Up and Broken Arrow. Earlier this year, she topped the chart with All About Tonight, thus peaking at #1 or top 20 with all her full single releases to date. However new single What Do You Take Me For debuts at #10, also featuring rapper Pusha T and lifted from her forthcoming second album Young Foolish Happy.

 

Florence & The Machine - Shake It Out clumbs to #12

This year has seen 2 major influences in the chart to cause tracks to suddenly rise significantly - X Factor and 59p reduction. The former is the reason for Shake It Out's rise to #12 this week, after Florence's performance on the aforementioned ITV show. This now becomes her joint second biggest hit single to date, matching the peak of Rabbit Heart in 2009, only bettered by her #5 cover of You've Got The Love. Shake It Out Was looking to be something of a flop, having only peaked in the low top 30 prior to X Factor.

 

Loick Essein - Me Without You enters at #14

21 year old London based singer Loick Mark Essein gets himself a third UK top 40 hit this week as new single Me Without You enters at #14. This follows up his #2 hit How We Roll from earlier this year and is featured on his debut album which is due out in March 2012. How We Roll features singer Tanya Lacey who has recently supported Bruno Mars on parts of his current tour.

 

Bruno Mars - It Will Rain enters at #16

Taking of Mr Mars, this week he adds yet another top 20 hit to his tally as new single It Will Rain debuts at #16. After featuring on 2 big rap hits last year, Bruno Mars made his solo debut with Just The Way You Are which topped the chart and went on to become a UK million seller. The huge selling chart topping singles Grenade and The Lazy Song followed this, then came top 20 hits Marry You and Runaway Baby. Unlike the aforementioned tracks It Will Rain does not appear on his debut album Doo Wops & Hooligans, the track is lifted from the soundtrack of the new Twilight film. Let's hope that this is not the weather forecast!

 

Tinchy Stryder feat Calvin Harris & Burns - Off The Record enters at #24

Kwasi Danquah III makes his return to the top 30 this week under his better known stage name of Tinchy Stryder, but it is Off The Record though. In 2007 Tinchy released his debut album Star In The Hood which yielded no hit singles, however he made his breakthorugh in 2009 with #3 hit Take Me Back (feat Taio Cruz) and #1s Number One (with N-Dubz) and Never Leave You (with Amelle Berrabah), followed by #14 cover of Olive's You're Not Alone. Last year saw him score another 4 top 30 hits from his 3rd album appropriately entitled Third Strike - In My System, Second Chance, Game Over and Let It Rain. Now following up #5 hit Spaceship (feat Dappy) from earlier this year comes Off The Record, features this time are Calvin Harris and rapper Burns.

 

Afrojack and Steve Aoki feat Miss Palmer - No Beef enters at #25

Dutch producer Nick van de Wall made his debut under the name of Afrojack last year on #24 hit Take Over Control, featuring vocals from Eva Simons. Afrojack is also featured on Pitbull's massive #1 hit Give Me Everything from earlier this year. US electro-house producer Steve Aoki also debuted last year, with #29 hit I'm In The House. Now the 2 producers alongside vocalist Miss Palmer get a #25 new entry with No Beef ... perhaps they're vegeterians!

 

Susan Boyle tops the album chart again with Someone To Watch Over Me

Britain's Got Talent runner up Susan Boyle scores herself a third consecutive #1 album this week with Someone To Watch Over Me, following in a similar vein to the previous 2. In a very busy album chart consisting of 7 entries into the top 20, X Factor contestant Cher Lloyd gets the seconf highest at #4 with Sticks & Stones. In at #5 is boy band The Wanted with second album Battlefield, ahead of Dutch composer Andre Rieu at #7. 15 year old singer Birdy released her debut album this week and enters at #13, 1 place ahead of another Pink Floyd compilation set entitled A Foot In The Door : Best Of. Simon & Garfunkel re-enter at #16 with their Greatest Hits set and Diana Ross with another entitled The Greatest at #24.

 

Personal Opinion

I do like We Found Love but I don't think it is worthy of such huge success, however I am happy to see it deny JLS another #1. I do think Take A Chance On Me is one of their best, however it seemed like they were getting #1s regardless of the quality - The Club Is Alive and She Makes Me Wanna proved that! I loved Pixie Lott's debut , however I felt that All About Tonight was a step down and What Do You Take Me For is another step down as well as a pointless rap feature ... still good but not brilliant. Florence's Shake It Out has really grown on me recently, also I quite like Me Without You by Loick Essein. However I think Bruno Mars Let It Rain is the best new entry of the week, his debut album is really brilliant as is this single and he's great live too. Both Tinchy Stryder's and Afrojack's new songs are not to my liking though. Whilst I'm not a fan of SuBo, I think she has a great talent and good to see her at #1 again ... thank goodness it's not Cher Lloyd though!

Susan Boyle's popularity has actually nose-dived. Her first Album sold over

411,000 to enter at No.1. Her 2nd sold over 100,000 to enter at No.1. Her

3rd Album has sold less than 73,000 to enter at No.1. The further we get away

from how she was 'discovered', the less people are interested in buying her

Albums. I've even seen a lot of her Fans saying that her current Album is

not very good value for money. It only has 10 Tracks, & the Title Track

- 'Someone To Watch Over Me' - only lasts 1.17. Only part of that Song

has been included - for some inexplicable reason.

 

1) RIHANNA (Back at No.1 in the Singles Chart)

 

She becomes only the 2nd Solo Female to have 20, (or more),

Weeks at No.1, in the Singles Chart. If one wants to be pedantic,

we could say that she was not alone on 4 of her 6 No.1 Hits.

Just as Madonna was with Justin Timberlake, on one of her 13

No.1's - 4 Minutes (4 Weeks - 2008). In which case, we can say

that Madonna, & Rihanna are the only 2 credited Females with

20, (or more), Singles Weeks at No.1.

 

A) MADONNA - 29 No.1 Weeks (13 No.1 Hits) (1985 - 2008)

 

B) RIHANNA - 20 No.1 Weeks (6 No.1 Hits) (2007 - 2011) @@@

 

@@@ = 10 Weeks with Jay-Z, 1 Week with Jay-Z & Kanye West, 1 Week with Drake, & 4 Weeks with Calvin Harris

 

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2) SUSAN BOYLE - 3 NUMBER ONE ALBUMS

With her Someone To Watch Over Me Album, entering at No.1, Susan becomes only the 2nd UK Solo Female to have as many as 3 No.1 Albums.

 

KATE BUSH

 

W/E 20th September 1980 - NEVER FOR EVER (1 Week)

 

W/E 28th September 1985 - HOUNDS OF LOVE (3 Weeks - Non-Consecutive)

 

W/E 17th January 1987 - THE WHOLE STORY (2 Weeks)

 

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SUSAN BOYLE

 

W/E 5th December 2009 - I DREAMED A DREAM (4 Weeks)

 

W/E 20th November 2010 - THE GIFT (1 Week)

 

W/E 19th November 2011 - SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (1 Week)

 

NOTES

 

A) The first UK No.1 Album by a Solo Female was:,

 

W/E 2nd July 1977 - A STAR IS BORN - (OST) BARBRA STREISAND (2 Weeks)

 

However, some sources count it as a Various Artists Album. Indeed the cover credits it to Barbra Streisand & Kris Kristofferson.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

B) So, you could choose the next one, instead:,

 

W/E 27th August 1977 - 20 ALL TIME GREATS - CONNIE FRANCIS (2 Weeks)

 

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C) The first No.1 STUDIO Album, by a Solo Female was:,

 

W/E 20th September 1980 - NEVER FOR EVER - KATE BUSH (1 Week)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

D) SUSAN BOYLE is the first UK Female to ENTER at No.1 with 3 No.1 Albums. The first

 

2 by Kate Bush did so, but, The Whole Story entered at No.3, on W/E 22nd November

1986. It did not climb to No.1 until its 9th Chart Week.

 

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SIMON & GARFUNKEL - Greatest Hits is back in the Chart at No.16. It was last as high

as No.16 on W/E 1st November 1975. It was last in the Top 20 on W/E 29th May 1976

- No.18. Last in the Top 30 on W/E 18th September 1976 - No.25. Last in the Top 40 on

W/E 27th May 1978 - No.40, & last in the Top 75 on W/E 19th September 1981 - No.75.

 

Bridge Over Troubled Water is back in at No.47. It was last in the Top 50 on W/E 24th

January 1976 - No.47, & last in the Top 75 on W/E 2nd November 1996 - No.73