Olly Murs - Troublemaker is this weeks new #1

Not such a closely run battle for number one this week, as there was one clear winner from the start. Oliver Stanley Murs gets his 4th UK #1 single and his biggest weekly sale for a single as Troublemaker debuts atop this week. Of course, Olly first came to prominence in 2009's X Factor and finished second to Joe McElderry. In August 2010, he released his debut single Please Don't Let Me Go which was an instant chart topper. This was followed #4 peaking single Thinking Of You, and his debut self titled album which sold over 100k copies in its first week. 2 further singles from the album followed in 2011 - Heart On My Sleeve (#20) and Busy (#45). Heart Skips A Beat was the lead single from his second album In Case You Didn't Know, followed by Dance With Me Tonight. Both singles and the album were huge selling number ones, next single Oh My Goodness peaked at #13. Now he leads off his 3rd album Right Place, Right Time with Troublemaker, which also features a guest rap from Flo Rida.

 

Girls Aloud - Something New enters at #2

Something New can be found at #2 this week, the title of the new Girls Aloud single. Girls Aloud first came to prominence by winning Pop Stars : The Rivals in 2002 and shooting to #1 with the million selling Sound Of The Underground. In the last 10 years, Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Hardins, Nicola Roberts and Kimerley Walsh have enjoyed 20 consecutive top 10 singles, making them the most successful reality TV group in the UK. Their singles include No Good Advice, Jump (For My Love), Love Machine, Biology and Sexy No No No. They have amassed 4 #1s Sound Of The Underground, I'll Stand By You, Walk This Way (with the Sugababes) and The Promise. After a 3 year hiatus (and Cheryl Cole's solo work), the group are reunited and hit #2 with Something New from their new compilation album Ten due out next week.

 

Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire enters at #5

Another previously successful act to be making their chart comeback this week is 31 year old US singer songwriter Alicia Keys, as Girl On Fire debuts at #5. Alicia made her UK chart debut in 2001 with #3 hit single Fallin', taken from her hugely successful debut album Songs In A Minor. This was followed by 3 further top 30 singles A Woman's Worth, How Come You Don't Call Me and Girlfriend. In 2003/4, You Don't Know My Name and If I Ain't Got You were top 20 hits from The Diary Of Alicia Keys album. 2007 saw her 2nd top 10 hit (aside from 2004's My Boo alongside Usher) in the form of #6 hit No One from third album As I Am. However 2009/10 saw her most successful era yet with #8 single Doesn't Mean Anything, huge #4 hit Empire State Of Mind Part II Broken Down (reworking of her #2 feature with Jay Z) and #7 hit Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart. These 3 singles came from her biggest selling album to date The Element Of Freedom. Now she is back with the title track to her fifth album Girl On Fire, after time off to have her baby. Girl On Fire is now Alicia's 8th top 10 hit in total in the UK.

 

Rudimental feat John Newman and Alex Clare - Not Giving In enters at #14

London based quartet Rudimental get their second chart hit this week as Not Giving In debuts at #14 for Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor and DJ Locksmith. After releasing several independent singles, the group came to prominence in May this year when Feel The Love shot straight to #1 with very good sales also. Rudimental have since remixed singles for Ed Sheeran (Drunk), Labrinth (Express Yourself) and Wretch 32 (Hush Little Baby). Now they release their second major single Not Giving In, which features John Newman and Alex Clare. The former was also featured on the aforementioned Feel The Love whilst the latter has had a huge top 5 hit with Too Close this year. Rudimental's debut self titled album is due for release in March 2013.

 

AC/DC - Back In Black enters at #27, Highway To Hell re-enters at #40

Australian hard rock band AC/DC get 2 new entries this week, following this week's release of their back catalogue digitally for the first time. The band first formed in 1973 and have sold over 200 million albums worldwide with Back In Black having sold 50 million, and is the second biggest selling album of all time. Over the years, the band have had numerous tracks that are regarded as classics but have never had a top 10 single in the UK. The closest they came was in 1988 when Heatseeker made #12, one of 7 top 20 singles. Back In Black enters the top 40 for the very first time at #27 and Highway To Hell re-enters at #40.

 

Rihanna is unapologetic with the #1 album

Barbadan singer Rihanna claims her 4th UK #1 album this week as her 7th release in 7 years Unapologetic debuts at #1, featuring #1 single Diamonds and Right Now (#36 entry this week). She enters ahead of last week's #1 from One Direction and Little Mix's debut album DNA at #3, featuring singles Cannonball, Wings and DNA. Rockers Led Zeppelin debut at #4 with live album Celebration Day, from their 2007 concert film of the same name. Michael Buble re-enters with his million selling Christmas album at #5, repackaged for 2012 with new tracks added. Susan Boyle follows up her first 3 #1 albums with a #7 entry for Standing Ovation : Greatest Songs From The Stage ... exactly what the album is! Example enters at #13 with his 4th album The Evolution Of Man, featuring #2 hit Say Nothing and #37 follow up Close Enemies. Another Whitney Houston compilation album I Will Always Love You : Very Best Of debuts at '29 this week.

 

Opinion

I am very happy to see Olly Murs get his 4th #1 hit, I love all he has done so far and think Troublemaker is right up there with his best. I am so glad Girls Aloud didn't make it as I think Something New is utter rubbish, they have done some very good songs in the past but I'm afraid I don't rate this tripe at all. I am a huge fan of Alicia Keys and loved her last album, Girl On Fire is not quite in that league but is still excellent to me. Not a fan of Rudimental much, not that keen on Feel The Love or this new one really. I've never been a fan of AC/DC but can see how Back In Black and Highway To Hell are classics so good to see them back in the charts again I guess.

Like you I'm no great fan of AC/DC but it's good to see some metal in the charts for the sake of variety. I'm no great fan of Alicia Keys' style of music but The Element Of Freedom is a superb album. I'm a bit disappointed with her new single but that's partly due to the high standard she set with her last album.

 

I rather liked Rudimental's Feel The Live but I'm not impressed by their new one. I think my own commentary made it clear what I think about Girls Aloud :lol:

Just a shame that the metal genre can only reach the top 40 in the form of old classics :P