2020 has so far been a busy year at the top end of the Official Singles Chart. The first six months has seen 12 songs reach Number 1 – the same amount as the whole of 2019.

 

But while turnover at the top is on the up, breaking into the Top 40 is still no mean feat. Competition is tough, meaning some songs – usually for very different reasons - miss out on a spot in the top flight.

 

The biggest song to miss out on a Top 40 placing this year is Juliet & Romeo by French DJ/producer Martin Solveig and Canadian singer-songwriter Roy Woods. The dance-pop track first appeared on the Official Singles Chart in April, debuting at Number 77 and peaking at 51 four weeks later.

 

Despite being hugely popular on radio, the song’s chart success was possibly hindered by his Jax Jones and Raye collaboration, Tequila, hitting the Top 40 around the same time. Its total chart sales to date stand at 164,000.

 

In second is What If I Told You That I Love You by Ali Gatie. The rap ballad was the follow-up to the Iraqi-Canadian star’s debut single It’s You – a hit around the world in 2019 (though it stalled at 45 in the UK). Released in January, the song logged 10 weeks inside the Top 100, peaking at Number 57 in March, notched up 130,000 chart sales to date.

 

Another hit-that-shoulda-been, soul-jazz stomper Stop This Flame by Celeste ranks third in the biggest songs to miss the Top 40 this year, topping out at Number 47 in February (112,000 chart sales), shortly after winning this year’s Rising Star BRIT Award.

 

In fourth, British singer-songwriter Tom Grennan kicked off his second album campaign in January with This Is The Place, a song, he said, “is about finding a place of complete calm and escaping utter chaos and carnage”. Despite seemingly having all the makings of what could have been his first Top 40 single, the track topped out at Number 73 in April, logging eight weeks in the Top 100.

 

Elsewhere, stripped-down pop ballad Selfish by US singer-songwriter Madison Beer also features in the Top 10 biggest songs to miss the Top 40 this year, peaking at Number 53 in April. Just behind is The Other Side by SZA and Justin Timberlake, released for the Trolls World Tour film and a massive radio hit in March, which stalled at Number 44.

 

Also featured in the list is NSG’s Ourself, which landed at 43 in February, Level Of Concern by Twenty One Pilots, which topped out at 42 in April, and Rita Ora’s How To Be Lonely. The Lewis Capaldi-penned song missed the Top 40 in March, peaking at Number 57.

 

1 JULIET & ROMEO MARTIN SOLVEIG & ROY WOODS 51 164k

2 WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT I LOVE YOU ALI GATIE 57 130k

3 STOP THIS FLAME CELESTE 47 112k

4 THIS IS THE PLACE TOM GRENNAN 73

5 LIKE IT IS KYGO/ZARA LARSSON/TYGA 49

6 SELFISH MADISON BEER 53

7 THE OTHER SIDE SZA & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 44

8 SURRENDER NATALIE TAYLOR 58

9 AFTER PARTY DON TOLIVER 47

10 ONLY IF YOU KNEW DUTCHAVELLI 95

11 INDULGE M HUNCHO FT D-BLOCK EUROPE 50

12 GOOD NEWS MAC MILLER 45

13 OURSELF NSG 43

14 LEVEL OF CONCERN TWENTY ONE PILOTS 42

15 MAGIC ILL BLU/OFB/BANDOKAY/DOUBLE LZ 46

16 WALK EM DOWN NLE CHOPPA FT RODDY RICCH 85

17 LOST IN YESTERDAY TAME IMPALA 89

18 HOW TO BE LONELY RITA ORA 57

19 ELEVEN KHALID 70

20 BULLY BEEF YOUNG T & BUGSEY FT FREDO 48

21 P*SSY FAIRY (OTW) JHENE AIKO 84

22 SHAKE THE ROOM POP SMOKE FT QUAVO 76

23 POPPIN KSI FT LIL PUMP & SMOKEPURPP 43

24 CHARADES HEADIE ONE & FRED AGAIN 57

25 MYA MILLS LIL PINO 50

26 FLEX JAY1 FT JB SCOFIELD 60

27 JUICY DARKOO & HARDY CAPRIO 62

28 CAUSE A COMMOTION BUGZY MALONE FT SKIP MARLEY 89

29 TOP WINNERS TINIE TEMPAH FT NOT3S 64

30 SUM 2 PROVE LIL BABY 94

31 FAKE FRIENDS PS1 FT ALEX HOSKING 44

32 BLACK SWAN BTS 46

33 THAT WAY LIL UZI VERT 47

34 OPRAH'S BANK ACCOUNT LIL YACHTY/DA BABY/DRAKE 54

35 NUMBERS A BOOGIE/RICCH/GUNNA/LONDON 53

36 LOSE SOMEBODY KYGO & ONEREPUBLIC 46

37 44 LOTTO BOYZZ FT DAPPY 80

38 OT BOPPIN OFB/BANDOKAY/DOUBLE LZ 91

39 XYZ HARDY CAPRIO & SL 62

40 HOUSE PARTY MIST FT FREDO 42

 

Great to see Martin Solveig top this particular list, although they seemingly have forgot to include 'Pour The Milk' which I think would be #1 or at least #2. 'Like It Is' was a very unlucky top 40 miss too I feel, I suspect that'll overtake a few of the songs ahead of it by the year end.

'Pour The Milk' has sold 152.5k though some sales will be from 2019. The track had already sold 20k when it made the top 100 at the end of March.

Edited July 12, 20205 yr by Robbie

Looking through my own spreadsheet there's quite a few other omissions - it could be that these songs are listed as being from 2019 so they were overlooked (though they all entered the chart this year), but 'Juliet & Romeo' was also released last year and that's #1.

 

Noah Cyrus 'July' (#66)

Roddy Ricch ft Mustard 'High Fashion' (#45)

MK & Sonny Fodera ft Raphaella 'One Night' (#51)

Brockhampton 'Sugar' (#58)

Doja Cat ft Gucci Mane 'Like That' (#62)

DaBaby 'Bop' (#66)

Also, Natalie Taylor - Surrender (8th) was originally released in 2015 - but it's my favourite song in the list so I won't complain :)

 

I wonder if they've also excluded starred out tracks too - I imagine some Dua Lipa tracks (e.g. Hallucinate) might have registered enough sales to make the 40.

Selfish *.*

Ugh look at all those fantastic songs that have missed out

Poor Juliet & Romeo :( By far the best thing to get into the Top 100 this year!