Chart Commentary from James Masterton 26/08/07

CHART COMMENTARY from JAMES MASTERTON 26/08/07

Source: uk.launch

It wasn't quite the close sales battle of recent weeks, but 'Stronger' from

Kanye West still had its work cut out retaining the Number One slot. This

however it does, giving the hip hop star a second straight week at the top

of the chart. Further down the listing his older hit 'Gold Digger' still

appears to be picking up sales on the back of his latest success. The 2005

track now rises 59-49, its highest chart placing since the spring of 2006.

Competition for the top slot came in the form of a track which has had pop

fans open salivating over its release for most of the summer. 'Beautiful

Girls' is performed by seventeen year old American star Sean Kingston. Based

around the rhythm from soul classic 'Stand By Me', the lilting reggae track

has been a worldwide sensation since its release at the start of the summer,

its appeal so widespread that it has topped the US charts for the best part

of the last month. Finally made available here on download sales last week,

the track was never quite in contention for Number One but still makes its

intentions plain, gatecrashing the chart at Number 2 in a manner which more

or less guarantees that the physical release will push it to the top next

week. Some bemoan the fact that it is cheesy, but there is simply no

escaping the almost joyful simplicity of the track. 'Beautiful Girls' is one

of those singles that you will find yourself humming along to even if you

loathe it, surely the hallmark of a classic in the making.

The other new Top 5 arrival is 'Clothes Off' from the Gym Class Heroes which

arrived in the shops during the week. It rises 8-5 and temporarily displaces

'Hey There Delilah' which slips to Number 6 in the first reversal since it

arrived on the chart. The insanely popular track from Plain White T's

finally hits the shops itself this week (August 27th) which should hopefully

restore its upward momentum.

Also fully released this week was was Hard-Fi's suitably epic 'Suburban

Nights' which races 12-7 as a result. This is enough to make it quite

deservedly their biggest hit ever, beating the Number 9 peak of 'Cash

Machine' from April 2005. New album 'Once Upon A Time In The West' comes out

in a weeks time, hitting the shops on September 3rd.

The same day is the official street date for 'Ayo Technology' from 50 Cent

and Justin Timberlake but the track is a Top 10 hit already, making a huge

advance this week to soar 23-10. Teaming up with Trousersnake is a popular

pastime for hip-hop stars and it has paid off with a string of Top 10 hits.

He hit Number 7 alongside Nelly on 'Work It' in 2003 and Number 2 with Snoop

Dogg on 'Signs' in 2005 whilst TI appeared on his own 'My Love' which was

also a Number 2 hit last year.

Elvis Presley will permit himself a smile as he takes a break from shelf

stacking this week, noting that quite unexpectedly he has two Top 20 new

entries this week. The biggest is the latest in his anniversary re-issue

programme, 'Blue Suede Shoes' entering at Number 13. One of the signature

tracks from his early years, the track was at the centre of a chart battle

when first released in 1956 with Elvis' release competing with the recording

by the song's writer Carl Perkins. Although Perkin's track entered the NME

chart first, it was Elvis who had the bigger hit, peaking at Number 9 and

leaving Carl Perkins to bring up the rear at Number 10 a fortnight later.

This new appearance is the first time the track has charted since, thus

setting a brand new record of 51 years between chart appearances.

The other Elvis track on the chart is perhaps rather more obscure. 'My Baby

Left Me' is one of his earliest recordings, having been laid down in 1954

before he had signed with his first major label RCA. Although it has

appeared on various collections in the past it has never before been

released as a single, but this week was made available in a special five day

only release exclusively in HMV stores. This novelty value is enough to

propel the track to Number 19 and with 'Suspicious Minds' slipping to Number

26 this week gives The King a grand total of three Top 30 hits all at once.

Also new to the Top 20 is 'Tambourine' from Eve which was finally granted a

physical release and which moves 35-18. The lead single from her new album

'Here I Am', it is her first single release as lead artist since

'Satisfaction' hit Number 20 in 2003, although her last chart appearance was

rather more recent than that, appearing on Kelly Rowland's 'Like This' which

hit Number 4 back in June.

The latest club hit to have its own eye-popping video is 'The Creeps (You're

Giving Me)' from Freaks and it begins to pick up steam this week, moving

55-21 despite still not being fully released. I'm not completely convinced

it has what it takes to become a bigger hit, all the scantily clad women in

the world can't hide the fact that it is a distinctly average dance hit.

Physical sales arrive this week (27th) so bragging rights will be available

in seven days time.

Once place behind are the Kaiser Chiefs with their third single of the year

'The Angry Mob'. As you would expect from a track already available on a big

selling album, it barely registered in terms of sales online and now only

makes Number 22 as a CD release. Their only other singles to miss the Top 20

were 'Oh My God' and 'I Predict A Riot', both of which subsequently became

Top 10 hits when re-released a few months later.

One to watch out for next week is the first hit single in two years for

Grime rapper Kano. His first brush with fame came in 2005 with Top 30 hits

'Typical Me' and 'Nite Nite'. His brand new single 'This Is The Girl'

features a guest vocal from Craig David and lands at Number 24 on download

sales alone, suggesting that next weeks physical release should propel him

into the Top 20 for the first time ever.

Finally for this week let's speculate wildly on just what it was that caused

'Red Shoes' by Midas to be removed from the Number 60 position it occupied

on the version of the chart we were all sent at lunchtime on Sunday. By the

time a corrected chart had been issued after certain "technical

difficulties" had been resolved, the track had mysteriously vanished.