British dance act Mint Royale have made an incredible climb from No.28 to No.l with their 2005 No.20 hit single Singin’ In The Rain. The song’s success comes after George Sampson performed his winning breakdancing routine to it on Britain’s Got Talent last weekend. Former Jam and Style Council singer Paul Weller scores his third No.1 album with 22 Dreams.

 

Having been propelled up to the top twenty of the iTunes chart following George Sampson’s use of the track on the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent, the 14 year old dancer used it again in the final. This winning performance however, seemed to capture the attention of the UK public perfectly and the three year old single soars twenty seven places to No.1 this week. The last No.1 single to have such a climb to the top was About You Now by Sugababes last year, although this was because a remix of the track had charted at No.35 before the radio edit was released a week later, propelling it to the top of the chart.

 

What is more impressive is that the single currently has no physical version released, apart from a very limited old stock of the single from 2005. It has got to No.1 on the strength of downloads alone. An impressive feat for a British act whose previous most successful single was the 2000 No.15 hit Don’t Falter. Hardly a conventional dance act, Mint Royale are clearly inspired by pop and indie music and arguably more experimental than many similar acts. No more so than with this dance reworking of the timeless classic Singin’ In The Rain, best remembered for being the title track of the legendary 1952 film of the same name that featured Gene Kelly dancing in the rain. Whether the track can have any lasting success, or rather be a one week wonder propelled to fame by a TV show, remains to be seen. It is one of the more surprising No.1’s of the year though, and the seventh chart topper of 2008, following Basshunter, Duffy, Estelle feat Kanye West, Madonna feat Justin Timberlake, The Ting Tings and Rihanna.

 

Rihanna was expected to spend a third week at the top with Take A Bow but she slides a place to No.2 to make way for Mint Royale, having moved 2-1-1-2 in its first four chart weeks. Salford pop-indie duo The Ting Tings are down a place to No.3 with That’s Not My Name, which has moved 1-2-2-3 in its first month on the chart. Welsh singer Duffy shows little sign of losing popularity any time soon, and her current single Warwick Avenue moves down just a place to No.4 this week, having peaked at No.3 last week. US singer Ne-Yo scores his fourth top five hit this week with Closer. The first single to be taken from his forthcoming third album The Year Of The Gentleman, Closer is still a download only release, due for a full physical release on June 23rd, although chances are that it will have peaked before then. Ne-Yo’s biggest UK hit was the 2006 No.1 single So Sick, Sexy Love went to No.5 in the same year and Because Of You was a No.4 hit for the singer in 2007.

 

Two singles that looked destined never to make the top ten suddenly have a new lease of life this week, leaping to No.6 and No.7 respectively. Californian singer Sara Bareilles entered the top forty a few weeks ago with the US top five hit Love Song, and had moved 30-23-16-15 in its first four chart weeks. Though the single received its physical release this week, its downloads surprisingly picked up pace midweek and the song went from outside the top ten to No.3 on iTunes in a matter of hours. This pushes Love Song up nine places into the top ten for the first time at No.6 this week. Love Song has also been a top ten hit in Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands and Canada and looks set to do big things across central Europe and Scandinavia in the coming weeks. Don’t be surprised if this song is still in the top ten months from now, the song is a grower, and its slow but steady chart run reflects this. Sara’s debut album Little Voice is due out in the UK on June 16th.

 

Australian pop-soul singer Gabriella Cilmi’s debut single Sweet About Me was released earlier in the year and hovered around the lower end of the top seventy five for a while before finally climbing into the top twenty a few weeks ago, thanks to increased promotion due to being featured on an advert for Sure deodorant. With increased radio and TV support in the last few weeks, the single finally gives Gabriella her first UK top ten single, by jumping seven places to No.7. Her album Lessons To Be Learned already made the UK top ten last month. The single has been even bigger in her native Australia where it has been a No.1 single. Gabriella’s next single Save The Lies is scheduled for release in August, but a physical re-release of this track is due on Monday. It has taken the third longest time ever to reach the top ten in the UK. Only White Lines (Don’t Do It) by Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel and The Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush took longer to reach the top ten, coming in 1984 and 1985 respectively. Nickelback’s Rockstar climbed into the top ten earlier this year on its twelfth week in the top 75, Gabriella is on her fourteenth week now.

 

Madonna and Justin Timberlake spend a twelfth week in the top ten with the former No.1 single 4 Minutes, although it slides four places to No.8 this week. Sam Sparro is the second London based Australian in the top ten this week as his former No.2 single Black & Gold slides three places to No.9 after eleven weeks in the UK top ten. Will.I.Am and Cheryl Cole round off this week’s top ten with Heartbreaker which slides five places to No.10 having moved 8-8-4-4-4-5-10 in the past seven weeks. American artists and British artists account for three and a half spots each in the top ten this week, while there is also one Barbadian and two Australian acts.

 

American R&B singer Chris Brown achieved his second UK top ten hit earlier in the year with the slow growing ballad With You, which peaked at No.8 and remains in the top forty now. Forever has been a much more instant hit though. Still a download only release, with the physical due on June 16th, Forever moves up six places to No.11 this week. Chris will hope that this single will climb into the top ten in the coming weeks and follow in the footsteps of 2006’s Run It and the aforementioned With You. Plus he should soon be in the UK top forty again with No Air, his duet with American Idol 6 winner Jordin Sparks. Elsewhere outside the top ten there are less future hits than usual and it mostly consists of older hits on the slide, although there are non-movers from Alphabeat’s 10,000 Nights at No.16, Taio Cruz’s I Can Be at No.18 and Pendulum’s Propane Nightmares at No.20. Duffy’s former No.1 single Mercy is back up a place to No.21 while Alphabeat’s debut single Fascination benefits from cherry picked album track sales and jumps back up two places to No.22 this week.

 

German techno act Snap! continue to impress with the 1992 No.1 single Rhythm Is A Dancer. The song is still picking up sales from its increased exposure on the current Drench water advert, and this week climbs a further nine places to No.23. Morrissey has the next new entry to the chart this week at No.24 with All You Need Is Me. One of the few acts that still has a decent physical fanbase, the former Smiths singer’s last single That’s How People Grow Up, reached No.14 in February. Italian DJ Alex Gaudino had a huge No.4 hit single last year with the trumpet heavy dance single Destination Calabria, which featured the vocals of Crystal Waters. His new single Watch Out, debuts at No.25 on downloads alone this week and looks set to go further next week when the physical single is released. Alex is also a member of the trio Lil’ Love who scored a UK top forty hit with the anthemic Little Love in 2005. The featured vocalist on Watch Out, Shena, has also provided the vocals on UK hit singles by Full Intention, Jurgen Vries, Jupiter Ace, Junior Jack and De Souza in the last few years.

 

Rapper Lil’ Wayne has been No.1 in the US for a few weeks now with Lollipop and the single received its physical release here this week which helps to lift the song up thirteen places to a new peak of No.26. It looks unlikely to follow in the footsteps of Soulja Boy and Flo Rida here, but Gabriella Cilmi and Nickelback prove that no single can be ruled out as a failure following its physical release anymore. American four piece Fall Out Boy have been climbing up the charts slowly but surely with their rock cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It in the last few weeks. The single now moves up a further three places this week to No.27, and is yet another download only release in the chart this week.

 

British indie act Mystery Jets reach the top forty for the first time this week with Two Doors Down, which has been physically released this week, having reached No.53 last week on downloads alone. It beats the peak of their last single Young Love, which reached No.34 earlier in the year although falls short of becoming their biggest hit. The Boy Who Ran Away reached No.23 in 2006. Radio friendly US rock act Maroon 5 were famously denied a No.1 single this time last year when Makes Me Wonder stalled at No.2 after midweek flashes showing them at No.1 came to nothing when Rihanna’s mega hit Umbrella trounced them by the Sunday chart. The unlikely duo team up however on the new single If I Never See Your Face Again. One of a handful of new singles to be taken from Rihanna’s Reloaded version of her Good Girl Gone Bad album, the single debuts at No.29 this week and therefore instantly goes in higher than Maroon 5’s last two UK singles Wake Up Call and Won’t Go Home Without You, which peaked at No.33 and No.44 respectively.

 

German rave act Scooter had a rather unexpected No.1 album last month with Jumping All Over The World, a double disc set comprising of their new studio album and a disc of their greatest hits. Their greatest hit being 2002’s The Logical Song which sold over 400,000 copies in the UK and was a No.2 single. Their only other UK top ten single during their fifteen year career was Nessaja, a No.4 hit, also in 2002. The title track of the album Jumping All Over The World debuts at No.36 this week and is duly the trio’s first UK top forty hit since 2003’s Maria (I Like It Loud) which was the last of their six consecutive top twenty hits of the 2002-2003 period. It is the second single of 2008 from Scooter, following the No.49 hit The Question Is What Is The Question, and receives its physical release on Monday.

 

The simultaneous release of Radiohead’s back catalogue on iTunes and their Best Of compilation propels their most famous single Creep back into the UK top forty at No.37 this week. The track originally peaked at No.7 upon its original release in 1993. It is third top forty hit of the year for the British rock band following Jigsaw Falling Into Place and Nude, both of which were taken from their current studio album, In Rainbows. And finally for chart action this week, fellow British rock act Elbow debut at No.39 with their new single One Day Like This. The follow up to the No.19 hit Grounds For Divorce, it is the second single to be taken from the band’s top five album The Seldom Seen Kid.

 

Paul Weller scores his third UK No.1 album this week with 22 Dreams while Duffy and Neil Diamond are static at No.2 and No.3 this week with Rockferry and Home Before Dark respectively. Radiohead’s Best Of makes its chart debut at No.4 and is the second top five album of 2008 for the group. In Rainbows was the year’s first No.1 album back in January. Usher dives from No.1 to No.5 with Here I Stand while The Zutons new album You Can Do Anything debuts at No.6. Neil Diamond’s Best Of climbs two places to No.7, both of his current top ten albums having been boosted from his TV show, An Audience With Neil Diamond, last weekend. The Ting Tings’ and Scooter’s former No.1 albums slide to No.8 and No.9 respectively while Danish sextet Alphabeat’s debut album This Is Alphabeat goes straight in at No.10 this week.

 

Next week’s chart should be interesting as there are no notable new releases. With Mint Royale losing steam, they may lose out on a second week at No.1 but with nearest iTunes competitor Coldplay’s Viva La Vida disqualified from the chart until next Thursday Sara Bareilles, Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Gabriella Cilmi look to be the biggest threat to Mint Royale’s crown. Notable physical releases are due from Alex Gaudino feat Shena, Feeder, Jesse McCartney, Scooter, Sonny J and We Are Scientists, although none will probably trouble the top ten in seven days time. Coldplay are a guaranteed album chart topper this time next week despite Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends not being available until Thursday. The Fratellis, Journey, NERD, Mystery Jets, Ashanti, Lil’ Wayne Lykke Li, Jason Mraz, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris all release albums on Monday.

 

Great Read i've noticed you haven't included alicia keys out tomoz but i don't think she'll get anywhere :(

no I can't see Alicia going top 75 really :( its not a bad song but not amazing either

Really good read, though I do hope Mint Royale can make it 2 weeks at number 1, though sales will have to be very low for that to happen, I wouldn't be surprised if Coldplay's single climbs especially seeing as that album will sell by the bucketload unfortuantely

Rapper Lil’ Wayne has been No.1 in the US for a few weeks now with Lollipop and the single received its physical release here this week which helps to lift the song up thirteen places to a new peak of No.26. It looks unlikely to follow in the footsteps of Soulja Boy and Flo Rida here, but Gabriella Cilmi and Nickelback prove that no single can be ruled out as a failure following its physical release anymore.

 

I hope this is true for OneRepublic :(

 

Great Read Rich as usual. I think Sara may climb next week... i hae a feeling and the number 1 album is definately gonna be BORE-play :(

'Sexy Love' by Ne-Yo also made Top 5 :P

 

21-{5}-8-10-14-18-19-22-31-44-58-65-66->13

 

Courtesy of Polyhex.

I hope this is true for OneRepublic :(

 

Great Read Rich as usual. I think Sara may climb next week... i hae a feeling and the number 1 album is definately gonna be BORE-play :(

 

yes, I can see Sara going top No.5 at the very least this week, No.2 at the highest :o

 

you never know with OneRepublic, it could do with a bit of increased airplay!

'Sexy Love' by Ne-Yo also made Top 5 :P

 

21-{5}-8-10-14-18-19-22-31-44-58-65-66->13

 

Courtesy of Polyhex.

 

of course :o thank you Andre, I had it in my head that it peaked at No.6 or No.7

Wow i think your favourite song of 2008 may make the top 3, actually. If Mint Royale die REALLY fast and Coldplay stalling a bit (will the version out now count towards the chart on Thursday, or just the newly released album edit?) then Sara incredibly has a chance of #1 (its gonna sell REALLY low though, less than 21k would be a disaster and plunge us back into the dark ages of 05/06 :P

Wow i think your favourite song of 2008 may make the top 3, actually. If Mint Royale die REALLY fast and Coldplay stalling a bit (will the version out now count towards the chart on Thursday, or just the newly released album edit?) then Sara incredibly has a chance of #1 (its gonna sell REALLY low though, less than 21k would be a disaster and plunge us back into the dark ages of 05/06 :P

 

I think Mint Royale will stay there for another week on around 30k, Sara should increase to around 20-22k but whether that is enough for No.2, 3, 4 or 5 I don't know...I do think it will be higher than No.6 though

 

all versions of Viva La Vida will count from Thursday but its sales will probably die because most potential buyers will get the album instead