Alexandra Burke has continued her run at the top of the UK charts with Hallelujah clocking up a third week at No.1 for the recent X Factor winner. 2006 X Factor victor, Leona Lewis, stays strong at No.2 with Run whilst the highest new entry this week comes from rising American star Lady GaGa, who debuts at No.3 with the worldwide hit Just Dance.

 

Alexandra Burke’s take on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah has been one of the best received X Factor winning singles to date, with only Shayne Ward’s 2005 single That’s My Goal beating the sales that Alexandra has achieved so far. It sticks at No.1 for a third week with still very healthy physical sales, many coming from almost defunct retail chain Woolworths who have been selling them off cheaply in their last few days of trade. Leona Lewis’ cover version of the Snow Patrol anthem Run is another non-mover at No.2. Now on its fifth week inside the top three, it has moved 1-1-3-2-2.

 

The week’s highest new entry goes to American newcomer, twenty two year old singer Stefani Joanne Germanotta, better known as Lady GaGa, with the electro urban-pop anthem Just Dance which features additional vocals from Colby O’Donis and Akon and debuts at No.3 this week after a download release. The song, which has been around on the internet for the best part of a year, has finally made it over to the UK having already topped the charts in Australia and Canada and reaching the top five across Europe. It climbed to No.2 in the US this week despite a digital sale of over 400,000 copies, a new weekly record for a female artist. However, Beyoncé’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) was not far behind on sales and ahead on airplay, putting her at the top of the Billboard charts. Whether Just Dance can go on to top the charts here will depend on how quickly the physical sales of Hallelujah decline plus the impact of releases coming in the next few weeks from artists such as Kid Cudi vs. Crookers, Tinchy Stryder and Lily Allen. We have received this song so late that Lady GaGa’s second single, Poker Face, has already topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

 

No.4 this week is If I Were A Boy by American star Beyoncé which falls a place from last week’s No.3 having been rejuvenated a couple of week’s ago after a highly praised X Factor performance of the song. If I Were A Boy has now spent nine weeks inside the UK top ten, peaking at No.1 and going as low as No.9 so far in a yo-yoing chart run of 2-3-1-2-6-9-4-3-4. Beyoncé is incredibly one of eight acts with more than one single in the chart this week, although only she and Rihanna have three singles in the chart simultaneously, Kings Of Leon, Katy Perry, Kanye West, The Saturdays, Girls Aloud and The Script all managing two each. Broken Strings by James Morrison and Nelly Furtado reached a new peak of No.4 last week but drops back a spot to No.5 this week followed by Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon which is also down a place at No.6. Katy Perry’s second single, the infectious pop anthem Hot ‘N’ Cold climbs back up two places to No.7, having peaked at No.4 so far in its eccentric top forty chart run which has seen it move 26-7-6-7-7-5-5-4-8-14-9-7 in the last twelve weeks. Human by The Killers is back up two spots to No.8 and Britney Spears returns to the top ten with Womanizer which moves back up two places from last week’s No.11 to No.9 this week. Take That’s former chart topper, Greatest Day, rounds off the top ten, falling four places to No.10. The top ten this week therefore features three British acts, six American acts and one British/Canadian collaboration.

 

The remainder of the top forty sees a number of climbers, like last week, mostly older songs moving back up the charts after their use on various end of year countdowns, advertisements and retrospectives. Sex On Fire by Kings Of Leon moves back up another place to No.11, the former No.1 now on its seventeenth week inside the top forty. T.I. and Rihanna’s former No.2 single Live Your Life also bounces back up four places to No.12. Alesha Dixon’s The Boy Does Nothing has outperformed all of her former band Mis-Teeq’s chart hits, saleswise, despite only peaking at No.5. It climbs back up to No.13 this week after ten weeks inside the top twenty and marks the first trio of adjacent four place climbers since this time nine years ago when Steps, Vengaboys and Alice Deejay all regained ground in early 2000. The aforementioned current US No.1, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyoncé, climbs to another new peak of No.14 this week, seemingly still growing in popularity. Infinity 2008 by Guru Josh Project jumps back into the top twenty this week, moving from No.21 to No.18, Katy Perry’s 2008 anthem, the former No.1 single I Kissed A Girl, moves back up four spots to No.19 whilst I Hate This Part by Pussycat Dolls is back up three places to No.20 this week.

 

Breakeven by The Script moves up five places to a new peak of No.21 this week, looking increasingly likely to finally make the top twenty next week to become their third top twenty hit in total. The second new entry to the top forty this week is No Can Do, the second single from the new Sugababes album, Catfights & Spotlights. Entering the top forty at No.23 this week following a physical release. Not as big a disaster as feared for the song, which was at No.83 last week, it is however their third smallest hit to date following Follow Me Home, which peaked at No.32 in 2006, and Soul Sound which could only reach No.30 in 2001. Their first ‘second single’ to ever miss the top twenty though, it continues a run of bad luck for Heidi, Keisha and Amelle. Previous single Girls, based on Ernie K Doe’s Here Come The Girls was a top three hit but not popular with a lot of fans, and Catfights & Spotlights is yet to reach the 100,000 sales mark and only peaked at No.8, a far cry from the top three peaks and platinum selling albums that they are used to. Arguably, this project should be laid to rest now and the trio should go back to doing what they do best; edgy and original catchy pop music. Surely then they will return to their rightful place at the top of the charts. Perhaps the one remaining ray of light for this era is Every Heart Broken, which has become a fan favourite, but whether it will be a future single or would even appeal to the general public remains to be seen.

 

50 Cent’s new single Get Up follows its No.27 entry last week with a three place climb to No.24. The Saturdays continue to make good progress with their third single Issues. The follow up to If This Is Love and Up, Issues climbs nine spots to No.27 this week and with a physical release on Monday, it is almost certain to be inside the top twenty in seven days from now. The next climber is once again The Saturdays with the former top five single Up, which lives up to its name and jumps six places to No.29 this week. Rihanna’s former No.3 single Disturbia moves back up a spot to No.30 and one of last summer’s biggest hits, Dance Wiv Me, the dance-grime collaboration between Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris, returns to the top forty at No.31 this week, clearly benefitting from being pushed back into the public eye in recent weeks. The song peaked at No.1 for four weeks in July 2008.

 

Coldplay’s former chart topper Viva La Vida rejoins the top forty at No.33 this week whilst Ne-Yo’s Mad moves up slightly to a new peak of No.36 this week, although not looking likely to follow the top ten success of Closer and Miss Independent. MGMT’s Kids, which has peaked at No.25 so far in the UK, rejoins the top forty at No.40 this week, the lowest peaking but arguably most popular single from the American alternative duo. The single has featured prominently in the media this week on both adverts for their own album and the BBC drama Waterloo Road. It is almost certain to eclipse its No.25 peak in seven days time when it should reach the top twenty quite easily.

 

With just two weeks to go until its physical release, Girls Aloud re-enter the top forty this week with The Loving Kind at its previous peak of No.39. The girls current album, Out Of Control, has been a huge success, selling well over half a million copies already in the UK, giving the quintet their first No.1 studio album, and their second in total, and their fourth No.1 single with The Promise, the first not to be related to any TV event. However, they now look likely to pay the price for this huge success with The Loving Kind, the second single from Out Of Control, looking increasingly likely to spoil their run of consecutive top ten singles. The first nineteen of their singles have all reached the UK top ten but their new single will need to make a leap of around thirty places in the next couple of weeks, in time for its January 12th physical release, to join the group and keep their record in tact. At the very least though, the single is keeping interest in the album up in the post Christmas market, the album once again staying inside the top ten this week. In comparison, Can’t Speak French, the girls first 2008 offering, which was the third single from Tangled Up, had already made it as far as No.20 two weeks prior to the physical release almost a year ago. Rounding off the chart, American rappers Kevin Rudolf and Lil’ Wayne finally enter the top forty with the now physically released electro-urban anthem Let It Rock, which could well go higher in the coming weeks. Considering it is on Radio 1’s A-List, it is surprising that it has not been a far bigger hit so far.

 

There is finally some change in the album chart this week as popular Christmas albums start to fade away and sale albums get their usual early January boost. The No.1 album has not changed however, and Take That’s The Circus stays at No.1 for what is now its fifth week in control. The album ended 2008 as the second biggest seller of the year, selling close to 1.5 million copies in less than a month. Only By The Night, the former No.1 album from Kings Of Leon was 2008’s third biggest selling album, and climbs back up two places to No.2 this week. Completing the week’s top three is funnily enough 2008’s biggest selling album, Duffy’s Rockferry which climbs back up from No.6 to No.3, meaning that ‘the best of 2008’ kicks off 2009.

 

Spirit by Leona Lewis slides two places to No.4 and Day & Age by The Killers drops a spot to No.5. The biggest beneficiary of the January sales so far is without a doubt Girls Aloud who bounce back from No.45 to No.6 with their 2006 No.1 collection, The Sound Of Girls Aloud – The Greatest Hits, which has been selling for as little as three pounds in some shops this week. A Decade In The Sun, the best of the Stereophonics stays at No.7 whilst The Script return to the top ten at No.8 with their eponymous debut album. Beyoncé’s I Am Sasha Fierce continues to excel, buoyed by two songs from the album doing extremely well in the singles chart. The album slides a place to No.9 this week followed at No.10 by Out Of Control, the second album inside the top ten from Girls Aloud, which dips five places after nine weeks inside the top ten and is one of an incredible eight UK No.1 albums currently residing inside the top ten, only Stereophonics and Beyoncé having failed to top the charts.

 

Next week’s chart could well see a new chart topper, but only if physical sales of Alexandra Burke’s Hallelujah die down enough to allow something new to take the top spot away from the X Factor winner. Lady GaGa is favourite to take the No.1 away from Alexandra, Just Dance pulling ahead massively on iTunes now and with the physical out on Monday, it should give the song another boost. The only other act who release physically next week and are in line for considerable chart success are The Saturdays. Issues, the quintet’s first ballad and the third single to be taken from their debut album, Chasing Lights, should rise into the top twenty next week. Leona Lewis, Kings Of Leon and James Morrison & Nelly Furtado are also all expected to stay at the top end of the chart.

 

Expect a download entry for British pop/rock duo Honey Ryder, who had a top forty hit last year with Numb. New single Fly Away has had similar text download marketing via a support slot on Will Young concert’s with proceeds of the single going to charity. At the very least, the act should score a second top seventy five hit in seven days time. With its sales declining quickly in comparison to other albums, Take That are unlikely to top the album charts for a sixth time next week and are quite likely to hand over the reigns to either Kings Of Leon or Elbow. There are a number of new albums out on Monday, although it is unlikely that any will have a huge impact. Kylie Minogue releases a remix collection called Boombox whilst other new albums are due from Naturally 7, Live, Mudvayne, Jimi Hendrix, Kenny Rogers, Adam Faith, Legion Of The Damned and Saxon, some of which should chart next week.

 

Thanks to Polyhex, EveryHit, ManicKangaroo, ad1 and Play.com for various information and resources

Excellent read as always, thank you. :D

Thanks.

What an AWFUL READ! :puke:

 

:kink:

 

Just kidding! (Trying to keep it fresh with different comments :()

I missed the chart but all I needed to know was here! Fantastic commentary :)

thank you all for your kind words, as always :D it's what motivates me to continue doing it!

Excellent again!

 

All this yo-yoing confuses me :(

thanks Harve, I know it's very messy, I'd prefer the old tracks to disappear...

 

I'd much rather see No Can Do, Issues and The Loving Kind in the top 20 over Sex On Fire, The Promise and I Kissed A Girl...not because I don't like the latter three, just because they need to get lost

It's going to be a very boring singles chart next week, unless Kid Cudi makes an appearance inside the top 10 on downloads, I can't see any other new singles appearing.

 

Thanks for another brilliant read.

I haven't noticed Kid Cudi on iTunes yet (the radio edit anyway), but mixes of his track and Tinchy Stryder's track are both available on iTunes now

i dont think Kid Cudi will get to high after physical release it's peak will definitely be this week if its available that is.

I Kissed A Girl is up 3 places, not 4.

 

And Time To Pretend (which reached #35) is a lower-peaking MGMT single than Kids.

 

Other than that, another great read!

a few mistakes I've noticed this week, thanks for correcting

 

if I had time I would proof read it before posting :heehee: