In many ways the number of No1's and the amount entering at No1 was driven up by the uncharacteristically hectic fourth quarter album release schedule because the first track released off an album is the strongest as a rule. Usually you see a glut of best of collections rather than the amount of new material we saw.

 

Then throw TV merchandising into the mix with 3 No1's: Mint Royale, X Factor Finalists and Alexandra attributable to Britain's Got Talent and X Factor. Not to mention the guest performances on the X Factor: Girls Aloud, Take That and Leona.

 

I think we'll settle into a pattern of generally a No1 hit appearing every 3-5 weeks like last year:

 

Basshunter-Duffy-Estelle-Madonna-Rihanna-Dizzee-Katy Perry-Kings Of Leon-P!nk

 

With the odd 1 week No1 climbing to the top ala Ne-Yo and Kid Rock and perhaps someone nicking a No1 because of a duel release like Ting Tings.

 

Then probably a faster turnover of No1's come autumn and the X Factor.

Edited January 8, 200916 yr by ej87

I make it 11 records that entered at No1 last year!

 

01 Duffy 1-

02 Estelle 1-

03 The Ting Tings 1-

04 Coldplay 1-

05 Dizzee Rascal 1-

06 Kings Of Leon 1-

07 Girls Aloud 1-

08 X Factor Finalists 1-

09 Take That 1-

10 Leona Lewis 1-

11 Alexandra Burke 1-

The ones that climbed were:

 

01 Basshunter 14-1-

02 Madonna 7-5-8-4-1-

03 Rihanna 2-1-

04 Mint Royale 28-1-

05 Ne-Yo 22-24-12-7-5-3-2-1-

06 Kid Rock 46-6-3-2-1-

07 Katy Perry 4-1-

08 P!nk 38-1-

09 Beyoncé 2-3-1-

 

Out of these Katy Perry and P!nk only climbed to the top because of midweek releases.

 

You have included Estelle, Estelle was re-entry/released

You have included Estelle, Estelle was re-entry/released

 

Yeah I remember now it briefly appeared on iTunes before schedule so was a re-entry straight in at No1. 72-xx-xx-1-

People tend to forget, that the reason why there were only 8 'SIANO's in the first

(almost) 28 Years of the Singles Chart, was because Singles tended to be released on a Friday

in those Days - 1952 to 1980. Before computers, the Chart 'cut off' time was Noon on

a Saturday. That gave Friday releases just 1.5 Days to sell, before the next Chart was

compiled. (At least for the Record Retailer Charts).

 

In 1980, it was 'Going Undergroud/Dreams Of Children' by The Jam, that started the

Monday Release pattern. It gave New Singles from Monday to Noon on Saturday to sell,

- and the number of Singles that entered at No.1 shot up - as anyone can see by looking

at the List.

Edited January 8, 200916 yr by zeus555

zeus - thanks for the historical perspective, maybe you can answer a question - why the 1973 anomaly with three SIATOs? It looks really out of place when looking at the overall picture.

Edited January 9, 200916 yr by 6weeksatnumber7

As you say, we're going back to how the chart was in the 70s and 80s and for me, that's much better. Songs have the chance to grow in popularity, and for word of mouth to play a part in music again. When nearly every song went in at number 1 in the 90s, it made the chart look really calculated and, dare I say it, rigged. Seems a lot more real now.

 

I fully agree with you. As you say about the 70s & 80s, it was the same in the 60s also.

 

Although there were only 8 'SIANO' Singles in the first (almost) 28 Years

of the Singles Chart, there were 4 in 1973 simply because Slade Fans

rushed out & bought enough copies in 1.5 Days to enable Slade to do

it 3 times, & Gary Glitter Fans did the same for one of his 1973 Singles.

There was nothing special about 1973 that allowed that to happen - just

fanatical Slade & Glitter Fans buying enough copies in 1.5 Days to achieve it.

 

It does not mean that an Act is selling more Singles, (in its Career), than any

previous Act. Westlife have entered at No.1 on 14 occasions, & they are still not

one of the Top 20 UK Singles Acts. The Beatles entered at No.1 just once - 'Get

Back' - & they are 2nd only to Cliff Richard as the Top Selling Singles Act in the UK.

ABBA never once entered the Singles Chart at No.1 - or even in the Top 5 - and

they are the 8th Best Selling Singles Act in the UK. Oddly, 'Chiquitita' was the highest

entering of their 19 UK Top 10 Hits - No.8 - but, it failed to make No.1. 'The Winner

Takes It All', was their highest entering No.1 Hit, & that 'only' went in at No.9.....

Edited January 10, 200916 yr by zeus555

I Prefer songs to climb rather than just come straight in at number 1..

 

It much more interesting, A few songs still do it though such as Leona-Run, Alexandra..

 

It rarely happens now though there needs to be a large demand for a particular song and with the absence of TOTP songs take longer to filter to everyone!

 

ISTM it's more a case of songs starting to sell on download as soon as they are released to radio (and sometimes even *before* that).

 

In the 80's it was regularly the case that commercial release coincided with first radio play, so except for artists with large established fanbases, momentum built slowly.

 

In many ways the number of No1's and the amount entering at No1 was driven up by the uncharacteristically hectic fourth quarter album release schedule because the first track released off an album is the strongest as a rule.

 

Plus any single released *after* its parent album is likely to chart on album-track-downloads alone, weeks before its official release date.

 

Plus any single released *after* its parent album is likely to chart on album-track-downloads alone, weeks before its official release date.

 

That's the flipside of the coin though, and one i'm less comfortable with. For that reason these songs usually peak lower, and many artists with big selling albums and successful first singles (and in some cases multi-decade careers) have second or third singles that flop completely...

That's the flipside of the coin though, and one i'm less comfortable with. For that reason these songs usually peak lower, and many artists with big selling albums and successful first singles (and in some cases multi-decade careers) have second or third singles that flop completely...

 

if the second/third singles were destined to be big, they would be...

 

for example, Madonna's Miles Away can't have had that many 'cherry picked downloads' before its single release...certainly not enough to have turned it into a top ten hit anyway

 

yes arguably, peaks are diluted. Katy Perry's Hot 'N' Cold would probably have been a No.1 if released with the 2000 model of promoting 8 weeks before release amidst a flurry of hype, but songs that flop completely would not have been any bigger really I don't think...

if the second/third singles were destined to be big, they would be...

 

for example, Madonna's Miles Away can't have had that many 'cherry picked downloads' before its single release...certainly not enough to have turned it into a top ten hit anyway

 

yes arguably, peaks are diluted. Katy Perry's Hot 'N' Cold would probably have been a No.1 if released with the 2000 model of promoting 8 weeks before release amidst a flurry of hype, but songs that flop completely would not have been any bigger really I don't think...

Probably, but then would have dropped rapidly and would be out within weeks, i much prefer the chart as it is now, I really hated the SIANO every week situation!

it's a tad too slow at times for my liking, and I hate seeing old songs shooting back up in favour of new songs, but other than that I prefer to see songs climbing to their peak than debuting there

If airplay was factored in, like it is in the U.S., then there would be even less straight to #1s.

The US hasn't had a straight to #1 since Taylor Hicks won American Idol in 2006.

Edited January 10, 200916 yr by moneyman202

Katy Perry's Hot 'N' Cold would probably have been a No.1 if released with the 2000 model of promoting 8 weeks before release amidst a flurry of hype, but songs that flop completely would not have been any bigger really I don't think...

 

ISTM the download market is pretty much at odds with the first-week-peak situation that prevailed from the early 90's until recently, anyway.

 

Yes, a single released *before* its parent album has a good chance of a first-week peak, but any post-album follow up singles have virtually no chance, as album track downloads preclude that possibility.

 

Artists and/or record companies who've tried to prevent this by refusing to unbundle their albums, have paid for it in increased piracy.

 

If airplay was factored in, like it is in the U.S., then there would be even less straight to #1s.

 

Alexandra would have been though - link

If airplay was factored in, like it is in the U.S., then there would be even less straight to #1s.

I'm so glad it isn't - I fail to seen the point of putting airplay in with sales, fine have an airplay chart (which we do) but to combine sales and airplay has always seemed pointless, which is why I've never been a huge fan of the Hit40Uk!