Supercell

So pleased to see Raye finally claiming the No1 spot and SZA looking to claim No2. Both brilliant tunes and it’s a great success story for Raye, much deserved. Also amazing to see Gaga claiming another top 20, I was worried the Christmas deadweight would prevent the song having a decent peak so glad it’s managed to climb up that far. Crazy that it’s going to peak higher than MTN and Y&I especially given it’s only now been made a single, nearly 12 years after the album release.

It may have been asked but where is Gaga with BM? I’m hoping she along with SZA and Raye can all get some decent peaks when the charts clear out in the next couple of weeks.

I’m glad the OCC have done separate lists. I do often think it’s a shame downloads weren’t a big thing for longer, we’d have definitely had a few 2 million sellers if they had, Happy very nearly got there. Happy basically almost is. 2011 having 17 million sellers is mad though, that was really the peak of single sales.

Not sure I get the hate for Rihanna’s new one. I think it’s actually a sweet tribute tbh. I think it’s one of those that when seen in the film will make people like it more.

Looks like Taylor might just end up below or around 200k for the week in total. Streaming wise though she might well top Adele and Harry for streaming but Ed’s looks out of reach. I reckon she might still do 30-40k again next week given her streaming levels at the moment.

Rihanna really does have an insane back catalog of hits, it’s crazy to think how she just had a constant steam of singles out for several years. I almost forgot about Love the way you lie in terms of it being her top seller, was expecting We Found Love. Umbrella brings a good point, managing 10 weeks at No1 in those days when people buying records was how you got there was some achievement.

Wow I wasn’t expecting those sales from both Taylor and Arctics, really is a shame they went each other. I’m not sure how high Midnights will get in terms of sales this week, the next update is I’ll give some idea how it’s selling following the initial push.

I did wonder whether Taylor would challenge for no1 on the singles too but if it holds up today, she could well claim it with relative ease. Will be interesting to see how it holds up during the week. Hats off to her having such success this far into a career, it’s almost like the 1989 era the way it’s taken off.

I went for 90k + for midnights but I can see it getting close to 100k this week. Arctics I reckon 60-70k.

Ah thanks for that, completely forgot about those two! I reckon Taylor could easily go top 3 next week given it’s her first album of new material since folklore/evermore but as Waspbre said, If she’d done a build up lead single she might have had more chance.

Probably because the label hasn’t released 20 remixes of it as per the last few singles. Plus it seems like more of a promo single for Pokémon rather than a standard single as well perhaps. Must admit, unholy is growing on me, one of the best songs sam smith has done since promises. I do wonder if Taylor could mount a decent challenge next week when the album drops, although I has anyone managed a no1 hit yet the same week as an album drop?

Nice to see Robbie claiming another No.1 album, even if it is a compilation. It’ll be a 14th in total and will move him to 2nd place just behind the Beatles for the most No1 albums in the U.K. if he holds on. I’ll be interested to see how this holds up next week. Singles chart is rather dire again, although I think I’d take Lewis to be no1 over the other two dance tunes. We’ve had some cracking dance music this year, but that blue da ba dee rip off is just awful.

I think it’ll be Taylor. As popular as the Arctics are, their last album didn’t do all that well and the first single sounds in a similar vein to that so I think they’ll be No2. Taylor I’m sure will pull out all the stops and have thousands of signed CDs to launch if she’s trailing behind.

Ah thanks for that, blimey! That’s even more impressive

Beyoncé didn’t manage a single top 10 off Lemonade to my recollection, although she probably would have had multiple entries if it had been on Spotify. I think she might actually be the next no1 single when the album drops, I think as has been suggested the team are being clever in holding the video back. How many weeks has As it Was been lodged in the top 2 now? It must be 15-16 weeks at this point? It’s done remarkably well to hold on that long and avoid ACR.

Ahh Gaga, a true legend. I’ve always thought poker face hasn’t aged well over the years, it sounds very much of the time. Although when it was out I was obsessed with it but Just Dance and paparazzo for me is pop perfection and the standouts from the fame. Bad Romance I would say is her signature song and personally in my top two of hers, always surprised me how that never sold more back at the time. Shallow though has to be one of my favourite no1s from the 2010s just because I still can’t believe it actually managed it. It was so different to anything else out at the time and the whole ASIB era has to be one the biggest musical comebacks in years. I think if Shallow had come out in the download era then it probably would have matched pokerface and BR if not bettered it. Also I wish the occ would stop this nonsense with soundtracks, it was no1 on the official album charts therefore it’s a no1 for Gaga so she’s technically on five no1 albums, not four.

Quite a few dance/house bangers out this week! I can see Hot in it blowing up over the next few weeks.

I know it’s a 2021 album, but Self Esteem, Prioritise Pleasure is by far my favourite this year. I’d put Florence second (or first for 2022 releases) but I do like what I’ve heard of Foals’ new album so far.

Yeah I’d echo the permanent cap idea. If they can implement a daily one then a lifetime one shouldn’t be hard, although I think removing the daily one might cause issues with certain fan acts taking advantage. I think 100 streams as that’s what’s “equal” to a download should be the new permanent cap then it’s not counted after that, if that still doesn’t improve things then maybe drop it to 50. However this should be what the actual sales units should be derived from too, so we don’t have these inflated sales. Also premium accounts only, not even any reduced free streaming should count.

Thrilled that Kate Bush is finally heading for No.1, it’s the most streamed track in the country and one that many people have probably discovered for the first time too. This is how the charts should be counted, based on new streams for songs which once they’ve reached a threshold they shouldn’t be counted anymore. It would serve better than ACR and would help new acts break through. If that was how the charts worked, Harry probably would have likely been toppled a few weeks back, so spaceman would have had its week and Kate would have been No1 two weeks ago. I won’t even get started on labels adding tracks to albums to boost sales and releasing 30 remixes for one song.

Ah ok thanks! That’s a shame, she’d probably looking to grab the no1 spot this week otherwise.

Someone may have already asked this but is Kate still on permanent ACR or has it broken free of that given the big increase last week?

Wow! Amazing start for Harry, his first transatlantic chart topper looking very likely. I wonder how it’ll hold up the next few days.

Tricky one as I’d have thought 70-100k but I feel like he might get over the 100k mark. I reckon 125k or something around there. I’d agree though he’s almost on the same level as Ed and has very broad appeal. I really wasn’t a fan of OD but I’ve really grown to like Harry’s solo material, fine line was a good album.

Yeah I would say he’ll get a lot of curious listens with whatever he releases tomorrow. Fine line seemed to have a fairly broad appeal compared to his first album. So he could do a one week wonder like sign of the times did.