ThePensmith

I said this around the time 'Let You' came out and I still stand by it now: unless there is a sufficient commercial trade off for the effort of doing it, Cheryl's not going to be doing music again on her own for a long time. Although I could visibly foresee her doing a Louise Redknapp / Emma Bunton in about ten years' time when the nostalgia for her as a solo artist kicks in.

Good evening, happy new month, and here come my personal top 20 singles for the last week of neverending January. Jonas Brothers scored their second number one of the last twelve months with 'What A Man Gotta Do' last week but are they still on top today? Let's find out... THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 31st January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (1) JONAS BROTHERS - What A Man Gotta Do 2. (HNE) JP COOPER - In These Arms 3. (2) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 4. (NE) SELENA GOMEZ - Rare 5. (3) MEGHAN TRAINOR - Blink 6. (NE) THE SHIRES - Lightning Strikes 7. (4) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 8. (5) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 9. (6) DJ SPOONY PRESENTS GARAGE CLASSICAL FEAT. PALOMA FAITH - Movin' Too Fast 10. (7) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 11. (NE) PLANET 1999 - Party 12. (8) ENDOR - Pump It Up 13. (9) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 14. (10) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 15. (11) RAK-SU - Girl 16. (12) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 17. (13) LAUV - Changes 18. (RE) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 19. (14) ELLA EYRE - New Me 20. (15) CELESTE - Stop This Flame Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats. KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry CHART COMMENTARY Number one for a second week, Jonas Brothers' 'What A Man Gotta Do' consolidates its position at the top following their showstopping performance of the single at last weekend's Grammy Awards. It's their sixth week at our summit overall as a band, adding to the four weeks they enjoyed at the top last year with 'Sucker'. In truth, they would have held top spot anyway, as it was never going to be troubled by any of this week's three new entries inside the top 10. Biggest of all is the new JP Cooper single, 'In These Arms', which claims the week's highest new hit at #2. It's the singer-songwriter's second single in a row to claim silver honours, following last July's 'Sing It With Me' with Astrid. wENxvYdSbgU Selena Gomez claims the biggest hit on my chart of her career to date this week, as 'Rare' enters at #4. She has enjoyed a handful of top 10 hits both in partnership with her old band The Scene (biggest of all being 'Naturally', which made #8 in April 2010) and on her own prior to today. The single is the title track from her new album of the same name, which came out two weeks ago. ia1iuXbEaYQ Just three weeks after 'New Year' gave them a fourth top 10 hit, the second single from The Shires' forthcoming new album 'Good Times' gives them a fifth, with 'Lightning Strikes' debuting at #6 and thus matching the peak of their previous biggest hit 'Guilty'. mgDEyurU2rA Claiming the first hit on my chart by a French artist since Christine and the Queens' last single almost a year ago, new trio Planet 1999 make their debut at #11 this week with 'Party'. Only six other artists from across the channel have entered my chart before this week, among them, Daft Punk, Christine and the Queens, Modjo, Alizée, Sebastien Tellier and David Guetta. LoGOBSQ9ZLg A renewed boost of airplay and the release of the video for The Script's current hit 'Run Through Walls' sees it return to our top 20 at #18, up six from last week's #24. It has already stayed around on our chart for longer than their current album's first single 'The Last Time' managed. cD1OCuCp8yo FLASHBACK TOP 10 Your chance to see how my personal top 10 was looking on this week in the last 20 years. This week in 2003: Busted make it two weeks at the top with 'Year 3000', plus classic hits from Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Jurgen Vries and Girls Aloud 1. (1) BUSTED - Year 3000 Tu7HoGZaspo 2. (HNE) JAY-Z FEAT. BEYONCÉ KNOWLES - '03 Bonnie & Clyde 3. (NE) JURGEN VRIES FEAT. CMC - The Opera Song (Brave New World) 4. (3) GIRLS ALOUD - Sound of the Underground 5. (2) DAVID SNEDDON - Stop Living the Lie 6. (NE) CRAIG DAVID - Hidden Agenda 7. (4) EMINEM - Lose Yourself 8. (6) ELECTRIC SIX - Danger! High Voltage 9. (5) JAIMESON FEAT. ANGEL BLU - True 10. (7) PANJABI MC - Mundian To Bach Ke

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 31st January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (1) JONAS BROTHERS - What A Man Gotta Do 2. (HNE) JP COOPER - In These Arms 3. (2) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 4. (NE) SELENA GOMEZ - Rare 5. (3) MEGHAN TRAINOR - Blink 6. (NE) THE SHIRES - Lightning Strikes 7. (4) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 8. (5) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 9. (6) DJ SPOONY PRESENTS GARAGE CLASSICAL FEAT. PALOMA FAITH - Movin' Too Fast 10. (7) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 11. (NE) PLANET 1999 - Party 12. (8) ENDOR - Pump It Up 13. (9) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 14. (10) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 15. (11) RAK-SU - Girl 16. (12) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 17. (13) LAUV - Changes 18. (RE) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 19. (14) ELLA EYRE - New Me 20. (15) CELESTE - Stop This Flame KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry

Do the people who vote in these watch anything besides ITV? Seriously? Also I can't at Derry Girls - a show that was genuinely talked about and really came into its own with its second series last year - being beaten by the comedic equivalent of syphilis.

At last! Hoping Series 3 gets announced soon...

This seems sensible actually. I think they would do well to take the route All Saints did when they came back - theirs was initially just touring their old hits whilst supporting Backstreet Boys, which then gave them the hunger to do their 'Red Flag' and 'Testament' albums and subsequent tours for those, and for me they're the best albums of their career. But yeah definitely give it a couple more years and the nostalgia will be widely there for them to tour again. I remember reading Lauren Bravo's book 'What Would The Spice Girls Do?' last year, and she said the reason why there's been such nostalgia for the Spice Girls over the last couple of years is because it takes exactly two decades for people to realise and appreciate the brilliance of the music, hence why there was a big ABBA revival at the turn of the millennium. I subscribe wholly to that theory now.

Dunno - maybe a four track EP for a tour edition?

Loving this song! The video's really fun too.

Hello one, hello all. Time to give you my personal top 20 singles for this week. Seven days ago, Nervo with Plastik Funk and Tim Morrison took the classic 'Dare Me' to number one 35 years after the original was released. But have new releases from Jonas Brothers and Meghan Trainor ended their time at the top? Here's your answer... THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 24th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (HNE) JONAS BROTHERS - What A Man Gotta Do 2. (1) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 3. (NE) MEGHAN TRAINOR - Blink 4. (2) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 5. (3) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 6. (NE) DJ SPOONY PRESENTS GARAGE CLASSICAL FEAT. PALOMA FAITH - Movin' Too Fast 7. (4) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 8. (5) ENDOR - Pump It Up 9. (7) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 10. (6) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 11. (8) RAK-SU - Girl 12. (9) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 13. (10) LAUV - Changes 14. (NE) ELLA EYRE - New Me 15. (NE) CELESTE - Stop This Flame 16. (11) BLOSSOMS - The Keeper 17. (12) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 18. (14) ELLIE GOULDING - River 19. (15) NOW UNITED - Legends 20. (13) THE WONDERLAND - Almost Never Did Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats. KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry CHART COMMENTARY Exactly ten months after their comeback single 'Sucker' gave them their first number one on my chart, Jonas Brothers return to the top this week with their second. 'What A Man Gotta Do' is a brand new song, not available on their current album 'Happiness Begins', and flies in at the top with consummate ease after its release last week. 'Sucker' was the seventh biggest single of last year on my chart, and their two singles in between - 'Cool' and 'Lonely', the latter their collaboration with Diplo - were also top 5 hits. Nick, Joe and Kevin are also the third act to enjoy two number ones on my chart inside the last twelve months - Mark Ronson and Now United are the only others to achieve this feat. XejVB_fba04 Meghan Trainor is back, with new single 'Blink' claiming the second biggest new hit of the week at #3. The US singer-songwriter has just joined the panel for the ninth series of The Voice UK on ITV, taking over from Jennifer Hudson who left the show last year, and she thus claims her biggest hit since 'Marvin Gaye', her collaboration with Charlie Puth topped our chart in August 2015. Her biggest hit to date still remains her debut, 'All About That Bass', which spent four weeks at number one in October 2014. 8MLVSGWUSP8 DJ Spoony's Garage Classical project continues to be a success, with more live dates announced for this summer following the Royal Albert Hall gig with his orchestra in the autumn, including a slot at the famous Kew Gardens in London this July. 'Movin' Too Fast' was first a #2 hit on our chart for UK garage gods Artful Dodger with Romina Johnson exactly twenty years ago in February 2000, and this new version features Paloma Faith on vocals. However, it's unable to match the original or indeed last October's chart topping success of his version of 'Flowers' with Sugababes, and enters at #6. _IKBl3QSl6E Dua Lipa's 'Don't Start Now' finally departs the top tier this week, dropping three to #12. It's run of eleven weeks inside our top 10 - including two non-consecutive weeks at number one - is the best since Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's 'Senõrita' managed the same stint last summer. By this time a fortnight today, it will have overtaken 'New Rules' as her biggest hit on my chart. Ella Eyre returns to our top 20 this week with her appropriately named new single 'New Me' debuting at #14. She is five years removed this year from the release of her debut solo album 'Feline', which produced three top 20 hits and one top 10 hit with 'Together' (#7 in May 2015) but has been a top 10 fixture in that time, thanks to her guest appearance on Banx & Ranx's 'Answerphone' which made our top 5 in June 2018. pnDvD7Ko3IM The winner of the BBC's annual Sound of... poll where tastemakers predict the big stars of a new year has always been a hit and miss affair - for every Adele, there's been The Bravery (remember them? Thought not). So it's hard to judge whether their prediction this year is a success or not, based on the #15 debut this week for new soul singer Celeste, who has won the prize for 2020. 'Stop This Flame' is a gorgeous record, calling to mind Erykah Badu and Angie Stone, so it'd be a shame if she didn't go stratospheric based on the sheer force of her talent she displays here. DV5dShAFDlI FLASHBACK TOP 10 Your chance to see how my personal top 10 was looking on this week in the last 20 years. This week in 2010: following a rush release, Owl City's 'Fireflies' smashes in at number one, plus classic hits from Iyaz, Alexandra Burke and Alicia Keys 1. (HNE) OWL CITY - Fireflies psuRGfAaju4 2. (1) IYAZ - Replay 3. (NE) ALEXANDRA BURKE - Broken Heels 4. (15) ALICIA KEYS - Empire State of Mind, Broken Down (Pt II) 5. (2) THE SATURDAYS - Ego 6. (NE) GIRLS CAN'T CATCH - Echo 7. (21) ONEREPUBLIC - All The Right Moves 8. (6) JAY-Z FEAT. MR HUDSON - Forever Young 9. (4) 'BANNED' OF ST TRINIAN'S - Up & Away 10. (3) SIDNEY SAMSON FEAT. WIZARD SLEEVE - Riverside (Let's Go)

Now I don't like to boast, and it was probably as clear as crystal that it would happen but... I'm just gonna enjoy my moment of being right and smug :D ^_^

Main chart topic up in the morning - just posting here for inclusion: THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 24th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (HNE) JONAS BROTHERS - What A Man Gotta Do 2. (1) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 3. (NE) MEGHAN TRAINOR - Blink 4. (2) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 5. (3) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 6. (NE) DJ SPOONY PRESENTS GARAGE CLASSICAL FEAT. PALOMA FAITH - Movin' Too Fast 7. (4) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 8. (5) ENDOR - Pump It Up 9. (7) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 10. (6) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 11. (8) RAK-SU - Girl 12. (9) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 13. (10) LAUV - Changes 14. (NE) ELLA EYRE - New Me 15. (NE) CELESTE - Stop This Flame 16. (11) BLOSSOMS - The Keeper 17. (12) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 18. (14) ELLIE GOULDING - River 19. (15) NOW UNITED - Legends 20. (13) THE WONDERLAND - Almost Never Did KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry

Seems to be a lot of news articles abuzz today that there's a new video currently set to 'Private' on her YouTube channel... could she be about to pull a big Q1 surprise out the bag?

+25 Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke +24 Pet Shop Boys - Go West +23 Natalie Imbruglia - Torn +22 Brandy & Monica - The Boy Is Mine +21 Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger +20 Coldplay - In My Place +19 Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag +18 Snow - Informer +17 Blondie - Dreaming +16 Puretone - Addicted To Bass +15 Daniel Powter - Bad Day +14 John & Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) +13 4 Non Blondes - What's Up? +12 Benny Benassi - Satisfaction +11 Mike + The Mechanics - The Living Years +10 Disclosure featuring AlunaGeorge - White Noise +9 Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna - This Is What You Came For +8 Haddaway - What Is Love +7 Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. +6 Kylie Minogue - Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi +5 The Beach Boys - God Only Knows +4 Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Philadelphia +3 Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You +2 iiO - Rapture +1 Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

I'm going to take a concerted step away from all the Mollie bashing here. The Saturdays were maybe not to every girl group fan's taste, but they were to this one, and the many others who voted her this high. And Mollie was the one member, as Michael pointed out in his write-up, that not only loved being in the group, but that also was a huge fan of all things pop. I'll never forget on their last tour at Wembley her look of sheer elation that she was singing part of 'Baby One More Time' during the breakdown section on 'Disco Love'. To see someone who whole heartedly loves what they do and realising it is not something to be knocked in the slightest. People can wibble on about VOCALS BBZ or MESSY PERSONALITIES LYK but at the end of the day, The Saturdays wouldn't have been half as fun as they were without her. She was more of a sweet natured vocalist and performer, true, but she also bought that giddy exuberance and - dare I say - self aware hilarity to the table that some of the other girls often lacked at times. Hence why she's now got a pretty fruitful career as a DJ on Radio 1, because she's managed to carry that across into another pop based venture too. Anyway...back on topic. Very worthy winner in Emma, and a pretty stellar top 10 too! Thanks for this topic Michael.

Good evening everyone, time to check out our personal top 20 singles again for this week. Is Niall Horan about to make it to a third week at the top with 'Put A Little Love On Me'? Maybe Aussie electropop duo Nervo? Maybe Delta Goodrem? Here's where we find out... THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 17th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (HNE) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 2. (1) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 3. (2) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 4. (3) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 5. (7) ENDOR - Pump It Up 6. (NE) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 7. (4) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 8. (5) RAK-SU - Girl 9. (6) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 10. (8) LAUV - Changes 11. (NE) BLOSSOMS - The Keeper 12. (9) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 13. (NE) THE WONDERLAND - Almost Never Did 14. (11) ELLIE GOULDING - River 15. (12) NOW UNITED - Legends 16. (10) PEPPA PIG - Bing Bong Zoo 17. (17) ALPHABEAT - Sing A Song 18. (11) MARK RONSON FEAT. YEBBA - Don't Leave Me Lonely 19. (16) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 20. (NE) ALANIS MORISSETTE - Reasons I Drink Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats. KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry CHART COMMENTARY New number one time, and the tale of a song that's been around in numerous different guises before, but only now comes to top our chart 35 years after it first became a hit. For 1985 was when 'Dare Me' became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic for The Pointer Sisters. Skip forward to 2004, Junior Jack (aka the man who hit the top of our chart with the late Oliver Cheatham as Room 5 on their 2003 hit 'Make Luv') charts at #37 with a song called 'Stupidisco', which heavily samples the track. A re-release in 2007 did little better, only improving by seven places with a #30 entry. rSahI_VpR9Q Now, fast forward fifteen years to January 2020, and Australian electropop singer-songwriters and producers Nervo - twin sisters Olivia and Miriam - have taken the track to top of our chart, in collaboration with Plastik Funk and Tim Morrison. Although this is their first time at number one as performers, they have been at the top before. They were largely responsible for writing 'When Love Takes Over', a three week chart topper for David Guetta and Kelly Rowland on our chart in June 2009. They are also the second Australian duo in less than a year to have a number one on my chart, following The Veronicas who hit the top with 'Think of Me' in April last year. Endor's floorfilling 'Pump It Up' continues to defy logic. Having entered our chart at #9 just before Christmas, it has now staged quite the recovery, and advances a further two places this week to a brand new peak of #5 - far outperforming the top 20 debut of the Danzel original from fifteen years previously. BfnjX88Va4Y This week's top 10 has an Antipodean feel in more ways than one, not least because of Nervo at number one, but also because of the record that arrives at #6, albeit under quite sad circumstances. Delta Goodrem notched up the hits in the mid 00s on our chart, including several top 10s with 'Born To Try' and 'Lost Without You' to name but two, following her rise to fame playing Nina Tucker in Aussie soap opera Neighbours. n5JFN0QRxh0 However, despite maintaining a prosperous career down under, she's not had a single enter my personal chart since 'Out of the Blue' made #7 in October 2004. That all changes this week with new single 'Let It Rain', a brand new song that she has written and performed for the fundraising effort towards the recent devastating bushfires in Australia that have ravaged the country for several weeks. Dropping down into the top 20 now, and a welcome back to Stockport based rock band Blossoms, who just miss out on landing inside the top 10 with their brand new single 'The Keeper'. It does however beat the #15 peak of their previous biggest hit, 'There's A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)' from June 2018. jsQw6pRofX8 New boyband with guitars The Wonderland made a creditable debut at #7 in November last year with first single 'Only One', but the stars of the hit TV show Almost Never aren't able to repeat that success for the show's theme tune 'Almost Never Did', which now appears as their second single but can only make do with a #13 debut. Clearly a S Club 7 type crossover is beyond them for now. pGjl_TUEBT0 Finally, one of the 90s most prodigious singer-songwriters, Alanis Morissette grabs her first top 20 hit in fifteen years this week. 'Reasons I Drink' enters at #20, her highest charting single since 'Everything' got as high as #18 in May 2004. Her biggest single on our chart to date remains 'Hands Clean', which reached #9 in March 2002. The single is the first from her new album 'Such Pretty Forks In The Road', set for release this spring, and a jukebox musical based on her multi million selling album 'Jagged Little Pill' is currently on limited run on Broadway. fjyTCSirZrY FLASHBACK TOP 10 Your chance to see how my personal top 10 was looking on this week in the last 20 years. This week in 2004: Kelis sees off the challenge of Rachel Stevens in an all-new top 3, including classic hits from Boogie Pimps and Outkast 1. (HNE) KELIS - Milkshake y2SZPb7UUtc 2. (NE) RACHEL STEVENS - Funky Dory 3. (NE) BOOGIE PIMPS - Somebody To Love 4. (1) MICHAEL ANDREWS AND GARY JULES - Mad World 5. (6) OUTKAST - Hey Ya! 6. (5) KATIE MELUA - The Closest Thing To Crazy 7. (2) VICTORIA BECKHAM - This Groove / Let Your Head Go 8. (NE) SEAN PAUL FEAT. SASHA - I'm Still In Love With You 9. (3) WILL YOUNG - Leave Right Now 10. (4) ALISTAIR GRIFFIN - Bring It On / My Lover's Prayer

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 17th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (HNE) NERVO FEAT. PLASTIK FUNK & TIM MORRISON - Dare Me 2. (1) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 3. (2) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 4. (3) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 5. (7) ENDOR - Pump It Up 6. (NE) DELTA GOODREM - Let It Rain 7. (4) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 8. (5) RAK-SU - Girl 9. (6) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 10. (8) LAUV - Changes 11. (NE) BLOSSOMS - The Keeper 12. (9) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 13. (NE) THE WONDERLAND - Almost Never Did 14. (11) ELLIE GOULDING - River 15. (12) NOW UNITED - Legends 16. (10) PEPPA PIG - Bing Bong Zoo 17. (17) ALPHABEAT - Sing A Song 18. (11) MARK RONSON FEAT. YEBBA - Don't Leave Me Lonely 19. (16) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 20. (NE) ALANIS MORISSETTE - Reasons I Drink KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry

I saw Una Healy launch her album at the Old Church in St Pancras about three years ago. Alas the style of music she was doing suited the venue a bit more. I've not really investigated any of the other singles that have come from this album since 'Stretch', which is still a disappointment a year on. I'd be very surprised if this was top 10. I suspect it will be a front loaded jobby at the beginning of the week but settle on top 20 by week's end.

How weird Michael I was gonna ask if there'd be one for the boys as well! Fortunately I prepared a list just in case of such an eventuality :) 1. Gary Barlow (Take That) 2. Justin Timberlake (*NSYNC) 3. Tom Fletcher (McFly) 4. Stephen Gately (Boyzone) 5. Scott Robinson (Five) 6. Abz Love (Five) 7. Danny Jones (McFly) 8. Aston Merrygold (JLS) 9. Marvin Humes (JLS) 10. Matt Willis (Busted) 11. Dougie Poynter (McFly) 12. Simon Webbe (Blue) 13. Shane Lynch (Boyzone) 14. Niall Horan (One Direction) 15. Mark Owen (Take That) 16. Harry Judd (McFly) 17. Dane Bowers (Another Level) 18. Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) 19. JC Chasez (*NSYNC) 20. JB Gill (JLS) 21. Andy Brown (Lawson) 22. Lee Brennan (911) 23. Ben Adams (A1) 24. Jade Jones (Damage) 25. Oritse Williams (JLS)

Just had a quick sconce on ITV Player at lunch. It's her alright, I recognise her voice anywhere! Hopefully this will push her towards her second album if she does well on this.

This to all the above. And it's a real shame I agree. I saw them supporting Olly Murs on his tour last year and it baffled me as to why they weren't doing a tour of that scale on their own. If they'd come along 10 years previously they'd have been on JLS scales of success by now at least. But all the faffing around with releases and then the label switching/dropping dramas really have killed off any momentum at all.

I posted similar thoughts to these on another topic along the 'Is pop struggling/dead?' lines a few weeks back, I'll repeat them here (albeit rejigged)... As others have pointed out these things are all cyclical really. Always have been. Everyone thought pop bands bar Girls Aloud, McFly and Sugababes was good for dead in the late 00s when it was all landfill indie bands and faceless dance music. Streaming has undoubtedly made it more difficult of late though, because it's harder for anyone to get a look in. If anything it's gone regressive where the prejudice about being a pop group or being in one that was rife in the late 90s has returned. I do think there's been some great pop acts around though, even if they're not having say, Stormzy or Lewis Capaldi levels of success. Now United, who are Simon Fuller's new pop group (well relatively new, they've been going just over a year now) have done pretty well worldwide, particularly in Latin and South America, and they've got some great songs like 'Legends' and 'All Day' to name a few. Just annoying that it took until September last year for Simon to realise you couldn't launch a pop act in this day and age without streaming, which considering how forward thinking his previous multi brand concepts like S Club and Pop Idol were was peculiar to say the least. Four of Diamonds, who've been mentioned here are looked after by Peter Loraine at Fascination and they've have had some great singles too, but again are struggling to get a wider breakthrough. I do believe though that we're due another turn of the cycle back the other way. I think with Little Mix's new talent show on BBC One coming up this year that will be interesting to see what's produced from that, because whoever wins it will by definition have a huge potential new audience awaiting them with the right songs and chemistry.

Sad to see both the Appletons and Left Eye fall at this stage. But Kerry Katona beating Jenny Frost is rather delicious, yes. Regardless of what anyone thinks, particularly with how her personal life has played out in the tabloids since, she was a core component of what made the Kittens interesting when they launched, and they released their best singles whilst she was a part of them. And yet the second she left the number one hits arrived and they descended into beige. No justice at all...

THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 10th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (1) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 2. (HNE) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 3. (2) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 4. (NE) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 5. (NE) RAK-SU - Girl 6. (3) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 7. (8) ENDOR - Pump It Up 8. (NE) LAUV - Changes 9. (NE) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 10. (4) PEPPA PIG - Bing Bong Zoo 11. (5) ELLIE GOULDING - River 12. (6) NOW UNITED - Legends 13. (7) JODIE WHITTAKER - Yellow 14. (10) THE SHIRES - New Year 15. (11) MARK RONSON FEAT. YEBBA - Don't Leave Me Lonely 16. (12) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 17. (14) ALPHABEAT - Sing A Song 18. (NE) TRAVIS - Kissing In The Wind 19. (NE) MELANIE C FEAT. SINK THE PINK - High Heels 20. (16) PAIGE CAVELL - Red Is The Way Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats. KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry

Good evening one and all, the first week of a new year and new decade is done, and it's time to bring you our personal top 20 singles. Niall Horan bagged our first number one of 2020 and the new decade seven days ago with 'Put A Little Love On Me', but with lots of big new singles out this week, is he still there to make it two weeks on top? Let's find out... THEPENSMITH'S TOP 20 SINGLES CHART Week ending 10th January 2020 © AM LIMITED 2020 1. (1) NIALL HORAN - Put A Little Love On Me 2. (HNE) NO ROME FEAT. DIJON - Trust3000 3. (2) CAMILA CABELLO - Easy 4. (NE) COLDPLAY - Everyday Life 5. (NE) RAK-SU - Girl 6. (3) DUA LIPA - Don't Start Now 7. (8) ENDOR - Pump It Up 8. (NE) LAUV - Changes 9. (NE) UNA HEALY - Wild Grasses 10. (4) PEPPA PIG - Bing Bong Zoo 11. (5) ELLIE GOULDING - River 12. (6) NOW UNITED - Legends 13. (7) JODIE WHITTAKER - Yellow 14. (10) THE SHIRES - New Year 15. (11) MARK RONSON FEAT. YEBBA - Don't Leave Me Lonely 16. (12) THE SCRIPT - Run Through Walls 17. (14) ALPHABEAT - Sing A Song 18. (NE) TRAVIS - Kissing In The Wind 19. (NE) MELANIE C FEAT. SINK THE PINK - High Heels 20. (16) PAIGE CAVELL - Red Is The Way Compiled from my own personal listening in the last seven days across streaming, digital and physical formats. KEY (1) - last week's position (HNE) - highest new entry (NE) - new entry (RE) - re-entry CHART COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: As you might have seen, last week's chart for week ending 3rd January 2020 - our first of the year and new decade - has only just been posted today. It was intended to be up last weekend, however, owing to our struggles following a recent family bereavement, we felt it appropriate to take some time out, hence the chart for last week has been published with no commentary or additional features (e.g retro top 10) but rather just so we have a record of it here or completeness' sake. Normal service resumes today. So. The first full chart week of 2020 then, and my it's a busy one. But even in the face of seven brand new entries that blow away the last of the seasonal hits, including some stiff competition right at the top end, Niall Horan's 'Put A Little Love On Me' notches up a second week at the top of our chart after ascending to the top last week. v3breqPN37Q It's the former One Direction star's second number one on our chart in recent months (and fourth overall) following his October chart topper with 'Nice To Meet Ya', in turn confirming its position as one of the first big hits of the new decade. That he held on is commendable, especially as this week's highest new entry put up a strong fight all week. The artist behind it is one that's been hotly tipped by much of the trendy music press for success this year - 24 year old Filipino singer, songwriter and producer Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez, otherwise known as No Rome. CP4CDBswfTU His debut single 'Trust3000' is a hypnotic and catchy offering that grows on you the more you hear it. Of course the real test for him will be following it up, for we were offering similar plaudits exactly 10 years ago to Iyaz, who had the one chart topper with 'Replay', a barely remembered top 10 follow-up single, and then disappeared into oblivion. But the fact it has put in such a strong performance with a #2 entry first week out seems to suggest the critics might have got this one right for a change. Watch this space. Coldplay's recent chart topping album 'Everyday Life' spawns its second hit single this week, with the title track entering at #4. Their last single, 'Orphans / Arabesque', which hit the top of our chart in November, returned briefly to our top 20 last week at #17 following the new year clearout, but reverses to #25 this week, meaning they narrowly miss out on having two simultaneous top 20 hits. 7HmiFxqdgq4 Fresh from band mate Myles' recent success in the I'm A Celebrity jungle, Rak-Su get off to a good start in 2020 and return to a top 5 berth with their latest single 'Girl'. Unbelievably, even with all their record label woes in the last year, they are now into their third year of hit making on our chart since their X Factor win in 2017, and all bar one of their nine singles has now been a top 10 hit. A new tour for this spring and the long awaited release of their album awaits. PUwVlx2thDQ It's also another top 10 hit for Lauv this week, and one that shows either stability or stagnation depending on your viewpoint, for latest hit 'Changes' matches the peak his last single 'Feelings' made back in October. It's now his fifth consecutive top 10 hit since debut release 'I Like Me Better' gave him his first in August 2018. pPAAFMtDUzo After a pre-Christmas wobble with her cover of N-Trance's 'Set You Free', Una Healy returns to top 10 status this week with 'Wild Grasses', a brand new song that reinforces her country credentials she's successfully persued since The Saturdays went on hiatus six years ago. gKDIAALQu5k And lastly this week, as our top 10 bades farewell to long runners from Now United and Jodie Whittaker with their former chart toppers (slipping six places apiece to #12 and #13 respectively), and Endor's pre-Christmas floorfiller 'Pump It Up' reaches a new peak of #7, two oldies but goldies arrive at the bottom end of the top 20 with brand new singles. Firstly, Scots indie rockers Travis, who became household names with their second album 'The Man Who' and hits like 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?'. Now following a recent film chronicling that album's 20th anniversary, new single 'Kissing In The Wind' gives them their first top 20 hit since 'Closer' got as high as #7 in April 2007. nBq3s6c-iS4 Following the success of the Spice Girls' comeback tour last year, Melanie C has a new solo album - her eighth - almost ready and waiting to go for later this year. Its first single, 'High Heels' was released before December last year, and is a collaboration with the drag queen collective Sink the Pink. kUedP6NUyj0 Following her renewed promotion for the track this last week - including the New Year's Eve edition of Graham Norton - it returns her to a top 20 berth also - the first time in fact since 'Anymore', the lead single off her last solo album 'Version of Me' made #18 in October 2016. FLASHBACK TOP 10 Your chance to see how my personal top 10 was looking on this week in the last 20 years. This week in 2000: S Club 7 make it four weeks on top in a largely unchanged top 10, plus classic hits from Artful Dodger, Vengaboys and Steps 1. (1) S CLUB 7 - Two In A Million / You're My Number One VmVNOiYdpSY 2. (2) ARTFUL DODGER FEAT. CRAIG DAVID - Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) 3. (3) VENGABOYS - Kiss (When The Sun Don't Shine) 4. (4) STEPS - Say You'll Be Mine / Better The Devil You Know 5. (5) ALICE DEEJAY - Back In My Life 6. (12) LEN - Steal My Sunshine 7. (11) WILLIAM ORBIT - Barber's Adagio for Strings 8. (7) JOHN LENNON - Imagine 9. (14) DJ LUCK & MC NEAT - A Little Bit of Luck 10. (HNE) PET SHOP BOYS - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk

2020 - Top 20 Singles (3rd January 2020) - Top 20 Singles (10th January 2020) - Top 20 Singles (17th January 2020) - Top 20 Singles (24th January 2020) - Top 20 Singles (31st January 2020) - Top 20 Singles (7th February 2020) - Top 20 Singles (14th February 2020) - Top 20 Singles (21st February 2020) - Top 20 Singles (28th February 2020) - Top 20 Singles (6th March 2020)