AcerBen

There were a couple times it looked like it was going to make it but nope, it peaked at #43

By "pop", I mean in the widest sense of the word, from your teen-oriented pop to R&B to singer-songwriters. Mainstream radio-friendly artists who write timeless pop songs that reach a wide audience. As a starting point, I've looked at every new artist who's had a UK top 10 hit this year (I've defined new as anyone who's broken through in the last three years). It's been a good year for Hip-Hop/Rap/Grime etc Aitch AJ Tracey Arizona Zervas Dave Dominic Fike Headie One J Hus J. Cole Lil Nas X Lil Tecca Mist NSG Russ Steel Banglez Stormzy Young T & Bugsey And not bad for Dance Jax Jones Joel Corry Marshmello Meduza & Goodboys Regard But I make it only 11 new pop artists have had top 10 hits this year. Ava Max Billie Eilish Dermot Kennedy Freya Ridings Jorja Smith Lauv Lewis Capaldi Lizzo Mabel Tom Walker Tones and I Billie and Mabel are great (actually I think they all have their merits, including Lewis!), but it's a very short list isn't it? What's going wrong, if anything? OK maybe just looking at the top 10 is short-sighted (let me know if I've missed anyone else out who's had a good year) but isn't that still the gold standard of a crossover hit? Or am I being old-fashioned and actually it doesn't matter anymore? And it doesn't mean that there aren't any good new artists out there. And yes who cares about the charts, but one way or another we want our faves to have success don't we? Georgia might be great but she's got to start doing some numbers soon if she's going to have a viable career. So has it become more difficult to launch pop artists? It's just my random Monday morning thought as I was listening to the last X Factor winner Dalton Harris' new single and I realised that despite how talented he is, and the platform he's been given by a TV show, he's got little to no chance of being a success. Perhaps you could say that's a good thing, but doesn't it say something about how the music industry has changed in the last few years and is it not a worry? Going back only 10 years or so, it seemed like all a major record label had to do was put a song out there with a video, service it, see it get playlisted by radio and TV, do a few TV appearances and six weeks later they were in the charts.

Dalton Harris releases "Cry" tomorrow https://twitter.com/daltonharris/status/1205845075516960769

Yeah no issue with the likes of them being on. But Christmas TOTP of course used to be just the biggest hits of the year - in fact for many years every record had to have made at least the top 3 just to get on. But of course now TOTP isn't such a big draw they have to put lesser known acts on. Those line-ups would be perfectly fine for a regular weekly edition, but where are Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Stormzy, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes...

Schedules up: 25 Dec 11:35 Lewis Capaldi AJ Tracey Jorja Smith Freya Ridings Tom Walker Labrinth Jax Jones & Ella Henderson Dermot Kennedy Jack Savoretti Sigala & Becky Hill The Script Mabel James Blunt 30 Dec 16:45 Mabel Lewis Capaldi Dermot Kennedy Blossoms Sigma & Jack Savoretti DJ Regard and Jay Sean Freya Ridings Celeste Joel Corry & Hayley May, Tom Walker Lily Moore & Dan Caplen No new TOTP2 Christmas for second year running, but no less than 8 previous specials will be repeated!! BBC Four Story of 1989 on 3 Jan

Don't forget VAT

In previous years yes but to me they all sound like studio recordings this year. The vocals are too good to be live. In any case like I said, they've released a "more polished" and longer version of "This" too.

*All* of the performances this year were done as studio recordings though. If anything they must've been considering "This" as a possible "proper" single because they remixed and extended it for the final. But also Simon seemed to get in his head that doing the Christmas version of It Must Have Been Love was a genius idea and wanted to push that too. They probably should've just made all the final week's releases for Help For Heroes!

Hope so. If they do I'll do a Mixcloud show of the top 100.

Trouble is it's the same song she already released several weeks ago. It is remixed and slightly longer but getting people to download it again is a bit of an ask.

It's an incredibly lazy choice of song though. The backing track is identical to Leona Lewis' version. It's not like the song even has any relevant lyrics to do with the charity or anything.

Yeah, it is weird people will listen to Christmas songs in November but consider Christmas over the minute they've opened their presents...

If anyone's able to send me a recent edition by email for me to mull over would be appreciated.. benjamin.g.cook@gmail.com Thanks

I think I read they're only coming out on the 20th Dec though

How dumb the current no.1 doesn't even have any odds. I suspect she won't quite make it but she's got a better chance than most of the acts on that list.

I think I started getting into music in early '94, renting tapes (mostly dance compilations from 92/93) but it was the day I got my own hi-fi one Sunday in September my Dad suggested I listened to "the charts". I had caught glimpses of Top of the Pops but I didn't know what the charts was. He explained it's just a show where they songs that have sold the most that week.. so I tuned in and was hooked straight away! "Who was #1 then" "Someone called Wingfield I think" "Never heard of her" :D

But oddly they also said the number 1 would still be announced at the same time, so God knows what that last hour was going to be. Perhaps it was just a miscommunication? I think the chart works quite well as 1.45 and agree, Party Anthems is a great show.

Does anyone know if there's any particular reason why "Beach" by The Makemakes has been doing so well on iTunes for so long? Just wondered if it's been on a TV show or advert. So random that an Austrian band who got nul points in Eurovision would be charting...

Well, forever is a long time so of course there will be! But they will continue to be rare

New one from Xenomania's Paige Cavell is out today too https://open.spotify.com/album/5oEuYM2E5scJzXTGQuPbZy

Wow, never thought I'd see Jenifer on iTunes UK!

Has Jack Savoretti been on any TV shows or anything? I know sales are low enough that it could just be Radio 2 airplay but this one is doing much better than his last few singles

Dalton Harris' next single is called "Cry" according to this interview https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2019/08/...ummer-19-issue/ Should be out soon as he's mentioned photo shoots and videos on his Twitter. He sang it on the X Factor tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcmlqfcNl14

Ace Of Base - Gold out October 11th on CD and vinyl - UK release https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XB75LK2/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XGBKXLH/

This is showing as a bubbler on Kworb, wonder how far it can go Connie Talbot - Never Give Up on Us