bobiloko

I dreamt that next week "Whatever You Like" by T.I. will re-enter the chart at number 11 while "Live Your Life" will climb to number 8... While that's unlikely to happen, I won't be too surprised to see "Whatever You Like" re-enter the chart while "Live Your Life" is in it - similar things have happened to Nicole Scherzinger and Rihanna during the past twelve months... I have a question to everyone who followed the chart in 2001 - which song by Atomic Kitten do you think was at number 8 in the chart of August 25, 2001? Until then "Whole Again" had an impressive 17-week stay in the chart. But in the chart of August 18 it fell 6-13. And then suddenly in the chart of August 25 there was a song by Atomic Kitten at number 8. And after that, in the chart of September 1 it was indisputably "Eternal Flame" that was at number 6. The only logical conclusion is that "Whole Again" left the chart from number 13 and was replaced by "Eternal Flame", which debuted at number 8 and climbed to number 6 the following week. It's absolutely unbelievable that "Whole Again" would climb 13-8, then leave the chart and immediately be replaced by "Eternal Flame" entering straight at number 6... The only thing which makes me wonder is that... when MTV Europe broadcast the edition of August 25, they played "Whole Again" at number 8!? Of course, sometimes MTV have made mistakes when broadcasting the chart... but I just want to know your opinion on this situation.

These charts from late 1989 and early 1990 are quite interesting... I'm just not sure whether it was the same chart then - perhaps there were two different European charts (three if you include the Eurochart)... Still, these charts don't seem very unlikely to be from the real European Top 20 (I'm sure it's a bigger chart now as well but only the Top 20 is shown)... On the other hand, I inspected more closely the chart from October or November 1990, which Jamse posted on the previous page, and I'm almost sure it wasn't a real edition of European Top 20. Quite a few songs in the chart didn't appear in any European singles chart apart from the UK and even there they weren't really successful - and while such things happen now as well, there are just too many in that 1990 edition. Furthermore, some enormous hits from that time are nowhere to be seen in the chart - most shockingly, "I've Been Thinking About You" by Londonbeat. However, the biggest evidence is the presence in the chart of "All I Want Is You" by U2 and "Patience" by Guns 'N' Roses, which were hits in 1989, not 1990 (and especially the last months of 1990)! That's why I think that this was an edition of some other chart, not European Top 20. Anyway, maybe it's about time to ask MTV Europe themselves again to give us the full archive (we haven't had any success with that until now but we can keep on trying)...

Haha, I see that what I wrote is somewhat ambiguous... I meant that this is his first single where he SINGS - and doesn't rap - during the entire song!

Here is the chart of November 15, 2008: 20 Kanye West - Love Lockdown NEW 19 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 3 Down 18 T.I. - Whatever You Like Stay => 17 Jennifer Hudson - Spotlight 2 Up 16 Iglu & Hartly - In This City 1 Up 15 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 1 Down 14 Lady GaGa - Just Dance 1 Up 13 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 1 Down 12 Gym Class Heroes - Cookie Jar 1 Up 11 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 1 Down 10 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo 1 Down 9 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 4 Down 8 Sugababes - Girls 3 Up 7 Pink - So What 1 Down 6 Rihanna - Disturbia 2 Down 5 Madcon - Beggin' 3 Up 4 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 3 Up 3 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl 1 Down 2 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved 1 Up 1 Coldplay - Viva La Vida Stay => Only one new entry again. Earlier this year Kanye West scored his first number 1 in the chart by appearing on Estelle's "American Boy". Now he debuts at number 20 with "Love Lockdown" - his first single where he sings during the entire song. Just above him is "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. Its record gets more and more impressive - 24 weeks in the chart for a song that has peaked at number 7! The movements in this week's chart are quite small, yet one of them is really surprising as "So What" by Pink falls 6-7. I'm sure number 6 won't remain its peak position but this fall is absolutely illogical... Well, at least there is some surprise in this edition of MTV European Top 20! "Beggin'" by Madcon and "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls make good 3-place climbs to the Top 5. That's especially impressive for the latter as it spent its first 9 weeks in the chart wandering between positions 20-16... yet it reaches number 4 in its 13th week in the chart! By doing so, "When I Grow Up" becomes the girls' third highest peaking song after "Stickwitu" and "Beep", which are joint first with a peak of number 2. The current runner-up is "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. I would never have guessed it would go that high... but then again there have been some shocking number 2's - "Monsoon" by Tokio Hotel, "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson, "She Wants To Move" by N*E*R*D*, etc... And the number 1 is... "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay, for a 4th consecutive week. Thus it equals the achievement of "Speed Of Sound". However, I think it's very likely that it will become the band's longest stayer at the top next week...

jamse, there is a great chart collection at: http://www.lanet.lv/misc/charts/ One of the charts you'll find there is: http://swisscharts.com/ This is the site for the Swiss singles chart but there are some more sites with a similar design for other European singles charts. The great thing about all of them is that when you click at a single to see its chart run in (for example) the Swiss chart, it lists also the peak position of the single and how many weeks it spent in all the other charts (I mean - those which have a dedicated site with the aforementioned design).

I don't think they broadcast MTV European Top 20 on MTV UK... but they do broadcast it on MTV Hits. Here is the chart of November 1, 2008: 20 T.I. - Whatever You Like NEW 19 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me 2 Down 18 Iglu & Hartly - In This City 2 Up 17 Lady GaGa - Just Dance NEW 16 Gym Class Heroes - Cookie Jar 1 Down 15 Ne-Yo - Closer 4 Down 14 Sugababes - Girls 4 Up 13 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 4 Down 12 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 4 Up 11 Madcon - Beggin' 3 Up 10 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 2 Down 9 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 3 Up 8 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 3 Down 7 Pink - So What 3 Up 6 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo 1 Up 5 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Down 4 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved 2 Up 3 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl 1 Down 2 Rihanna - Disturbia 1 Up 1 Coldplay - Viva La Vida Stay => I have had prophetic dreams... but never in relation to European Top 20. Which doesn't mean that I haven't dreamt about the chart - exactly the opposite! Which is not that strange when you consider how obsessed I am with it... When I dream about it, I always dream about what next week's edition is going to be. So far I have always dreamt of impossible situations - many new entries, chaotical movements in the chart and, most importantly, the songs in it actually don't exist! Yes, in my dreams the songs that appear in the chart are for the biggest part creations of my imagination... That's why I said that my dreams about MTV European Top 20 have never become reality... until now! A few nights ago I dreamt that "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz has gone out of the chart. When I woke up, I really hoped my dream wouldn't come true as the song was at number 13 in last week's chart and it's not so usual for songs to leave the chart from such a high position... Furthermore, I wanted "I'm Yours" to spend a couple more weeks in... But this time my dream was prophetic. "I'm Yours" is out but nevertheless, it has broken a record. It's the song with a peak position of number 6 that has spent the most weeks in the chart - 25 weeks!!! The previous record for a number 6 hit was 24 weeks by "In The Shadows" by The Rasmus. And, even more impressively, like I said last week, only 5 songs in the history of European Top 20 have spent more weeks in the chart than "I'm Yours"... Well done! There are two new entries this week. At the very bottom is "Whatever You Like", T.I.'s second solo hit in the chart after "Why You Wanna" reached number 8 in 2006. And at number 17 debuts "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa - a song that has had success around Europe and deservedly enters this chart, although a little late. I was right last week when I predicted that "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls would reach the Top 10 this week - it goes 12-9. It took the song 11 weeks but it's finally in the upper half! "Pjanoo" by Eric Prydz climbs a single place to number 6 and equals the peak position of "Call On Me". There is still some way to go in order to equal the peak position of "Proper Education" - number 2. "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay stays for a second consecutive week at number 1 - the same time that "Violet Hill" spent at the top. But, unless "Disturbia" by Rihanna reclimbs to number 1 next week, I expect "Viva La Vida" to remain there for at least one or two additional weeks... before the inevitable happens and "So What" by Pink replaces it. By the way, I don't think "So What" will be the last number 1 this year. What's your opinion?

Here is the chart of October 25, 2008: 20 Iglu & Hartly - In This City NEW 19 Rihanna - Take A Bow 3 Down 18 Sugababes - Girls NEW 17 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me 3 Down 16 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire NEW 15 Gym Class Heroes - Cookie Jar 4 Up 14 Madcon - Beggin' NEW 13 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 4 Down 12 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 5 Up 11 Ne-Yo - Closer 3 Down 10 Pink - So What 3 Up 9 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 2 Down 8 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 2 Down 7 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo 4 Up 6 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved 4 Up 5 Kid Rock - All Summer Long Stay => 4 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me Stay => 3 Rihanna - Disturbia 2 Down 2 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Stay => 1 Coldplay - Viva La Vida 2 Up Four new entries!!!! It's really nice to see that happen again as the last edition of the chart with four new entries was more than half a year ago... The lowest new entry - at number 20 - is very shocking. When I watched the chart, I didn't even understand what it was... Later I found out that it was "In This City" by Iglu & Hartly. There are such surprising debuts from time to time... But does the song deserve it? Well, it has reached the Top 10 in the UK and Ireland... However, as a whole I don't think that songs that have done well only there should appear in MTV European Top 20... BUT! It turns out that "In This City" has also reached number 80 in the Netherlands! Now that's something different! No such excuses for the new entry at number 18. "Girls" by Sugababes has indeed charted only in the UK and Ireland so far. Still, it hasn't been released across Europe yet and when it does it might become worthy of its place in this chart... Anyway, the last four Sugababes' singles have shown an interesting tendency. "Red Dress" became their biggest hit in European Top 20 at the time; then "Easy" became their smallest hit at the time; then "About You Now" became their first number 1 and with that their biggest hit so far; and, finally, "Change" became their smallest hit so far... I have a feeling that "Girls" won't follow this pattern as I somehow can't imagine it becoming their biggest hit ever... "Sex On Fire" by Kings Of Leon, on the other hand, is indeed having success in various European countries and logically debuts at number 16. The same but to an even larger extent is true for "Beggin'" by Madcon, which is the highest new entry this week. The question should actually be why it enters so late... But, as they say, better late than never - ask "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay! (more on that never... I mean later) After spending nine weeks between positions 16 and 20, "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls finally breaks into the Top 15, reaching number 12 this week. I expect to see it in the Top 10 next time around. "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz continues its amazing journey in European Top 20. Now it spends its 25th week in the chart, thus climbing to joint sixth place in the longstayers' chart along with "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry. Only five songs have ever spent more weeks in the chart - "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex (26 weeks), "Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna (27 weeks), "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado (28 weeks) and "Asereje" by Las Ketchup and "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis (both 29 weeks)... "Disturbia" by Rihanna is no longer number 1. By falling to number 3 it becomes her single that has spent the shortest time at the top - just one week. All of her other SEVEN number ones spent at least two weeks at the top... But does the lack of longevity of "Disturbia" really matter when she has scored eight number ones in just three years? Like I mentioned earlier, "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay entered MTV European Top 20 months after it should have... But that doesn't seem to have had a bad effect on the song as it goes 3-1 this week to become the band's third chart-topper after "Speed Of Sound" and "Violet Hill". Having in mind that "Viva La Vida" is their most successful song ever, it would have been absolutely unfair if it had peaked lower than those two!

8 number ones in just three years... I don't think Rihanna's performance will ever be repeated. I couldn't think of any other artist who has scored more than 5 number ones for a period of three years... After I wrote my comments about Joanne, I did remember that I had seen her present the chart in late 2000. The edition I remembered was the chart of December 2. There was a new number 1 - "Holler" by Spice Girls and Joanne announced it like this: "And the new number 1 is... S... P... I.. OK, of course it's the Spice Girls". The reason I remembered that it was Joanne who announced it was that I thought this was a missed opportunity. The previous week "Groovejet" by Spiller had been at number 19. While it was obvious that this week it had left the chart, Joanne could have said something like: "And the new number 1 is... S... P... I... Yes, it's Spiller! He does the unbelievable by going all the way to the top from number 19... OK, OK, I'm joking... The new number 1 is someone else whose name starts with S... P... I..."... Anyway, I'm surprised that Joanne presented the chart as early as September. I do remember that Trey was replaced at that time but I thought it was only Kicki who did it then... By the way, who presented the chart of November 4? That's the chart when "Kids" by Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue was a new entry. I know it sounds illogical as Trey had stopped presenting the chart a few months earlier but I do remember him announcing at the beginning of that edition that there was a new entry which was currently doing well in Finland... Maybe it was Neil Cole who presented the chart (that's at least something I'm sure of - the presenter was male)... And the funny thing is that now I checked and "Kids" didn't even make it to the Finnish singles chart!

No, "Around The World" didn't manage to enter the chart. I checked and it looks like it was released in European countries around April/May so when Aqua presented European Top 20 in August, it was too late to show "Around The World" as a bubbler... I guess that's why they chose to show the follow-up "Bumblebees". And while neither of these songs appeared in the chart, at least "Cartoon Heroes" became number 1 earlier in the year! Here is the chart of October 11, 2008: 20 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 1 Down 19 Metallica - The Day That Never Comes NEW 18 The Verve - Love Is Noise 4 Down 17 Pink - So What 3 Up 16 Coldplay - Violet Hill 3 Down 15 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo 3 Up 14 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me 2 Up 13 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 1 Down 12 Rihanna - Take A Bow 1 Down 11 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved 4 Up 10 Chris Brown - Forever 1 Down 9 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 1 Up 8 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours Stay => 7 Ne-Yo - Closer Stay => 6 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 1 Down 5 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 2 Down 4 Coldplay - Viva La Vida 2 Up 3 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Down 2 Rihanna - Disturbia 2 Up 1 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Stay => Alas, there is only one new entry... but it's a remarkable one! Metallica finally make their comeback at number 19 with "The Day That Never Comes". They were last seen in the chart more than 8 years ago with the live version of "Nothing Else Matters". I must say I have waited for such a long time to see Metallica return to MTV European Top 20 - I thought that their best chance was with "St. Anger" and when it didn't chart, I wondered whether they'd ever come back... but here they are! Their biggest hits in the chart were the original "Nothing Else Matters" and "Until It Sleeps", both reaching number 3. The other memorable thing this week is that a record is broken again. "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown spends a 19th week in the chart (and actually climbs one place to number 9!)... and thus becomes the longest stayer in European Top 20 for a song that has peaked at number 7. Until now the record was held jointly by "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" by Whitney Houston and Enrique Iglesias and "Nu Flow" by Big Brovaz. Both songs spent 18 weeks in the chart. "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry remains at number 1 for a fifth consecutive week but the question "Who's going to replace her?" becomes more and more important. Last week "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay made an impressive 7-place climb to number 6 but now it slows down, climbing only to number 4. In the meantime, "Disturbia" by Rihanna goes 4-2 and seems to be the biggest contender for the top spot again. Will there be a new number 1 as early as next week?

I have just watched the chart, I'll post my commentary in one of the following days but right now you inspired me to talk about the MTV European Top 20 presenters... I started watching the chart in April 2000 so I caught the last several times when Eden presented the chart... I know it's scary but I actually remember the exact edition of the chart when a new presenter appeared (at least the major ones)! Eden - the last chart she presented was the chart of July 1, 2000 - when "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi replaced "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears at number 1... that was also the chart when "Try Again" made the highest debut of the year - it entered straight at number 5! Trey - the first chart he presented was the chart of July 8, 2000. It's true that Kicki Berg replaced him a couple of times but I don't remember Ulrika ever doing it. Joanne - strangely, I'm not 100% sure which was the first chart she presented... Maybe the chart of January 6, 2001. By the way, jamse didn't mention that Neil Cole replaced her several times. The last chart Joanne presented was the chart of January 4, 2003, which was some special edition (NOT year-end chart)... I don't remember what exactly it was but it was meant as her farewell to the chart. Ina-Gérdaline - the first chart she presented was the chart of January 11, 2003. The last chart she presented was the chart of February 28, 2004. Amelia - the first chart she presented was the chart of March 6, 2004. The last chart she presented was (I think) the chart of November 12, 2005. Charlotte - I think the first chart she presented was the chart of November 19, 2005, because I seem to remember that "Untitled" by Simple Plan climbed 19-16 in that week... Charlotte is still presenting the chart and has been doing that for the longest time since Eden! Now about my favourite presenter... Well, maybe it was because that was near the time I started watching the chart but it was Trey. The most important reason was that he REALLY cared about chart statistics! I'll never forget the AMAZING chart of July 22, 2000. The previous week "My Uncle John From Jamaica" by Vengaboys had entered straight at number 10... and in the same week "Shackles" by Mary Mary had continued falling - from number 5 to number 7 (after peaking at number 4). Well, in the chart of July 22 there was a new number 1... and it was going to be one of the two songs! I thought it was more logical for Vengaboys to do it - they had made a strong debut the previous week while Mary Mary were falling... But it turned out that "Shackles" made the (probably most shocking ever) reclimb 7-1! And that meant that Vengaboys... had left the chart after just one week straight from number 10! Anyway, what is really important here is that the following week, when announcing that "Shackles" spent a second week at the top, Trey said: "But wait a minute. What about Vengaboys?... Well, they disappeared as quickly as they arrived!"... Another thing - "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem had a very good start in the chart - 18-9-4... When it was at number 4, Trey said something like: "I know a lot of you wanted it to make a similar climb to last week..." (but they'd have to put up with a 5-place climb)... Then, surprisingly, the song fell 4-7 the following week and Trey commented with a serious tone that something was really going wrong for it... When "Shackles" by Mary Mary was replaced at number 1, it fell straight to number 4. In the same week, the song that was at number 1 before "Shackles" - "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi - was staying at number 5... Trey praised "It's My Life" for remaining near the top for some time and, comparing "Shackles" to it, commented with a serious tone something like: "Absolutely no longevity"... What I want to show is that he just lived with the different songs' performances in the chart - like I do! He also often said at the beginning of the show which songs had fallen out of the chart... And when there was a new number 1, he said (again in the beginning): "I can't lie to you. There is a new number 1"... Ah, memories... But my favourite edition of European Top 20 (with regards to how it was presented) was the chart of August 19, 2000. Trey was shown in the studio, preparing for the show... and then he became obsessed with how great he was... and he passed out! Someone had to replace him... But who? AQUA!!!!!! Yes, you read it right - Lene and Rene presented the chart! Back then it was a tradition for the presenter every week to show something like a "bubbler" - a song that had the potential to enter the chart in the near future (some did, others didn't). Well, Aqua, of course, used the opportunity to show as a bubbler their own "Bumblebees"... However, it never made it to the chart. Anyway, when Lene and Rene finished presenting the chart, Trey finally came to consciousness... Lene and Rene went to him and he asked them what had happened - he didn't remember much but he had some unpleasant feeling... But they assured him that everything was all right. The end. Well, that really was a SPECIAL edition of the chart!

Here is the chart of October 4, 2008: 20 Pink - So What NEW 19 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 3 Down 18 Eric Prydz - Pjanoo NEW 17 Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted 5 Down 16 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me 4 Up 15 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved 4 Up 14 The Verve - Love Is Noise 4 Up 13 Coldplay - Violet Hill 2 Down 12 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 2 Down 11 Rihanna - Take A Bow 2 Down 10 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 2 Down 9 Chris Brown - Forever 6 Up 8 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 1 Down 7 Ne-Yo - Closer 2 Down 6 Coldplay - Viva La Vida 7 Up 5 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 3 Down 4 Rihanna - Disturbia 2 Up 3 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 1 Up 2 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Up 1 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Stay => This week there are again two new entries. At the very bottom, at number 20, is "So What" by Pink. So far she has had three chart-toppers in MTV European Top 20 - "Lady Marmalade", "Get The Party Started" and "Stupid Girls". And with "So What" already topping charts across Europe, it looks likely that it will become her fourth number 1 here! The other new entry debuts at number 18. "Pjanoo" is the third hit for Eric Prydz in the chart. The massively successful "Call On Me" only peaked at number 6 but spent quite some time in European Top 20 - 17 weeks. Then last year "Proper Education" actually reached number 2! However, the most remarkable thing about the song is that it's the first wholly instrumental track in the chart since "Sandstorm" by Darude back in 2000! Pussycat Dolls don't seem to have much success in this chart with "When I Grow Up". It falls again this week, going 16-19 and number 16 is so far its peak position (for a total of 7 weeks in the chart)... The song will need a big resurgence if it doesn't want to remain the girls' smallest hit by far. Of course, some songs prove that such resurgences are indeed possible. After going 18-20 in its second week in the chart last week, now "Body On Me" by Nelly, Akon and Ashanti goes back up to number 16. But much more impressive is the reclimb of "Forever" by Chris Brown. It looked truly on its way out of the chart after quite a long stay... but now it climbs 6 places to number 9 in its 16th week in the chart! Here is its amazing chart run so far: 18-13-9-7-9-7-9-11-12-13-16-17-13-14-15-9 As you can see, the song never gives up! When it starts to fall, there is quickly a reclimb! Can it even improve its peak position (number 7)? The 4-place climb to number 14 of "Love Is Noise" by The Verve might not seem really notable but thus it (deservedly) becomes the band's second biggest hit after "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which peaked at number 7. It has already outperformed "The Drugs Don't Work" (peak position - number 17) and "Lucky Man" (number 15). Still, the biggest climber this week is "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. It entered the chart at number 13 last week and is 7 places up to number 6 now. Well, that looks threatening! I did proclaim numerous times that "Disturbia" by Rihanna was going to be the next number 1... but I'm not so sure now! "Disturbia" only climbs two places to number 4 this week... As a matter of fact, "Viva La Vida" might be placed higher than it as soon as next week! Since I mentioned the number 1 position, let me say something about the current chart-topper. "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry reigns for a fourth consecutive week and by doing so becomes the third longest stayer at the top this year after "Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna and "4 Minutes" by Madonna and Justin Timberlake both spent six weeks at number 1. What about the song that "I Kissed A Girl" replaced at the top? "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi fell 1-5... but has since climbed back a place each week and is now in the runner-up position. Can it achieve a third separate run at number 1? It's not very probable but who knows!

There are actually two new entries this week! Here is the chart of September 27, 2008: 20 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me 2 Down 19 The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved NEW 18 The Verve - Love Is Noise 2 Up 17 Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me 1 Down 16 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 3 Up 15 Chris Brown - Forever 1 Down 14 Laurent Wolf - No Stress 1 Down 13 Coldplay - Viva La Vida NEW 12 Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted 2 Down 11 Coldplay - Violet Hill 1 Up 10 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 1 Down 9 Rihanna - Take A Bow 2 Down 8 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air Stay => 7 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 1 Down 6 Rihanna - Disturbia 5 Up 5 Ne-Yo - Closer Stay => 4 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 2 Down 3 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Up 2 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 1 Up 1 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Stay => It should have entered the chart much earlier... but now "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay finally debuts at number 13. At the same time, their previous single "Violet Hill" actually climbs back one place to number 11. "Violet Hill" reached number 1 in MTV European Top 20 and, taking into consideration that "Viva La Vida" is much more successful around Europe, it should do the same... But we'll see. The other new entry - at number 19 - is "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. It's just starting to appear in some European charts so it's still too early to predict how much success it's going to have. "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis leaves European Top 20 this week after spending an amazing total of 19 weeks in the chart and breaking the record for most weeks in the chart for a song that has peaked at number 10. Leona Lewis seems to have really longstaying hits - "Bleeding Love" is the joint record holder for most weeks in the chart (along with "Asereje" by Las Ketchup) - 29 weeks! "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry spends a comfortable third week at the top. However, there is a new contender just below her. I must admit I didn't think "Give It 2 Me" by Madonna would go higher than number 3 but now it climbs to number 2. It will be interesting to see what pattern it's going to follow as the second single from an album by Madonna after a number 1 hit. "Hollywood" stopped at number 2 while "Sorry" did manage to become a chart-topper. Anyway, I still feel that it's "Disturbia" by Rihanna that is going to replace "I Kissed A Girl" at the top - and it takes another huge step in that direction as it's the biggest climber this week, going 11-6.

Here is the chart of September 20, 2008: 20 The Verve - Love Is Noise NEW 19 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up Stay => 18 Nelly, Akon & Ashanti - Body On Me NEW 17 Leona Lewis - Better In Time 3 Up 16 Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me 1 Down 15 Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked 3 Up 14 Chris Brown - Forever 1 Down 13 Laurent Wolf - No Stress 1 Down 12 Coldplay - Violet Hill 2 Down 11 Rihanna - Disturbia 3 Up 10 Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted 1 Down 9 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 1 Down 8 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 3 Up 7 Rihanna - Take A Bow 1 Down 6 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 1 Up 5 Ne-Yo - Closer 2 Down 4 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Up 3 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 1 Up 2 Kid Rock - All Summer Long Stay => 1 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Stay => I'm really happy about the new entry at number 20. I thought "Love Is Noise" by The Verve was doing well enough around Europe to enter this chart but, furthermore, I love comebacks! The Verve were last seen in MTV European Top 20 TEN years ago! Their biggest hit in the chart was, of course, "Bitter Sweet Symphony", which reached number 7. Then two other singles followed - "The Drugs Don't Work" (peak position - number 17) and "Lucky Man" (peak position - number 15). Nelly, Akon and Ashanti have all been in European Top 20 before - but with "Body On Me" entering at number 18 they are together for the first time. None of them has been absent from the chart for anywhere as long as The Verve. Ashanti has had to wait the longest of them - "Only U" was her last single in the chart prior to "Body On Me" and that was "only" three years ago. Ida Maria, who debuted last week with "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked", climbs 18-15 in spite of my hopes that it would leave the chart... I have the feeling that the person who makes MTV European Top 20 only let this song in because Ida Maria is Norwegian - just like the chart's presenter, Charlotte... The three longstayers in the chart continue to impress. "No Air" by Jordin Sparks climbs to number 8 in its 16th week in the chart and almost equals its peak position (number 7). Who knows, it might even improve it? After spending two consecutive weeks at the very bottom of the chart it looked like "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis was finally going out... But no! It climbs back 3 places to number 17 in its 19th (!) week in the chart! How much longer can it survive? And, of course, how can I not mention "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz? It climbs back to its peak position - number 6. Right now it's spending its 20th week in the chart!!! Well, I don't think there has been ANY song in the chart's history that has been at its peak position in its 20th week in the chart... I just wish one thing - that "I'm Yours" reaches a new peak next week... As for the top of the chart, "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry reigns for a second consecutive week. I think that if there is a song currently in European Top 20 that can replaces it at number 1, it's "Disturbia" by Rihanna.

Yes. Here is the chart of September 6, 2008 - with commentary: 20 Leona Lewis - Better In Time 1 Down 19 Rihanna - Disturbia NEW 18 Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up 2 Up 17 Chris Brown - Forever 1 Down 16 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 3 Down 15 Usher - Love In This Club 3 Down 14 Laurent Wolf - No Stress 3 Down 13 Duffy - Warwick Avenue 4 Down 12 Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me 3 Up 11 Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted 6 Up 10 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 4 Up 9 Coldplay - Violet Hill 1 Down 8 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 1 Down 7 Rihanna - Take A Bow 2 Down 6 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 4 Up 5 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 2 Down 4 Ne-Yo - Closer 2 Up 3 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl 1 Up 2 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 1 Down 1 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 1 Up Well, well! We were expecting "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry to top the chart... but "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi returns to number 1 instead! It spent a sole week at the top before "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock reigned for three weeks... But now Gabriella claims a second week at number 1! Still, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we see Katy Perry at her place. But there is something which I think is much more remarkable about this edition of MTV European Top 20. And again I'm talking about Jason Mraz! I was right last week - "I'm Yours" continues climbing and reaches a new peak - number 6. What is amazing is that it reaches a new peak position in its 18th (EIGHTEENTH!) week in the chart!!!!!! Is that a record? Almost. "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex reached its peak position (number 3) in its 19th week in the chart back in 1995. But who's to say that Jason Mraz can't continue climbing? Here is the wonderful chart run of "I'm Yours" so far: 19-15-14-11-13-14-12-10-10-10-11-16-15-16-15-14-10-6 By the way, the fact that the peak position of "I'm Yours" is no longer number 10 means that we have a new record holder for the most weeks in the chart for a song that has peaked at number 10. And the record holder is actually still in the chart - although at the very bottom. "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis peaked at number 10 a long, long time ago and is now spending its 17th week in the chart. I think it deserves mentioning that "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown is steadily climbing after it re-entered the chart. Now it's up to number 10. Can it improve on its peak position (number 7)? The biggest climber this week is "All I Ever Wanted" by Basshunter, going 17-11. It follows the same pattern as "Now You're Gone", which also climbed 6 places (to number 13) in its second week in the chart. However, "Now You're Gone" went out of the chart straight after that. I doubt that "All I Ever Wanted" will have the same fate. Finally, there is one new entry this week. "Disturbia" by Rihanna debuts at number 19. I have to say that Rihanna has been the Queen of MTV European Top 20 during the past three years. Until now she had 8 hits in the chart, SEVEN (!) of which became number ones ("Pon De Replay", "S.O.S.", "Unfaithful", "Umbrella", "Shut Up And Drive", "Don't Stop The Music" and "Take A Bow")!!!!! And the eighth - "Hate That I Love You" - broke the record for most weeks in the chart for a song that has peaked at number 9 (17 weeks). The chart has NEVER seen such domination in such a short period of time! And I have to say I won't be surprised if "Disturbia" is the song to replace "I Kissed A Girl" at number 1... I won't be able to post next week's chart, I hope someone else will do it!

Wow, that's strange. I was sure I had posted my comments for last week's chart here... Thank you for posting them, Jamse! I think Jason Mraz's achievement is absolutely remarkable. In fact, reaching a new peak position is not out of the question! I'd also like to point out the sudden 20-15 reclimb of "Dance Wiv Me". This year the chart might not be as interesting as last year but at least you never know when a song is really on its way out of the chart (another proof - some surprising re-entries). As for tsetsi's question - well, it all depends on the competition. If no other big hits appear in the near future, "I Kissed A Girl" might spend quite some time at the top indeed. After all, if it weren't for Kid Rock and Katy Perry herself, Gabriella Cilmi would have had a very long reign at number 1, I suppose...

I'm back! I watched the chart today and I can confirm that "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis re-enters at number 20. I even think I know the reason for that - while I was on holiday, I passed through Vienna and bought "Better In Time" from there! That must have been enough to make it re-enter the chart! (by the way, I also bought "Blessed" by Fady Maalouf - it's a wonderful song, too) Regarding Jamse's discussion - the chart for the whole year is absolutely random. The most shocking example is from 1998 - how can "The Way" by Fastball be number 19 for the whole year when it spent a single week at number 15 in MTV European Top 20?!?! And in 2007 there wasn't a chart for the whole year at all (I must admit I don't think we've missed anything by its absence)...

Jamse, just as tsetsi said, I'm watching the new chart on MTV Hits on Monday night. I agree that "Closer" by Ne-Yo is nothing special and so far it doesn't seem to be that successful around Europe but that doesn't make it certain that it won't go to number 1 - after all, less successful songs have reached the top in European Top 20. By the way, next week I'll be on holiday so most probably I won't be able to post the new chart.

Here is the chart of August 2, 2008: 20 Kat DeLuna - Run The Show NEW 19 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 7 Down 18 Madonna - Give It 2 Me 1 Up 17 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 6 Down 16 Enrique Iglesias - Can You Hear Me NEW 15 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 1 Up 14 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 4 Down 13 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 2 Up 12 Sara Bareilles - Love Song 3 Down 11 Laurent Wolf - No Stress 3 Up 10 Will.I.Am - Heartbreaker 3 Up 9 Chris Brown - Forever 2 Down 8 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 3 Down 7 Kid Rock - All Summer Long 10 Up 6 Usher - Love In This Club 2 Down 5 Rihanna - Take A Bow 2 Down 4 Duffy - Warwick Avenue 2 Up 3 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 5 Up 2 Ne-Yo - Closer Stay => 1 Coldplay - Violet Hill Stay => Well... My bold prediction from last week turned out to be wrong. "Violet Hill" by Coldplay manages to spend a second week at number 1 while "Closer" by Ne-Yo remains just below. Meanwhile, "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi continues its impressive climb by going 8-3. I guess the question is whether it will be "Closer" or "Sweet About Me" that will become number 1... or maybe both (or neither)? What about last week's two new entries that also seemed to be future contenders for the top spot? "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock definitely seems to live up to the expectations as it climbs 10 places to number 7. On the other hand, "Give It 2 Me" by Madonna is a mere one place up - to number 18. However, I'm sure it will reach the highest part of the chart, no matter how long it takes. This week there are two new entries again. The higher one - at number 16 - is "Can You Hear Me" by Enrique Iglesias. Last year he had two hits in the chart - "Do You Know?", which peaked at number 5, and "Tired Of Being Sorry", which peaked at number 13. "Can You Hear Me" is the official song for the football Euro 2008... and, as a matter of fact, there is another Euro 2008 song in the chart right now - "Feel The Rush" by Shaggy. I think the last time there were two football-related songs simultaneously in the chart was 10 years ago - "The Cup Of Life" by Ricky Martin and "Carnaval De Paris" by Dario G, both related to World Cup '98. The other new entry is a really nice suprise. "Whine Up" by Kat DeLuna had some success in a few European countries but didn't enter MTV European Top 20. "Run The Show" seemed to do even better across Europe so I thought that maybe it was going to appear in the chart... However, I thought so about two months ago! I'd never have expected it to debut NOW! Well, sometimes songs enter European Top 20 very late... but that's yet another thing that makes the chart interesting! You never know whether a song has missed its last chance to enter!

Here is the chart of July 26, 2008: 20 Leona Lewis - Better In Time Stay => 19 Madonna - Give It 2 Me NEW 18 Duffy - Mercy 4 Down 17 Kid Rock - All Summer Long NEW 16 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 5 Down 15 Shaggy - Feel The Rush 4 Up 14 Laurent Wolf - No Stress 4 Up 13 Will.I.Am - Heartbreaker 2 Up 12 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 4 Down 11 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 4 Down 10 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 5 Down 9 Sara Bareilles - Love Song 1 Up 8 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me 8 Up 7 Chris Brown - Forever 2 Up 6 Duffy - Warwick Avenue 6 Up 5 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 1 Down 4 Usher - Love In This Club 1 Down 3 Rihanna - Take A Bow 2 Down 2 Ne-Yo - Closer 4 Up 1 Coldplay - Violet Hill 1 Up "Take A Bow" is no longer at the top! The new number 1 is "Violet Hill" by Coldplay... Something that I would never have guessed two weeks ago. Here is again its incredible way to the top: 16-10-5-5-7-8-2-1 However, this is not the first time a song has made a sudden big reclimb and become number 1. Here is how "Don't Bother" by Shakira did it: 18-13-7-4-2-5-8-3-1 But the "classic" example is, of course, "Shackles" by Mary Mary: 17-13-13-10-4-5-7-1 Otherwise, "Violet Hill" becomes Coldplay's second chart-topper. The first one - "Speed Of Sound" - spent 4 weeks at number 1. But "Violet Hill" won't be able to repeat that... as most probably it will be replaced at the top as early as next week by Ne-Yo's "Closer", which goes 6-2. The two new entries this week are two other future contenders for the number 1 position. I think that both of them actually deserved to be Top 10 debuts but what can I do? "Give It 2 Me" is Madonna's follow-up to the 6-week number 1 "4 Minutes", which is still in the chart at number 10. "All Summer Long" is Kid Rock's first chart hit in MTV European Top 20. I don't know whether there will be another but at least this one looks like it's going to be really successful! The biggest climber this week is "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi, which climbs 8 places to number 8. The song is actually doing very well across Europe so it will be sweet (yes, something sweet about Gabriella Cilmi!) if it manages to go to number 1 between Ne-Yo's and either Madonna's or Kid Rock's reign! Finally, let me say something about a song that went out of the chart this week. "Singin' In The Rain" by Mint Royale equals the "record" for least weeks in the chart for a number 9 hit - just 3 weeks. The other two record-holders are "Ça Plane Pour Moi" by Leila K. and "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim - both from the previous millennium!

Here is the chart of July 19, 2008: 20 Leona Lewis - Better In Time 1 Down 19 Shaggy - Feel The Rush NEW 18 Laurent Wolf - No Stress NEW 17 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 1 Down 16 Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me NEW 15 Will.I.Am - Heartbreaker 5 Up 14 Duffy - Mercy 3 Down 13 Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain 4 Down 12 Duffy - Warwick Avenue 2 Up 11 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours 1 Down 10 Sara Bareilles - Love Song 3 Up 9 Chris Brown - Forever 2 Down 8 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 2 Down 7 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 2 Down 6 Ne-Yo - Closer 9 Up 5 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 1 Down 4 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 1 Down 3 Usher - Love In This Club 1 Down 2 Coldplay - Violet Hill 6 Up 1 Madonna - Take A Bow You might think that I'm joking... Well, while there is indeed a joke, it's MTV themselves that have made it! They did in fact play "Take A Bow" by Madonna at number 1 instead of Rihanna's song with the same title! Otherwise, "Take A Bow" by Rihanna spends a third week at the top. And "Take A Bow" by Madonna was in the chart at the beginning of 1995. It peaked at number 9 and spent a total of 6 weeks in the chart. I'm very happy about the new entries. There are three of them, the lowest - at number 19 - is "Feel The Rush" by Shaggy, based on "Heater" by Samim (which didn't chart). I have to say I didn't know whether we'd see Shaggy in European Top 20 again - his last hit in the chart was "Hey Sexy Lady" more than 5 years ago... Then at number 18 there is a new entry by Laurent Wolf. What's surprising about "No Stress" is not so much that it enters the chart as that it does it so late... But there have also been other examples of songs debuting a long time after they were most successful. Anyway, I'm really glad about these two new entries because they didn't appear in the UK chart but are doing well in other European countries. And the highest new entry - "Sweet About Me" by Gabriella Cilmi - is having success both in the UK chart and other European charts. I have the feeling it's going to do well in MTV European Top 20, too. Three weeks ago "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles was at the very bottom of the chart and was surely going out... but now it enters the Top 10! And maybe it's capable of more... The biggest climber this week is "Closer" by Ne-Yo, which goes 9 places up to number 6. I guess that makes it a future contender for the number 1 spot. But the biggest shock is right at number 2. "Violet Hill" by Coldplay is experiencing a reversal of fortune similar to that of "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles - and yet much more drastic. Here is its chart run so far: 16-10-5-5-7-8-2 It definitely looked like the song had peaked at number 5... but no! Now it's Coldplay's joint second biggest hit along with "Talk". Only "Speed Of Sound" managed to reach the top... We'll see whether "Violet Hill" repeats that!

Here is the chart of July 12, 2008: 20 Will.I.Am - Heartbreaker RE-ENTRY 19 Leona Lewis - Better In Time Stay => 18 OneRepublic - Stop And Stare 2 Down 17 Yael Naim - New Soul 4 Down 16 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 4 Down 15 Ne-Yo - Closer 3 Up 14 Duffy - Warwick Avenue Stay => 13 Sara Bareilles - Love Song 4 Up 12 Flo Rida & T-Pain - Low 1 Down 11 Duffy - Mercy 3 Down 10 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours Stay => 9 Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain 6 Up 8 Coldplay - Violet Hill 1 Down 7 Chris Brown - Forever 2 Up 6 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 1 Down 5 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 1 Up 4 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 1 Down 3 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 1 Up 2 Usher - Love In This Club Stay => 1 Rihanna - Take A Bow Stay => And there is a re-entry in the chart again! Not only that - there are no new entries so this is the first time since the end of 2007 that there is a chart with a re-entry but no new entries (in the previous case the re-entry was "Good Life" by Kanye West). In fact, these two occasions are the only sure ones in the whole history of MTV European Top 20! There was one more - at the end of 1994 "Goodnight Girl" by Wet Wet Wet entered the chart after previously having been there at the beginning of 1992... but the question remains whether it was the same version or a different one. The last time there was a re-entry (but in addition to a new entry) was exactly three months ago when "Hate That I Love You" by Rihanna and Ne-Yo did it. This time it's "Heartbreaker" by Will.I.Am and I did have the feeling that it would re-enter the chart, although I expected the song to do it earlier. Its first run in the chart wasn't that successful - it spent only two weeks in and peaked at number 18... and I somehow don't think it's going to do much better this time around, either. On the other hand, "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles does manage to improve on its peak position (reaching number 13 this week) after it previously looked like the song was on its way out. "Take A Bow" by Rihanna spends a quiet second week at the top of the chart... while "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings is already in the Top 3! The song is not doing that well across Europe... Still, I'll accept anything as long as it doesn't reach number 1!

tsetsi, I want to thank you for writing the commentary during all these weeks! You did a great job! I have to say I couldn't think of another case when an artist has had three songs in the chart at the same time, either... Rihanna almost did it last year but otherwise I have no idea... I remember something that impressed me much back in 2000 - then in one chart there was a song by Robbie Williams ("Rock DJ"), Kylie Minogue ("On A Night Like This") and Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue ("Kids")! But that's not quite the same... I think that IF there has been another case, it must have been the same as Chris Brown's - two solo songs and one duet (it's more difficult to take duets into account)... I'll think more about this! Here is the chart of July 5, 2008: 20 Timbaland, Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger - Scream 2 Down 19 Leona Lewis - Better In Time 2 Down 18 Ne-Yo - Closer NEW 17 Sara Bareilles - Love Song 3 Up 16 OneRepublic - Stop And Stare 1 Down 15 Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain NEW 14 Duffy - Warwick Avenue 5 Up 13 Yael Naim - New Soul 1 Down 12 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air 1 Down 11 Flo Rida & T-Pain - Low 2 Down 10 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours Stay => 9 Chris Brown - Forever 4 Up 8 Duffy - Mercy 2 Down 7 Coldplay - Violet Hill 2 Down 6 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 2 Down 5 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 2 Down 4 The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name 3 Up 3 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 1 Down 2 Usher - Love In This Club 1 Down 1 Rihanna - Take A Bow 7 Up Well, for a couple of weeks I wasn't able to comment on the chart but (un)fortunately almost nothing happened during this period - the chart was very slow... That doesn't change much this week but at least at the very top there is a big movement! "Take A Bow" by Rihanna goes 8-1, which is the biggest climb to number 1 since "Hung Up" by Madonna went 14-1 at the end of 2005! But Rihanna does something even more impressive - she scores her SEVENTH number 1 out of 8 entries in the chart! In fact, she already did the unthinkable - she had her first six entries in the chart all go to the top ("Pon De Replay", "S.O.S.", "Unfaithful", "Umbrella", "Shut Up And Drive" and "Don't Stop The Music")... I don't know whether someone will ever have a better debut in MTV European Top 20! Then "Hate That I Love You" only reached number 9 - but it broke the record for most weeks in the chart for a song that has peaked at that position - 17 weeks... And now with "Take A Bow" Rihanna is back on track! Which means that "Love In This Club" by Usher has only managed to spend a single week at the top. Interestingly enough, all of his three number ones ("Yeah", "Caught Up" and now "Love In This Club") have had just a 1-week stay at number 1! Then at number 4 we have "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings. I find it strange that the song has reached so high... Could it actually enter the Top 3? It looked like "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles wasn't going to do very well in the chart. Its run until this week was: 19-17-18-20-20 As you can see, it looked certain to go out of European Top 20! But now it reclimbs back to its peak position - number 17. Is that just a temporary resurgence or the beginning of something bigger? Two new entries in one week usually isn't a very impressive thing but the last three weeks had only one new entry each so at least there is improvement. The higher new entry is a surprise for me - it's former UK chart-topper "Singin' In The Rain" by Mint Royale, which seems to be inspired by the old classic with the same name... but actually bears very little resemblance to it. Still, it's interesting to have it in the chart! Finally, the other new entry - at number 18 - is "Closer" by Ne-Yo. He has been in the chart on several occasions before but the only time he did really well was with his debut "So Sick", which reached number 2... and actually deserved to go to the top, in my opinion, as it was more successful in Europe than the song that stopped it - "Pump It" by Black Eyed Peas... Maybe "Closer" will manage to do what "So Sick" didn't?

I have to agree that the chart has become quite slow lately... I do hope that a week with many new entries is coming soon - maybe even in the next chart? Otherwise, I'm really disappointed that "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis left the chart. Why couldn't it spend just one more week in so that it could break the record for most weeks in the chart - this would have been its 30th week in the chart... Now I dread to think how long we'll have to wait to see this record broken! Also, I think "Love In This Club" by Usher is not successful enough to be number 1. Of course, it still did much better around Europe than "Caught Up", which somehow also reached the top three years ago... By the way, from next week I'll be able to resume to making the commentary for the chart!

Jamse, the situation with the chart of May 3 is complicated. I watched it and they did play "Low" at number 7 and "4 Minutes" at number 6. Also, in the recap of positions 20-11 they showed "Better In Time" at number 16 and "Always Where I Need To Be" at number 15. However, absolutely all Internet sources show "Always Where I Need To Be" at number 16 and "Better In Time" at number 15... and almost all Internet sources show "4 Minutes" at number 7 and "Low" at number 6. Decisive for me was this site: www.tv.lt There you can watch MTV European Top 20 (click on it on the left bar) and there they showed "Always Where I Need To Be" at number 16, "Better In Time" at number 15, "4 Minutes" at number 7 and "Low" at number 6. By the way, I'm a little busy nowadays so I won't make a commentary to the chart for an undetermined amount of time... but you and tsetsi are doing an excellent job!

Here is the chart of May 10, 2008: 20 Kylie Minogue - In My Arms Stay => 19 Jason Mraz - I'm Yours NEW 18 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love Stay => 17 Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air NEW 16 The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be Stay => 15 Leona Lewis - Better In Time Stay => 14 Kelly Rowland - Work 1 Down 13 Sam Sparro - Black And Gold 6 Up 12 Britney Spears - Break The Ice 3 Down 11 Adele - Chasing Pavements Stay => 10 Panic At The Disco - Nine In The Afternoon Stay => 9 Timbaland, Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger - Scream 5 Down 8 OneRepublic - Stop And Stare Stay => 7 Yael Naim - New Soul 2 Down 6 Flo Rida & T-Pain - Low Stay => 5 Estelle & Kanye West - American Boy 4 Down 4 Mariah Carey - Touch My Body 10 Up 3 Chris Brown - With You Stay => 2 Madonna & Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes 5 Up 1 Duffy - Mercy 1 Up When one makes four different predictions for next week's chart-topper, it's not that difficult to get it right... Still, I did think it was VERY possible for "Mercy" by Duffy to return to number 1. And it does, thus spending a third week at the top. On the other hand, last week's number 1 reigned for only one week. "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye West makes a surprising fall to number 5. However, I think it will stay in the upper part of the chart for quite some time. What about the two new entries? Both are by debutants to MTV European Top 20. When I found out that the new entry at number 19 was "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, I thought "WHAT?!". However, it's not as random as I first thought - the song is currently number 4 in Norway and Sweden... Chris Brown is obviously no debutant to this chart as his single "With You" is still at number 3. However, his duet partner in "No Air" Jordin Sparks appears for the first time in European Top 20. She's the second American Idol winner to reach the chart after Ruben Studdard... Did anyone believe me? The first American Idol in the chart was, of course, Kelly Clarkson. I was prepared for "4 Minutes" by Madonna and Justin Timberlake to top the chart and it almost did but in the end it only climbs 5 places to number 2. However, it looks certain that next week it will be one place higher. After going 19-5 last week, "New Soul" by Yael Naim surprisingly falls to number 7. On the other hand, after spending weeks in the lower part of the chart, now "Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey explodes 14-4, thus becoming her highest peaking single since "Get Your Number", which reached exactly number 4. In the end, let's look at the very bottom of the chart. "In My Arms" by Kylie Minogue spends a third consecutive week at number 20. While impressive, this achievement is not a record. "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback spent 4 consecutive weeks at number 20... yet someone did even better! "Cry Me A River" by Justin Timberlake holds the record with 5 consecutive weeks at the bottom position of the chart.