Rolling UK Pop/Chart/"Few people would dispute that Elbow have given us the album of the year" Thread 2009

A chart system where new entries are becoming increasingly rarer, in a country where the economy is officially hitting the skids. The question of whether the top 40 still matters is a question that's been asked for goodness knows how long now, but at the start of this year it feels especially pertinent.

At present, things look like this:

1 ALEXANDRA BURKE - HALLELUJAH

She's a good old voice on her, and her personality seems to have a bit more bite than Leona's. Pretty certain she's got some great records in her, not sure this is one of them. It is not a new or challenging reading that suggests the main theme here is Simon Cowell Can Buy You, but it's still the main vibe I'm picking up. Amidst my happiness at Laughin Len getting in the top 40, I did wonder if he would honestly give a shit.

2 LEONA LEWIS - RUN

And where now for Leona? Nicely arranged ballads are what people like hearing her sing, they have decided. Can she break out of said mould? Does she want to? The failure of Leon Jackson meant she effectively got an additional year as X Factor winner, the public emblem of the programme's success. Alexandra's victory, however, means she's got a bit more of a challenge this year: trying to forge an identity that doesn't have so much to do with the programme. One could argue that her two US hit singles (an unprecedented level of success for a UK TV pop artist) mean she's already done that, but I ain't so sure.

3 BEYONCE - IF I WERE A BOY

No such worries here, of course. Her album has still not charted above number eight in the UK, but it doesn't matter - as her duet with Alexandra on the X Factor final amply demonstrated, the world is in awe of her to an extent that pretty much no other pop star at present can match. The secret being, of course, that everyone else has to try - with yr Timberlakes and Madonnas and Ushers and so on, there's always the feeling that they have something to prove, they need to convince people that they're relevant, they're in touch; Beyonce just turns up and is Beyonce, and that's plenty.

4 JAMES MORRISON/NELLY FURTADO - Broken Strings

Probably the most interesting thing that happened to this feller last year was when, for no immediately obvious reason, Akon covered one of his songs during an appearance on the Live Lounge. Now he gets to duet with Nelly Furtado, albeit that she's not co-promoting the single with him... something's going on here. Given his previous track record, it won't result in any records that are worth giving a shit about, but it might well result in a bunch of things like this one clogging up the higher reaches of the charts and the radio and the so forth, tossing up their signifiers as everything slowly goes to shit.

5 KINGS OF LEON - USE SOMEBODY

Third-biggest selling album of last year in the UK. No idea why.

6 TAKE THAT - GREATEST DAY

Second-biggest selling album of last year in the UK. Slightly more obvious why - straddling Radios 1 and 2 like no-one else can at the moment, Take That look more secure than ever. Except for the possible return of Robbie into the fold, of course, which one suspects might fuck things up entirely - he's not the star he was, but he's done enough now to suggest that sitting happily in the background while Mark Owen hilariously switches the labels on the presents will not be for him.

7 JEFF BUCKLEY - HALLELUJAH

Grace currently sits at 68 in the albums, from the previous week's 90.

8 GERALDINE - ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS SONG

Here's where said story ends. Please.

9 KATY PERRY - HOT N COLD

Ten weeks on now, and this'll probably be up the business end of the charts for a little while yet. Heard it out last night, and the distinctly less-than-subtle boshing suggests it'll be a fixture on the mobile discos for some time to come.

10 KILLERS - HUMAN

Clearly less popular than Kings of Leon over here now. Be interesting to see how many singles they bother releasing off this album in the UK - it's still doing steady business, but I suspect they'll be focusing a bit more on other countries.

11 BRITNEY SPEARS - WOMANIZER

"I'm Like A Circus (I'll Only Fly Away)" has already dipped in and then back out of the top 40, of course.

12 KINGS OF LEON - SEX ON FIRE

Yes, still. "Use Somebody" charting long before it was declared as a second single meant they avoided the problem of trying to step out of the shadow of an album's lead single, unlike, ooh, every other guitar band at the moment (c.f poor old Keane, for example).

13 AKON - RIGHT NOW (NA NA NA)

He's got an album out. No, really, he has.

14 GIRLS ALOUD - THE PROMISE

As Popjustice has already pointed out, the unfurling of the year to come for this lot has been rather changed by Cheryl winning the X Factor. Pretty much averaging an album a year thus far - will that continue in 2009?

15 PINK - SO WHAT

Unlike Akon, her album's selling very nicely indeed, thankyouverymuch, and given that none of the other songs off it have troubled the chart just yet, we can probably expect a steady stream of singles off it for most of the next 12 months.

16 TI FT RIHANNA - LIVE YOUR LIFE

Yes, technically that's the correct order of billing on this single, but TI's inability to leave the US means this is essentially a Rihanna single in the UK, and that's why Good Girl Gone Bad is still at number 20 in the album chart while Paper Trail is down at number 84. That'll teach him to be the opposite of moderate. (One would imagine you can forget about "Whatever You Like" being bothered with as a single in the UK)

17 ALESHA DIXON - THE BOY DOES NOTHING

Course, it ain't just guitar bands whose albums get dwarfed by their lead singles - The Alesha Show is at number 55 at present. Still, in her case, the Strictly machine will likely keep her safe for a bit now, and this has comfortably outperformed "Lipstick" if nothing else.

18 BEYONCE - SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
19 POGUES FT KIRSTY MACCOLL - FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK
20 X FACTOR FINALISTS - HERO

One would like to think that some of these will be putting out decent records in future. One is not betting on it. However, the nature of the beast is such that they most likely won't be re-emerging until, ooh, October at the earliest.

21 GURU JOSH PROJECT - INFINITY 2008
22 KATY PERRY - I KISSED A GIRL
23 PUSSYCAT DOLLS - I HATE THIS PART
24 RIHANNA FT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - REHAB
25 MARIAH CAREY - ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU
26 SCRIPT - BREAKEVEN
27 50 CENT - GET UP (NEW ENTRY)
28 KANYE WEST - LOVE LOCKDOWN
29 GABRIELLA CILMI - WARM THIS WINTER
30 BEYONCE - LISTEN
31 RIHANNA - DISTURBIA
32 DUFFY - RAIN ON YOUR PARADE
33 N-DUBZ - PAPA CAN YOU HEAR ME
34 SCRIPT - THE MAN WHO CAN'T BE MOVED
35 SATURDAYS - UP
36 SATURDAYS - ISSUES (NEW ENTRY)
37 NE-YO - MAD
38 KANYE WEST - HEARTLESS (NEW ENTRY)
39 KARDINAL OFFISHALL FT AKON - DANGEROUS
40 NE-YO - MISS INDEPENDENT

Are apostrophes in that last thing working for anyone else?

New Year's Day was yesterday, and today's a Friday, so all the papers' culture supplements have come out firing with their big TIPS FOR 2009. Am scanning them now, and there are oodles of names flooding my brain, plenty of which I've not heard. In the spirit of 2009 being The Year In Which I Keep Up Or At Least Make Some Kind Of Effort At So Doing, I'm going to have a go at ploughing through them today.

i haven't seen a TIP FOR 2009 which isn't terrible yet (apart from one or two isolated mentions of jazmine sullivan).

Let's start with the Mail. Why? Well, they would appear to have only tipped the one artist (and you have to dig about on their website a lot to find this out), which means we can knock them off the quickest.

And that tip is... IMELDA MAY! She's a rockabilly artist from Dublin who's already been on Later, where Jeff Beck said he liked her. Songs on her MySpace include "Johnny Got A Boom Boom", "Big Bad Handsome Man", "Don't Do Me No Wrong", "Cry For Me Baby" and "Falling In Love With You Again":

Best of all, she's signed to UCJ, the same label as The Priests, The Fron Male Voice Choir and Thingy Out Of G4. So she'll be in the album chart at some point early this year, say number seven-ish, then proceed to hang about til June or so.

Let's move on.

(Shout out to the Express, btw, who've not tipped anyone at all. Then again, their music section seems to think that Alesha's album is called The Alesha Dixon Show...)

Imelda May's Myspace claims that Kirsty MacColl was a fan, which considering she's been dead nearly a decade, would perhaps imply that May's lying about her age.

Moving onto a thing HMV put out yesterday, where they tipped their top 10 new artists for 2009, and, unlike a lot of the other lists, they've put them in VERY DEFINITE ORDER. Albeit that, looking at that VERY DEFINITE ORDER, it appears to be alphabetical.

Ah.

Anyway, on that basis, their top tip for the next year are... THE ANSWER! They're a hair-metal bunch from Norn Iron who've ALREADY supported AC/DC and ALREADY had a song featured on Guitar Hero: World Tour, and if anyone can tell me what exactly "Never Too Late" is meant to be about they win a shiny 5p piece:

They tour the UK & Ireland in April:

Apr 14
O2 Arena
London,UK

Apr 16
O2 Arena
London,UK

Apr 18
O2 Arena
Dublin,Eire

Apr 21
Men Arena
Manchester,UK

Apr 23
NEC Arena
Birmingham,UK

So yeah, low-key. They seem a safe-ish bet.

HMV's second-biggest of next year: FILTHY DUKES!

We run a club night called Kill Em All that has been going for 5 years, this particular disco is held at Fabric. We have had guests like Justice, Erol Alkan, Bloc Party, Crystal Castles, Late Of The Pier, Chemical Brothers, James Murphy, Jackson & His Computer Band, Zombie Nation, Schinichi Osawa, Brodinski & Simian Mobile Disco. It’s a good party.

Our album, like most personal art forms is a result of our influences, these range from Tangerine Dream to Hot Chip, Can to SMD, Roxy Music to Soulwax, Hip Hop to Krautrock. You know, a bit of old stuff and a bit of modern, plus loads of other things it would take too long to list.

Going off their single, HMV appear to have included them because, as we all know, every list like this needs at least one artist that sounds like Simian Mobile Disco:

Number three on said list, and cropping up almost everywhere else: FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE!

Here's what people have to say about her:

CONOR McNICHOLAS: There's no-one to touch Florence right now. She might be barking but she's more rock 'n' roll than the rest of the scene put together and she's got the tunes and the voice to back it up. An inspiration.

SOME OTHER BLOKE FROM NME: Florence is an enigma and a real star of the future. She's someone we've watched take real shape over this year. She does completely incendiary live performances, whether it be a back room of a pub or comfortably high up the bill at last summer's festivals. If you're going to be lazy, you could say she's a cross between PJ Harvey and Kate Bush: she's full of unhinged raw passion, and effortlessly poetic in an off-kilter manner.

THE HEAD OF MUSIC AT ABSOLUTE RADIO: Our presenter Geoff Lloyd picked Dog Days Are Over as his single of the week and the following week we added it to the playlist. I love the complex song construction and stunning vocals. It is adventurous but it works on radio too.

PETER PAPHIDES IN THE TIMES: More than ever, women are also making the running. Florence And The Machine (pictured) brings her titanium self-confidence to bear upon clattering pop parables about coffin-builder boyfriends and birds whose souls sing out the sins of the people who eat them.

THAT TWAT IN THE SUN: Quirky Londoner FLORENCE WELCH from FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE has already won a Brit Award after taking over from ADELE as the Critics’ Choice holder and is a dead cert for stardom.

JODY THOMPSON IN THE MIRROR: She’s already best mates with Daisy Lowe and Kelly Osbourne, hence a short side-step from being featured in gossip columns the length and breadth of the country. But any fame she gets will be deserved as this lovely-looking London gal has got a great bluesy voice, a ballsy attitude and a cracking way with a stomping, punky rock’n’roll tune. Think a much cooler Kate Nash.

ANDY GILL IN THE INDEPENDENT: indie-soul

Sylvia Patterson's whacking great thing about her from The Guardian Guide can be found here, btw.

Missed one quote out there, whoops:

STUART CLARKE, "TALENT EDITOR", MUSIC WEEK MAGAZINE: I'm tipping Florence and the Machine, because she spent months building her foundations, and it feels like it's growing very naturally. People gravitate toward her in the right way. She's an amazing singer and her songs are getting better, and obviously she's got a lot of media and industry support. From an industry perspective, there's real confidence in her, and from the public's perspective she's in the right place at the right moment.

And if that hasn't swayed you, then I dunno what will.

Number four: GARY GO!

PETER PAPHIDES IN THE TIMES: The burnished creations of heart-on-sleeve troubadour Gary Go are designed to find favour with anyone who has waved their lighter at a Paolo Nutini or James Morrison show.

THE ASSOCIATE PRODUCER OF LIVE FROM ABBEY ROAD: I also like Gary Go, who's a brilliant songwriter with a great pop sensibility. He's an adult pop artist, and all the songwriters who've been successful lately - James Morrison, Paolo Nutini - should be looking over their shoulders.

The most exciting thing the HMV list finds to say about him: "He has already done shows in London."

I saw Kubb's album for £2 in HMV the other day.

Number five is a bit of a wildcard pick, tipped by no-one else so far as I can see... KERI HILSON!

Then again, she was kind of on a number one single in 2006.

And if you're finding this thread somewhat on the dull side so far, here's number six: LAURA IZIBOR!

HMV sez: "Similar in style to Corinne Bailey-Rae, and offering a mixture of smooth, soulful tracks and Stevie Wonder-inspired music, Izibor is predicted to make it big in Ireland as well as Britain." And if you're taking that last bit to mean she's from Ireland, you'd be right.

After that thrilling adventure, list strays back to consensus with number seven: LADY GAGA! Currently number three or thereabouts in the US, having charted in a zillion other countries, and us lucky, lucky lot get to meet her next year. The HMV in the Bullring in Brum has a wee sign up announcing that her single is out on the 12th, which is nice of them.

THE HEAD OF MUSIC AT THE BOX (N.B. NOT THE PUB IN HEADLINGLEY): Just Dance is a great single but the album is full of hit singles. She is also working with the world's contemporary hitmakers, so the A list surely beckons.

THE EDITOR OF RECORDOFTHEDAY.COM: Lady GaGa is promising, too. She's got a Grammy nomination, and that bodes well.

ANDY GILL IN THE INDEPENDENT: electropop

JODY THOMPSON IN THE MIRROR: We’re not bigging up Lady GaGa like everyone else either, as she’s derivative, manufactured pop pap who tiresomely tries to emulate the raunch of a Dirrrty-era Christina Aquilera about five years too late. Honestly, she’s really quite rubbish.

Ooooh.

Maer consensus at eight: LITTLE BOOTS!

PETER ROBINSON FROM POPJUSTICE: Victoria Hesketh is the perfect pop star. She knocks out great tunes and takes her music seriously while celebrating the giddy heights of pop at its best. As a result, she understands pop in a way that puts her miles ahead of her nearest rivals.

THE PRODUCER OF LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND: Imagine if Debbie Harry had come from Blackpool and played the synthesiser. 2009 looks set to be dominated by the sound of electropop and Ms Boots should be one if its stars with her wonderfully catchy pop songs.

THAT BLOKE FROM THE NME THAT ISN'T CONOR McNICHOLAS THAT I QUOTED EARLIER: Little Boots is the most exciting dance-pop hope for 2009. She has reimagined the lost art of choruses for the electro-disco generation.

HIM FROM RECORD OF THE DAY: There are a couple of other girls around at the moment who are also pop and electro, like Florence and La Roux, but Little Boots is the most accessible, enjoyable and quirky.

NOB IN THE SUN: Multi-talented Blackpool girl LITTLE BOOTS will unleash her debut album in the summer, and it will be a big one.

THINGY IN THE MIRROR: 25-year-old Little Boots used to sing with indie no-marks Dead Disco, but is destined for much greater things now she’s gone it alone. Her schtick takes the timeless pop of Blondie and stirs in a shade of 21st Century grime to create a rather moreish new flavour. Vic also writes her own songs, as well as playing all her own instruments and singing, and even finds time to do a spot of DJing and remixing. All this and she sounds a bit like Sarah Cracknell from St Etienne which is a very, very good thing indeed.

ANDY GILL IN THE INDEPENDENT: electropop

(brief pause to check world hasn't ended)

(Man City might be signing Wayne Bridge)

Number nine - RED LIGHT COMPANY!

'member how, when we did that thread about the BBC's longlist for Sound of 2009, Lex said he'd not listened to half of them because they were indie bands? I think this lot are what he assumed was happening.

(they've toured with Editors)

And this list ends with another consensus pick, at number ten: WHITE LIES!

HEAD OF MUSIC AT XFM: I love bands that create their own world and, although the influences are pretty clear, this album still sounds very fresh. Most importantly, however, the songs already feel stadium-sized.

THE EDITOR OF Q: Lots of newish bands have tried to take that icy melodic, Joy Division-esque sound and run with it but most of them have forgotten the need for great songs. White Lies haven't, which makes them stand out.

THE PRODUCER OF LATER: In the boys with guitars department, 2008 belonged to the US. White Lies should turn the tide back to the UK in 2009. With their epic and soaring songs, atmospheric shows and nod to the likes of Editors and Joy Division, they should have a successful year.

ANOTHER MAN FROM Q: White Lies' doomy, Joy Divisionesque rock is going to be a good thing in a year of recession. The record is a great gothic pop album.

HIM IN THE TIMES: With the anthemic monochrome indie rock of To Lose My Life - released in January, supported by an extensive tour throughout February - White Lies are expected to impose themselves upon 2009 the way Arctic Monkeys did on 2006.

In summary: 300-post thread by tomorrow, obv.

all these also-ran Joy Division knockoff guys sitting in their office jobs ten years later nodding their heads and going "ah yes, we forgot the need for great songs"

if only one of their mothers had thought to write it down on a post-it note for them

the likes of Editors and Joy Division
the likes of Editors and Joy Division
the likes of Editors and Joy Division

Actually, White Lies are worthy of note simply for being one of the worst fucking bands I've heard in some time.

That Red Light Company thing is irritatingly catchy. Mind, so are crabs.

Let's move onto The Mirror, cos their list only has five things on it and we've already had two of them (Boots, Flossie).

Only one act on the list crops up nowhere else: KID BRITISH!

A seven-piece ragtag collective who call themselves hip hop Rude Boys, Kid British are a Madness, Gorillaz and The Streets-loving ska-kissed Specials for the 21st Century. Their version of Our House is going to be huge when it comes out, we guarantee.

We mentioned them when I did those playlist polls last year, possibly on Huw Stephens' show. No-one liked them then. I suspect not much will have changed.

None of these acts catch my eye. They're all either more of the same old shite (indie rock, X-Factor style solo singers, blah blah), or some record company's idea of what might be "hip and cool, man" (Kid British, White Lies, Gary Go).
Also...

8 GERALDINE - ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS SONG

Here's where said story ends. Please.

...never stopped Kay before. Expect some Easter themed misery.

Dear Kid British

BUY AN A-Z, YOU FUCKING CUNTS.

FOR FUCK'S SAKE SNOBALL WE HAVEN'T FINISHED YET

The two remaining tips from The Mirror were both discussed on IT'S THE FUTURE, IT'S THE FUTURE: BBC Sound of 2009 'Longlist' Poll

Neither did very well. At all.

(then again, neither did anyone else)

First: VV BROWN!

VV Brown - or Vanessa when her mum's calling her in for her tea - is a massive star in the making with beauty, a cracking voice and a genuine talent as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

She’s also, rather more intriquingly, a be-quiffed cheeky Fifties throw-back with a neat line in quirky, computer game music-influenced, high-octane pop with a core of ska and proper rock’n’roll running right through it.

Aged just 24, this London lass has already paid her dues with years of graft on the UK’s toilet circuit after cutting her teeth as a backing singer in Los Angeles, before being snapped up by Island records.

And other people like her too!

PRODUCER OF LATER:She continues the trend of today's girls, borrowing from the '60s, but VV takes it in a purely pop direction. She's talented, bright, infectious and, refreshingly, she isn't surrounded by teams of producers and writers.

HIM FROM Q: Great voice, great look, ready-made star. Simple as that.

HIM FROM THE BOX: She has a totally fresh approach to pop songs - the commercial appeal of Kate Nash with the credible box still firmly ticked.

LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD MAN: VV Brown has got a fantastic excitement about her. She looks amazing and she's a sensational singer. She's a bit R&B, a bit ska and about 50% pop - she's taken lots of different influences and rolled them into VV Brown.

SUN TOSSER: Then there’s Northampton girl VV BROWN who will throw a bit of doo-wop into the retro mix.

A seven-piece ragtag collective who call themselves hip hop Rude Boys, Kid British are a Madness, Gorillaz and The Streets-loving ska-kissed Specials for the 21st Century.

Yeah, I always wondered what a ska-influenced version of The Specials would sound like

And then there's EMPIRE OF THE SUN!

A bit of a cheat this one, as one half of duo Empire Of The Sun comprises of Luke Steele, frontman of Australian band The Sleepy Jackson, who just happen to be one of Mirror.co.uk Showbiz Tower’s favourite ever bands. He’s teamed up with fellow Aussie Nick Littlemore of electronic outfit Pnau and their album of psychedelia-meets-Prince-electro-pop has already made it into the Top 10 Down Under.

If nothing else, I think that allows us to pinpoint the precise year Jody Thompson went to university.

Lots of people are getting behind these boys too, including:

CONOR McNICHOLAS: I hated Empire of the Sun at first. It sounded over-played, over-produced and over-thought. But relentless spins on the NME stereo has made me fall for their lush '80s sound. The tracks throb and glow. Will be one of the albums of the year, no doubt.

ONE OF THE BLOKES FROM ALPHABEAT: I also have to mention Empire of the Sun. They have a MGMT vibe, and the singer is a bit weird: they did a showcase where he started off by doing standup comedy, and people didn't understand the humour, so he got pissed off and didn't do the gig. He's got a weird star quality.

THAT MAN FROM THE SUN AGAIN: The entire Bizarre team are behind the most shining example — EMPIRE OF THE SUN. The psychedelic Aussie duo are a perfect example of the year’s electro-pop sound. Think MGMT meets disco house. The title track single from album Walking On A Dream — both out in February — will be an absolute smash and loved by indie kids, pop lovers and ravers alike. We Are The People is sure to be another big single.

ANDY GILL IN THE INDEPENDENT: Empire Of The Sun, an Australian psychedelic offshoot of The Sleepy Jackson, should also attract attention

are you enjoying yourself will?

Relatively speaking. The heating doesn't work in my house at the moment and I'm off to work in a minute.

Actually, fuck it, let's shamelessly pander to you. The Sun's done a whacking great round-up of new artists for next year and interviewed them, and it's the only place that mentions...

JAZMINE SULLIVAN! (though they just call her 'JAZMINE' for some reason)

In these interviews, the first question they ask is "WHY will 2009 belong to you?" Most of the artists are all like "Oh, er, time belongs to no-one" or something; Jazmine's response: "I’m also working on a movie and endorsements."

Interestingly, according to her her album is "out next June". Given that I picked it up for £6.99 in Zavvi last week, I am a bit surprised to hear this.

am guessing it's the old "r&b soft release" thing there. getting her PR to answer emails was a massive fucking hassle this year.

also where is the sun's interview w/jazmine? can't find it on their hideous site

If nothing else, I think that allows us to pinpoint the precise year Jody Thompson went to university.

lol, pretty sure she's closer to 40 than 20 as it goes

btw that jazmine performance is ok but her most show-stopping youuutuuuube moment is probably this video (one of the first things i heard by her) -

The Sun's interview series is bloody tricky to navigate, yes, cos they've not given it much attention due to Gordon Smart boldly predicting that a bunch of acts from the Sound of 2009 longlist plus Kasabian and Noel Gallagher will have big years.

Part 1 - White Lies, Lady GaGa, VV Brown
Part 2 (expect billed as part 1 continued) - Passion Pit, Eliza Doolittle, First Aid Kit, Kid British
Part 3 (but called part 2 for some reason) - La Roux, Empire of the Sun, Karima Francis
Part 3 (except billed as part 2) - Flossie, Jazmine, Little Boots, Gary Go plus a "best of the rest" bit

The pavements are frozen, Wedgwood are about to go into administration, Saints are out of the FA Cup - yes, it's time for the first new chart of the year!

And what a chart it isn't. Simon Cowell's Christmas Miracle continues into the New Year, with Alex and Leona occupying the top two places, but it's a smashing great new entry at number three for Lady GaGa ON DOWNLOADS ALONE so give it a fortnight and it might yet make number two.

Nothing else of interest happens in the top 20 - Buckley slips to 22 (HUSTLIN' HUSTLIN' HUS-HUS-HUSTLIN'), one ahead of Sugababes Have Made A Car Out Of Men. Both the Saturdays' current hits climb this week, with "Issues" at 27 and "Up" at 29, and there's re-entries for "Dance Wiv Me" (31), "Viva La Vida" (33), That One MGMT Single That I Can't Remember How It Goes (37) and The Most Insipid Girls Aloud Single Ever (39). Kevin "Mark Ronson Without The Skillz" Rudolf gets a top 40 bow at number 40 exactly.

Albums this week dominated by new entries, unless you take "dominated" to mean "topped", in which case it's still dominated by Take That. However, there's a not-entirely-expected re-entry for Girls Aloud's Greatest Hits at 6, along with slightly more predictable post-Christmas re-emergences for Elbow (11), MGMT (13), A Michael Jackson Compilation (20), The Previous Take That Album (30), ABBA Gold (34) and Vampire Weekend (39), who possibly benefited from having "A-Punk" included in Xmas TOTP's montage of hits from the first half of 2008. At time of writing, "A-Punk"'s chart peak - number 55. Hmm...

"A-Punk" played everywhere, everybody loves it, but the 'on-sale' version was a 7" with a CD for double the price. (2 tracks, total)...

... which presumably 'made' people 'continue' to buy the album.

Sound of 2009 finished today, and your winner: Little Boots. White Lies were runners-up, then Flossie, Him Out Of The Sleepy Jackson, La Roux (incidentally, if you didn't like her before, then have a watch of the interview with her walking round an indoor market in Brixton - totally change your mind, that will), GaGa, VV Brown, Kid Cudi, Passion Pit and Dan Black. In that order.

And of that lot, the first Radio 1 playlist of the year has Kid Cudi on A-List, White Lies on B, and Empire of the Sun on '1 Upfront'. HMV favourite Gary Go also finds himself on '1 Upfront', while Scott Mills has Red Light Company as his record of the week.

Viewing the playlist in non-HOT/NEW/HOT&NEW terms: Lily, Franz and The Fray spearhead the A-List. Razorlight and Snow Patrol's flagging new albums get another push (one interesting fact gleaned from those articles last week - Slipway Fires apparently only managed three weeks inside the top 75), and are joined by Jason Mraz, and, somewhat out of the blue, Tinchy Stryder. No, really.

B-List sees Ida Maria having a go at following up her hit from, ooh, about a year ago now? She's accompanied by student faves Pendulum and Frank Turner, more album-pushing from Bloc Party, Keane, Coldplay, Flobbadob Boy and The Game, Jordin Sparks confirming it'll be a year or two before she gets her hands on another "No Air", the first proper solo single for Daniel Merriweather (heard "Stop Me" for the first time in ages the other night, really enjoyed it), another punt for Jay Sean (continuing his run of fantastic song titles with "Tonight") and... The Airborne Toxic Event. I have not heard them, but from their name I'm imagining thay might not be A Good Thing. Also, "Spaceman" by The Killers gets its first week on the playlist.

C-List has a return for Cage The Elephant, the rock equivalent of trying to make 'fetch' happen. Also: Alesha, The View (second single off their album, you'd be forgiven for not noticing the first one), "Sirrrrr-cuss", All-American Rejects (top 20 in the US at the moment, innit?), your friends and mine FLEET FOXES, and Chase & Status ft. Kano, which might well be the most Zane Lowe combination of all time. Alongside Empire and Gaz on 1-Upfront, there's TV On The Radio, Timmy Vegas and Innerpartysystem, which might be an even worse band name than The Airborne Toxic Event. I am not sure.

GaGa number one in the midweeks.

Jason Mraz has just had his first UK hit at number 34.

And "Gangsta's Paradise" has re-entered, at number 31.

We are going to have so much fun on this thread.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

And so Lady Gaga's number one, and at number two we have James "Interesting" Morrison. Alexandra slips to three. Lots of big climbs - "Issues" rises up to 6, Keving Rudlof is now at 10, Kanye Can Only Express His Sadness Via The Jetsons is at 14, and, in a development that can only possibly be a good thing, UMMGUMMT climb from 37 to 16 with That One That Goes "See Something Something TREEEEES Something". "Mad" climbs to number 22, with "Circus" climbing back to 24. Coolio re-enters at 31. Jason Mraz 34, Pink 37, Alesha 39.

I can't be bollixed saying owt about albums, except that Kings of Leon are back at number one. Kylie Remix Extravaganza is your sole new entry at 28, but there's all kinds of re-entries all over the place.

"And "Gangsta's Paradise" has re-entered, at number 31."

what no Same Old Brand New You? :-(

anyone placing any bets on Kid Cudi knocking off GaGa the top? Please, she's horrible.

anyone keeping Morrison off the top is alright by me

Stop hating, Steve. HE CAN'T TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT AIN'T REAL.

LAMMO WEIGHS IN

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~rsa221/Logan

Midweeks:

Singles

1 Dizzee Rascal 45.5k
2 Black Eyed Peas 22.4k
3 Alexander Rybak (Eurovision winner) 14.7k
4 Tinchy/N-Dubz 14.3k
5 Eminem 12.6k

Top 10
7 Daniel Merriwether

Top 15
Soulja Boy
15 Jade Ewen (UK Eurovision entry)

Top 30
Paolo Nutini
25 Yohanna (Iceland Eurovision entry)
Star Pilots
Green Day

Top 40
Keri Hilson
Eminem (Beautiful)
Alicia Keys (No One - Britain's Got Talent Effect Pt 1)

Top 50
Katy Perry
Asher Roth
50 Girls Aloud

Top 60
Alex Swings Oscar Sings (German Eurovision entry)
Kelly Clarkson

Top 70
Michael Jackson (They Don't Care About Us - Britain's Got Talent Effect Pt 2)
Waldo's People (Finnish Eurovision entry)
69 Urban Symphony (Estonian Eurovision entry)

Top 80
71 Lady GaGa (Paparazzi)
Beyonce (Diva)
Lenka

Albums

1 Eminem 63.9k
2 Green Day 23.7k
3 Manic Street Preachers 17.99k
4 Lily Allen 6.2k
5 Madness 5.5k

Top 15
11 Alesha
Jarvis Cocker
Tori Amos

Top 20
Steve Earle

The biggest Eurovision chart onslaught since 1974?

I didn't see the Icelandic entry, and the bit they showed seemed to be a random segment from somewhere in the middle. Was it really that good?

Rather a fine song, actually - conventional in format but she can certainly sing and there was a nice political subtext too.

WOW (and YAY) at that Eurovision chart invasion!

Non-scientific vox pop:

1. Yohanna's "Is It True?" (Iceland, #25) was my partner's favourite song from the first semi-final.

2. Alex Swings, Oscar Sings "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (Germany, Top 60) was the unanimous favourite of the six neighbours whose dinner party I crashed to watch the voting.

3. The co-worker who sits opposite me now has Urban Symphony's "Rändajad" (Estonia, #69) as his mobile ring-tone.

Incidentally, the jury-only voting results have now been released. Same Top Two (Norway/Iceland), but Jade Ewen moves up to 3rd and France's Patricia Kaas moves up to 4th.

Is Micky Jackson gonna be #1 on Sunday and with what? Billie Jean?

http://cascadabiography.com/images/Cascada-07.jpg

I'm not sure any song getting to number one has made me this happy in quite a while.

Why is Man In The Mirror, of all Jacko songs, the one at #2?

It's the Michael Jackson single that can double as (auto)biographical whitewashed story of his life slash sentimental anthem for our times a la "Candle In The Wind"??

At least that's popular and not very disturbing (c.f. "Childhood").

i'd never heard 'man in the mirror' before i saw it was the most popular on the charts. it's not great, is it.

i also didn't know until last week that the woman on 'in the closet' is PRINCESS STEPHANIE OF MONACO.

'stranger in moscow' would've been a far better autobiographical ballad choice

i also didn't know until last week that the woman on 'in the closet' is PRINCESS STEPHANIE OF MONACO.

LOL, whatever happened to etc... "Man in the Mirror" does seem to be a favourite among Jackofans

I think the position is reversed for most people though lex - they know "Man In The Mirror" very well but wouldn't recognise "Stranger In Moscow" (as fantastic as it is).

I saw "Man in the Mirror" done as a fabulous piano soul number on Australian Idol a few years back.

yeah, my first MJ memories are his 90s material and i only bothered acquiring bad last week.

it does seem that the off the wall stuff is doing oddly badly in comparison to everything else.

I like "Man in the Mirror" a lot and it's sufficiently jaunty. "Stranger in Moscow" would have been too dark, plus not his most popular era, as Tim says.

x-post Pre vs Post "King of Pop". Most of the coverage seems to skip from "Ben" to the first ten seconds of "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" to "Billie Jean".

Also you'd think the only singles on Thriller were "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and the title track.

'ben' is probably the biggest MJ hit i've never heard

I used to play it on the jukebox in my local boozer every time I went in, I was really popular

Ben still makes me cringe, actually.

That's rattist.gif

i wish Chart Stats guy would update his site quicker.

not particularly interesting but seemingly every site that lists the chart is pretty wretchedly designed (including the official CIN site's and yahoo uk music's) like they just converted an Excel spreadsheet to HTML and couldn't be bothered to dress it up or at least make it clearer.

'Man in the Mirror' probably best fits the MJ vision people would like to believe - flawed but with plenty of hope, or something like that - rather than the vision put forward by the nutso odes to paranoia and so on.

I try to be a good poptimist but the idea of Cascada being good is a few steps beyond my understanding.

cascada are just impossible to care about either way

prob still the 3rd or 4th best no 1 of the year so far though *cries*

was almost tempted to listen to Radio 1 on Sunday evening to see how they'd actually go about playing all the Jackson songs - whether they'd keep making light of this or try and play it down, or just only play some of them (did they actually play the 4 in a row?)

seriously over halfway through the year and LILY FUCKING ALLEN has made my favourite UK no 1 - this cannot be permitted to continue

also, wherefore the summer anthems?

(xpost) They played all of them. And before each one, there was a short clip from a celebrity/musician (Pete Tong, etc.) saying how much said track meant to them.

plus kinda want Jackson to destroy the charts in this way - sort of interesting to see how long it will take for the songs to drop back out of the 40

also, wherefore the summer anthems?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKEtHp-qJxc

;)

surely it's a prerequisite of a summer anthem that it has to be halfway decent

that is one lame stock photo cover

It's a bit like one of those enormous wallpaper mural things.

Xpost to Lex: I've *loved* this year's run of Number Ones - best in years! Comic Relief and Pixie Lott have been my only duds.

lily allen accidentally stumbling on her first and so far only good song and the black eyed peas on autopilot have been the only NON duds. i really hate the cheapo electro trebly sound that apparently is the hallmark of "pop" now. i wish taylor swift had got to no 1.

i like the ~idea~ of dizzee and tinchy being no 1 artists, the latter totally unexpectedly, but it's with material which is just so shoddy compared to what they're capable of

Ah, OK, that explains it - I'm a total sucker for those cheapo electro noises.

They appear to have permeated almost everything this year to an almost unprecedented level. I think the industry has cottoned onto them as the ultimate faux-unifying force.

'Bonkers' doesn't seem particularly trebly - probably why i quite like it now

'bonkers' is lame for difft reasons - actually it's not even that bad, there's the hint of an amazing banger in it, except it just sounds like all concerned gave up 5% into the process

^^^^ Such a spot on description.

Apparently this scottish band might be denting the charts with the summers big novelty hit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta-Z_psXODw

think its got a chance?

Jacko still dominating the top 40?

"Man In The Mirror" is at #3, every other MJ track has slipped down 10-15 places from last week. Still ten songs in total, plus a Jackson 5 cut.

As for Alestorm, they might just be the Joe Dolce in a chart full of MJ tributes, MJ re-releases, and other acts who are just treading water.

What might prevent it doing well is the vocals. But ilm will always get behind a keytar.

"Man In The Mirror" is at #3, every other MJ track has slipped down 10-15 places from last week. Still ten songs in total, plus a Jackson 5 cut.

― how wide is a lawnmower? (snoball), Sunday, 12 July 2009 18:47 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"They don't care about us" is up places, the rest are down.

Still, the top ten albums are dominated (6 albums are MJackson)..

Of the wall the lowest position?

"Who's Lovin' You" is also up from 118 to 36, following repeated mentions/archive footage at the MJ tribute show.

Other post-tribute bounces (outside the Top 40, in descending order): "Heal The World", "I'll Be There", "Will You Be There", "Human Nature", "Smile", "We Are The World".

just wait for the Alestorm cover version of Beat It.

Beat It, Wench