Category: Uncategorized

Tim’s Top 20 Number 81

Posted in Music essay, Tim's Top 20, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This week’s chart is the post-Brits-effect list, with many of the tracks featured being from artists who featured at last month’s Brit Awards; the main beneficiary being Little Mix.

Following on from the essay I posted last week here on what the future may hold for the group after a lukewarm reception to recent album “LM5”, I gave the album another chance. Now that the hype around rereleased music for Christmas is over (I’m looking at the Carpenters and Queen in particular) I have been able to pay attention to this album once again. Although I still completely get why the album has returned the group back to their pre-Get Weird period in terms of sales, the collection actually has a number of gems, given a few chances. 7 of the songs feature in this week’s top 20, one of which (“Woman Like Me”) is also back in the top 2 after being rereleased with a remix featuring a rap by Ms Banks, reminiscent of the Brits performance.

Little Mix still didn’t quite have enough push to get to number 1 again, however, “Think About Us” has, impressively re-entered the chart at a very high number 4. It would seem last week’s disappearance from the top 20 was an anomoly, which can be partly explained by my reduction in listening to current tracks last week.

Also benefitting from the Brits is George Ezra who, prior to this week, had not featured in any of my charts. This week he has 2 entries!

I gave in my fan club membership after 2009 when it comes to P!nk (minus 2012’s “Blow Me” which was the exception)…it all got a bit too dull for me. “Walk Me Home” is very intriguing to listen to though. I’m still trying to work out what the hell the time signature is! Great, singalong song for the Radio 2 listener, which is no bad thing. This song may have a few weeks’ steam left in it yet as it climbs in its 2nd week on the chart, to number 18.

Calvin Harris’s superstar collaborative performance at the awards has helped the fortunes of “Promises”, which re-enters after a 17-week absence, and “Giant”, which benefits from one of my favourite newbies, Purple Disco Machine, remixing the track to hang around for a 7th week.

The week’s biggest loser, down 17 places and hanging on at #20 is Zedd and Katy Perry’s “365”, which hasn’t lit up any chart except US iTunes for about an hour upon release. It’s likely to have had its run on TT20 as well.

COMING SOON TO TIM’S TOP 20:

Emma Bunton whets the Spice Girls fans’ appetites with a new song called “Baby Please Don’t Stop”, which is ever-so slightly like the spawn of her 2001 UK #1 “What Took You So Long” and, her top 10 hit from her ’60s phase’, “I’ll Be There.” Released last week, this track is likely to enter highly on next week’s chart.

The Ariana tracks have hung around longer than I expected and a lot of the songs, admittedly, are earworms…others not so much… There’s still some life in the music from “Thank U, Next” yet.

The Bohemian Rhapsody movie is out on bluray and DVD next week so, there could be one or two entries back soon from the soundtrack.

Record Store Day is on 13 April and the list looks reasonable. Check out my other post “Got Got Need” with more info on this year’s event. (COMING SOON). Maybe there will be one or two tracks from the special releases make an appearance on the chart in the coming weeks.

Tim’s Top 20 Number 80

Posted in Music essay, Tim's Top 20, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

So, Westlife have climbed back up to number 1 to score a 2nd week on top with their comeback single “Hello My Love”. It’s still selling and streaming exceptionally well in the UK, 2 months on from its release. It recently passed its 3-millionth stream on Spotify UK.

It seems my prediction for Avril and Nicki sticking around the top end of the chart for a while was absolute rubbish as it suffers an 8-place drop to #11. This is even more significant given this week was its full week to be streamed.

Little Mix’s presence at the Brit Awards has helped “Woman Like Me” climb for a 4th week, back into the top 5 for the first time in 12 weeks. The track is also this week’s longest-staying song on the chart.

Let’s attempt a few predictions for next week’s chart, for what its worth…

Marina will continue climbing with her earworm song “Handmade Heaven”, Kelly Clarkson will climb yet again following another remix of “Heat” being released this week. Also, I think “Woman Like Me” will climb once more following the release of its Ms Banks version and remix by Da Beatfreekz.

Tim’s Top 20 Number 79

Posted in UncategorizedLeave a comment

So, this week there are a massive NINE new entries. Six of these come from Ariana Grande’s chart-topping album “Thank U, Next”. The highest peaking track of the six comes in at #7. “Fake Smile” may be the one that sticks around out of all the tracks from the album. Maybe it’s an age thing but, for me, pre-Sweetener, Ariana’s output was more often than not ear candy. Since she’s shot up into the stratosphere, the releases have left a bit of an “is that it?” kind of aftertaste. Once the curiosity plays have come and gone and, the star wanes a tad, maybe Ariana can get back to being more Ariana, less Beyoncé.

Five new entries from Ariana can’t stop the original American Idol herself from returning to number 1 for a third week. Kelly Clarkson’s “Heat” made way to Jax Jones for a week, but he has dipped three places already with the Purple Disco Machine remix of “Play”.

Released just 2 days before the chart cut-off date, Avril Lavigne has not had a clean sweep of hits since she burst onto the scene in 2002 as a brat. My personal highlights include “Girlfriend”, “Sk8er Boi” and “What the Hell”, but with the moral blacklisting of Dr Luke, she needed a new producer for her 6th album “Head Above Water”. So far the title track has hit the top 5 on the chart back in the Autumn and is followed up by an even bigger song, a duet with rent-a-rapper Nicki Minaj. Expect “Dumb Blonde” to hang around the top 10 end for a while yet.

Further down the chart are 2 artists who are old enough to be even MY father, though I doubt the one act would have that to worry about anyway. The other act though, is a father of EIGHT that he knows of. Talk about Italian Stallion. Francis Rossi is the last remaining member of the classic Status Quo line-up and he releases a duets album and autobiography- both titled “I Talk Too Much” in March. Francis follows this up with a tour of theatres where, rather than performing a typical concert, he’ll be talking about the high/low lights of his 60-year career…see what he did there?

COMING SOON:

Dido releases her next album in 2 weeks

Rihanna is due to drop any time soon

The home video release of Bohemian Rhapsody should see one or two re-entries from the soundtrack in the coming weeks.