On Sunday Gnarls Barkley held on to number one, more than doubling their downloads in the process to be a runaway winner even without taking similarly large physical sales into account. At nearly 200,000 sold in a week, it is a really massive hit and past what anyone managed last year without the help of Comic Relief, X Factor or Jamster buying up every single ad break going.
And this Sunday they'll still be there, comfortably holding off the challenge of Shayne Ward, without even needing extra help from a clever further staggering of the release - only CD singles were released last week and this week the vinyls were added. The last time a reality TV winner made number one with their second single was Gareth Gates way back in mid 2002.
Shayne will be replacing U2 and Mary J Blige's awful version of One at two, which rose 17 places turned out to not be a flop at all but in fact just hadn't been (physically) released yet. Expect a lot more of this confusion to come. The only other new single heading for the top ten this week is Hard-Fi's Better Do Better, rather remarkably for a SIXTH single from 'Stars Of CCTV'.
Further down last Sunday, The Zutons made the top ten for the first time, Michael Jackson only made 17 his latest pointless reissue and Belle & Sebastian made 25, continuing to take up a just-off-the-mainstream space left by Super Furry Animals when 'Love Kraft' flopped. Although they have a while to go yet to match their impressive record of nineteen top 40 hits without ever reaching the top 10. The Charlatans (28) are slipping ever further from success and D4L (29) had me thinking that they were D4 for a second. Although I don't think that they would call a song Laffy Taffy.
And the forthcoming midtable entries this Sunday - Trina, Jamie Foxx, Gorrillaz (extending their run of singles from Demon Days a little too far with a double A-side), Duels and Fall Out Boy, although that one is on downloads only. Popist favourites Lorraine bring up the rear, disappointingly on the edge of the top 40.
In the albums, last week Morrissey made number one ('Heaven knows he's happy now' headlines all round) and this week he'll be replaced by The Streets, seemingly unhindered by scathing reviews. Weirdly just under two years ago their albums were also released a week apart, with 'You Are The Quarry' removing 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' on that occasion, but from number 2 as Keane sat above them both. More on them when I hear their new single, reads like it will be interesting...
3 comments:
That Zutons single is utter shit. Pity it got to the top ten.
Just noticed I'm in your links, thank you kindly - much appreciated, even if we disagree vis a vis Mr. Passantino.
You're welcome, I always enjoy reading your stuff (on there and Stylus).
I don't like The Zutons single at all from the couple of times that I've heard it and normally once I like a band's first album I seem to be stuck liking them for ages.
That definitely used to describe me, but if recent efforts from Mogwai, SFA, etc are any guideline I'm well out of that phase.
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