Getting a number one single is a major achievement, however it feels otherwise at times. More than one, even more so. And a whole string of them? Well! Still, though, there are some chart certainties over the last 10+ years. The first single from a new Madonna album will go to number one (unless it's "American Life"). The first single from a new U2 album will go to number one (unless it's "Stay"). And the first single from a new Oasis album will go to number one...
...unless it's "The Shock of the Lightning". In fact, their new one can only make it as far as 3, behind Kings of Leon at number 2 in their fourth week. Which may quite neatly answer where all those previously reliable Oasis fans have gone. The signs have been there for a while - look at last year's ignored one off single barely making the top ten - but this is still quite a big deal. If this is not a one off exception like the above then, regardless of the actual quality of the song (better than "The Hindu Times", worse than "Lyla", which is an extremely narrow gap in which to fit), signs that the drudgery of their dominance and influence over the rock scene may be finally be coming to an end have to be welcomed.
So, what of the actual top song of the week? It's "So What" by P!nk, who has managed a slow but impressive turnaround after seeming to blow it completely with third album Try This and it's rubbish singles "Trouble" and "God is a DJ". Sadly while it has the usual rock hooks and gloss, she's taken the success of "Stupid Girls" as a sign that it's great to be super mad zany!! and meta and to insert references to the press and , oh my god, Jessica Simpson! How 'contraversial'! That's before we even get onto the video, which is a whole lot worse.
Sugababes climb to 4, poised for a full on assault of the top next week, and Boyzone are somehow at 5. It's going to take years for everyone to realise that the Take That thing was a complete one off reliant on the fact that their new songs were miraculously quite good, isn't it?
Almost nothing else happening in the top twenty bar Platnum brining bassline in right at the bottom. "Love Lockdown" makes an almost apologetic fall from 16 to 18 and "Paper Planes" seems to have peaked as it slips to 21. At least Faith Hill follows it out.
What else? Erm, Kings of Leons' second entry stays firm at 29, Biffy Clyro's horrible "Mountains" has now been around for seven weeks, N-Dubz and MGMT sneak in at 37 and 39 and Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me", probably the third best song to have come out of the whole Winehouse-Duffy-etc. thing is for some reason back in again at 38.
In the albums Kings of Leon are unsurprisingly still at the top. Could they possibly hold Oasis off next week? Surely not?
Will Young gets a things-aren't-so-bad-after-all 2, James Morrison picks up anyone who bought his album and still had a tenner spare just behind at 3, and Andrew Johnson at 4 briefly had me thinking on my first scan through that Antony Hegarty had managed a top five album. Seasick Steve's I Started Out With Nothing, and I've Still Got Most of it Left reaches 9, possibly on the strength of that title alone.
Further down it continues to be a long way to fall for Travis, who nine years on from Coldplay-like album chart/festival dominance find their new album entering at 20. That's one place ahead of Ironik, but three behind Trivium and one behind the Jonas Brothers.
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