This week's Official UK Singles Chart

This week's Official UK Albums Chart

This week is one of those occasional moments when the Number One single at the very top of the Official UK Singles chart is one which may well be unfamiliar and alien sounding to much of the mainstream but which is in fact very familiar to anyone with even a passing eye on the world of European dance. Having already been a hit single across much of mainland Europe after it emerged last summer with a huge mystery surrounding the identity of the performers, Tsunami (Jump) by Canadian duo DVBBS and American DJ Borgeous storms to the top of the UK charts with a comfortable 80,000 copies sale.

Not that it was totally a foregone conclusion, with Route 94's My Love easily the biggest selling single of the last few days of last week, but the head of steam already built up by the DVBBS (pronounced "dubs" we are told) single was enough to carry it through to retain the overall chart crown. It should be noted that the version of the single which belatedly becomes a UK hit is a brand new version, distinct from the instrumental mix which made such waves last summer. Instead the chart single includes a new vocal track from Tinie Tempah (hence the (Jump) suffix added to the title) and an artist credit for the British star. Thus the track is the rapper and producer's fourth Number One hit single, his first since his guest role on Rita Ora's RIP back in May 2012.

Perhaps the most impressive part of DVBBS's Number One success is the fact that they have done so in a week when a veritable flood of big new releases joined it in the virtual shops from some rather better-established acts. None could come close to their sales though, leaving the second highest new entry of the week floundering at Number 4. To those who still imagine the sultry Latin vibe of tracks such as Bailamos or heartbreaking ballad Hero when they hear the name of Enrique Iglesias, the electrobeat sound of his new single I'm A Freak will almost certainly come as a huge shock. In truth though we've been here before as the single sees the second generation star team up once more with rapper Pitbull on a track which is essentially a continuation of their 2010 collaboration I Like It. Said track peaked at Number 4 in the summer of that year, coincidentally the very same position at which the new collaboration enters. I'm A Freak is taken from Iglesias' new album Sex + Love which is released this week. Although this is the first European hit from the album, Stateside readers will be aware that he spent much of 2013 releasing numerous other tracks (both in English and Spanish) which all features on the new album. [The best Pitbull collaboration on the album was the track Let Me Be Your Lover but despite being a massive European hit it was never promoted here, which is a huge shame].

I've a theory that if both Pitbull and Flo Rida are ever in the same room together there will be serious damage to the fabric of the universe. We came very close to that this week for just as Senor Perez assists Enrique Iglesias to a hit single, the former Tamar Dillard lands inside the Top 10 as well with his latest single How I Feel. Following the usual formula, the new single is a bowdlerised version of a soul classic, in this case, Nina Simone's Feeling Good, but when the party sounds this good I guess we can let it slide. His first hit single since Let It Roll climbed to Number 17 in early 2013, the track is taken from Flo Rida's forthcoming new album The Perfect 10 and is his 12th Top 10 single in all guises (both as lead artist and guest). Curiously the album was trailed in America by an uncharted promotional single Can't Believe It, an odd choice for a low key release given that it was indeed a duet between him and Pitbull. Maybe it is best for the space-time continuum that it remained under the radar.

Also with a new album on the way is British starlet Pixie Lott, the singer now on her third release despite still being only 23 years old. New single Nasty makes a comfortable debut at Number 9 to become her fourth Top 10 hit in a row however it does mark the first time she has failed to land at Number One with brand new material since she made her chart debut in 2009. With most Pixie Lott singles registering rather swift in and out chart performances, it seems rather unlikely this single will add to her tally of three Number One hits to date.

Once upon a time, a new Kylie Minogue release would have been a huge deal as well. Not so these days, the relative commercial failure of her last album Aphrodite in 2010 and the poor performance of its singles suggested that the evergreen 25-year chart veteran may finally have lost much of the magic that carried her to success for so many years. Even so, news a brand new release was treated once more akin to the second coming and theoretically her role as a judge on the unexpectedly popular third series of The Voice UK which is currently airing means she has a higher mainstream profile than she has for years. So the arrival of new single Into The Blue at a mere Number 12 will cause mixed feelings, especially given the way the single was comfortably inside the Top 10 on the midweek updates. Although her highest charting single as a solo artist since Get Outta My Way also made Number 12 in September 2010 and marked improvement on the Number 31 peak of one-off single Timebomb from 2012, the sorry truth fanatics is that she just isn't the chart force she once was, nor is she ever likely to be again.

Completing a trio of new entries for the ladies, Christina Perri lands at Number 14 with her new single Human which has received high levels of airplay on middle of the road radio stations. Another sweet and heartfelt ballad, it has instant appeal regardless as whether in your head she is the Jar Of Hearts or the A Thousand Years singer.

One final single of note this week is novelty hit #Selfie which shoots 42-17 to reflect the way the zeitgeist-riding record is inserting itself with some style into popular culture. The Chainsmokers' hit single started slowly, as its chart position from last week indicated, but it is well on its way a comfortable Top 10 berth.

Over on the Official UK Albums chart, something of a battle developed midweek between Paloma Faith's new album A Perfect Contradiction and the collection which eventually bested it by some margin. The Take Off And Landing Of Everything gives near national treasures Elbow their first ever Number One album, an achievement which you will doubtless hear trumpeted far and wide over the next week. I wouldn't be true to my reputation as a cynic without pointing out that their previous highest charting album Build A Rocket Boys sold 78,000 copies in its first week onsale to reach Number 2 almost exactly two years ago this week. The Take Off And Landing Of Everything reaches Number One with just 46,000 copies. Read into that what you will.