Y'All Have Nice Day
OK, so this is the latest I've ever been with one of these, but that's what travelling does to you. So welcome to the most jet-lagged chart commentary in its long and semi-illustrious history.
The No.1 single of the week remains, well, almost background noise. Miracle from Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding is top of the charts for the sixth week in a row and the eighth in total as it also now celebrates 12 consecutive weeks as a Top 3 single. Hard not to view this as a huge smash in every sense of the word. It means the track now matches the Dua Lipa-sung One Kiss as Calvin Harris' most successful hit single to date, and it seems almost certain a ninth week is in prospect. The appeal of the single shows no sign of sagging, indeed it actually increases its week on week consumption once more and thus once again resets its ACR clock. Unless something comes along to blow it out of the water Miracle seems set to notch up at least 11 weeks at the summit, matching Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits as the longest-running No.1 single of the decade so far.
But Miracle isn't the only long running success hovering near the top. David Kushner's Daylight is a baby in comparison to some but it is still enjoying its fifth week (out of seven so far) as the No.2 single. Destined it appears to be one of those tracks that is eternally the bridesmaid.
Meanwhile at No.3 is the song that just will not die. Now 40 weeks into its chart career and in its 22nd consecutive week as a Top 10 single Calm Down by Rema reaches yet another brand new peak as it climbs to No.3. Six years after its introduction the ACR rule still has the power to get people sniffy but it is still worth remembering that it only applies to singles that are in genuine steady decline. Tracks such as this one whose appeal remains constant and indeed is still growing over time are immune from the relegation. Calm Down remains there on merit and seems set to do so for some weeks to come. Remember it as the greatest Afrobeats hit single of all time. And Selena Gomez' biggest too. If only she was eligible for a credit.
Watermelon Charting - High
But when it comes to long-runners the daddy of them all is surely As It Was by Harry Styles. For those new to the party (where on earth have you all been), this is the single that was first released in April 2022 and spent its first ten weeks on the chart lodged at No.1. It managed a full 18 weeks at full strength before an ACR move sent it into what Official Charts still likes to call Managed Decline. Then came Styles' BRITs triumphs in February and a consequent renewed appeal which resulted in an ACR reset and a return to the Top 10. Since then the single has never dipped lower than No.12 and now 16 week into its second coming the hit record is a Top 5 single once again, rising to No.4 in the wake of his current live dates to occupy its highest chart position since its first ACR relegation in August last year.
Two other Harry Styles tracks also occupy rungs on the Top 40: Late Night Talking (itself on ACR status) at No.31 and the track that is still officially his "current" single Satellite which gains a new peak of No.36.
Troll The Stans
This text is going up late this week because I've just returned from a holiday in New York. I timed my arrival in the area well, staying at a hotel just over the river in New Jersey on the same weekend that the American leg of Taylor Swift's Era's tour climaxed with a series of dates at The Meadowlands. It was the first thing my family was asked when checking in: "are you here for the Taylor Swift gigs?" They seemed almost disappointed to learn we were just here on a holiday.
To commemorate the occasion Swift released a new "Til Dawn Edition" of her Midnights album and its three bonus tracks ensure she makes the biggest new chart impact of the week. Leading the pile is the most eyebrow-raising one of all, a new version of Karma which stirs in guest vocals from current lady of the moment Ice Spice. The collaboration carries extra frisson due to the fact the more obsessed amongst the Swifties are presently fuming at her reported new relationship with The 1975 frontman Matt Healey, especially in the wake of some of his recent off-colour comments including ones where he threw shade at none other than Ice Spice. It is almost as if Taylor herself is trolling everyone. Anyway, after nudging its way to No.67 in its original version last week the new mix of Karma soars to No.12. It is joined in the Top 20 by Hits Different (a new track previously only available on the limited-edition physical-only Lavender Edition of the album) while a new version of Lana Del Rey duet Snow On The Beach featuring a newly recorded additional verse plants itself at No.24.
Crazy Times
The highest brand new release of the week is It's Crazy from J Hus which arrives at No.15. It is his highest charting single since Play Play reached No.11 in February 2020, his biggest hit single as a solo act since the Top 5 success of Must Be three months earlier. There's been no announcement of a new album so far, but you have to assume this track is the opening gambit from a brand new collection.
Life In Plastic
Also new with her first truly brand new material in three years is Dua Lipa. Quite where the superstar goes next with her career is a matter of some fascinating speculation given that she has the challenge of following up the inspired disco throwback of her Future Nostalgia album. Does she continue to mine the same groove or head off in a totally brand new direction? Our first clue as to the answer to that conundrum comes with the release of Dance The Night, her contribution to the soundtrack of the forthcoming new Barbie movie. The single is good but at the same time disappointing, sounding for all the world like an offcut from Future Nostalgia, right down to the handclap beats ever eight bars as first heard on Levitating. And that possibly clues us into where she needs to go next. If Dance The Night was a one-off it would be heralded as something inspired. At it is, it is just more of the same as before. And if she comes out with anything else along these lines it is just going to be boring. That aside, Dance The Night is the week's second-highest new entry at No.20. But it is a soundtrack single at the end of the day and so gets a free pass, regardless of where it moves on the charts from here.
Heart Pounding
Of all the singles around at the moment surely none have attracted as much interest as Padam Padam by Kylie, a single which just about every news outlet going has decided to anoint as the second (third?) coming of the Australian star. I spent much of last week contributing to articles about just what it means to see her back in the charts. It means many people were desperate for it to climb the charts further after last week's entry. And indeed it does, but only slightly and certainly not as far as the Top 20 that the First Look was indicating last weekend. Kylie is No.23 this week, up a mere three places. But at the very least it isn't a one week wonder, so there is hope yet for a first in a decade smash.
The death of a superstar always ensures there's a minor chart impact for some of the greatest hits, but the passing last week of Tina Turner clearly hit people harder than most. Her iconic (if a little overplayed) 1989 hit The Best becomes the biggest of her back catalogue, returning to the charts for the first time since football fans propelled it back to the Top 10 in 2010. It is joined by What's Love Got To Do With It (originally a Top 3 hit in 1984) at No.35 while her solo version of Proud Mary (originally recorded with then-husband Ike in the 1960s) makes No.44. First recorded in 1993 for the soundtrack of her "What's Love Got To Do With It" biopic, It had previously charted at No.62 following a 2010 performance by an X Factor contender.
