Chicken Jockey
We've done the "not ordinary" joke already, which makes it all a bit awkward. I'd like to hereby suggest that Alex Warren renames his No.1 single "bloody hell", simply because that's what you end up saying when you look at his numbers. At the point when many singles are nervously looking over their shoulder at impending ACR status (it is nine weeks old this week) Ordinary just keeps growing and growing. It spends a fourth week at the top of the Official UK Singles chart with what is once more its biggest sale so far. Over 73,000 chart sales/units/whatever we call them this week means he tops the charts at a canter - and even though Pink Pony Club is still a distant No.2 there is no pun intended. Although I do wish I'd thought of doing that. It is still going to be No.1 on May Day isn't it? There's no way around this.
Begin The Funny
We are so used to new Ed Sheeran singles sweeping all before them on the charts that to see one arrive in (relatively) muted style feels almost wrong. But the truth is we are a long way removed from the Ginger God's imperial phase. His last album proper Minus was a calculated move away from commercialism and his opportunity to make the music that pleases him rather than the charts, meaning his superstar lustre has tarnished over the last few years.
But still, an Ed Sheeran release remains something of an event and while he was never going to approach Alex Warren numbers and challenge for No.1, at least not this week, his new single Azizam (bless you) is still easily the biggest deal of the week and slams straight in at No.3 to become his highest charting single since Eyes Closed topped the pile a little over two years ago to the week.
Azizam (bless you) at least shows his powers are undimmed since he's been away, a track that has "sound of the summer" written all over it with a notable Persian-inspired vibe which means it sounds like pretty much nothing else around it. We can perhaps credit the influence of Ariana Grande producer Ilya Salmanzaeh who co-wrote and co-produced the track and alongside Sheeran there are many Iranian musicians all contributing to a quite fabulous listening experience. Azizam (bless you) is apparently Persian for "my beloved", but I'm sorry it also sounds like a sneeze and that's the joke I'm running with here. Unapologetically.
Vision On
Powering its way into the Top 10 is Show Me Love from WizTheMC and Bees & Honey which vaults 14-8 after having stalled in place last week. The track is notably one the biggest successes so far for TikTok's own digital music promotion platform SoundOn which provides a route for independent artists to not only have their music planted in front of the app's creators but which also seamlessly distributes it to the other major streaming platforms. TikTok views Show Me Love as the song of the summer and if it continues this momentum they may well have a point.
I Dare You To Sleep Through This
Just a few short weeks after their first Top 40 hit single enigmatic metallers Sleep Token have a second. Emergence made No.17 at the end of last month only for follow-up Caramel to go several places better. After threatening a Top 5 entry earlier in the week it holds on to land a No.10 entry to become - does it really need saying - their biggest hit to date. It is a song that has had many fans looking nervously around, a track by a group who refuse to make their real identities public at all costs making an impassioned plea for continuing privacy. So ironically the more urgently they claim to not want celebrity, the more famous they become. I've no idea If this chart position is any more than a one-off (although Emergence still managed three weeks on the Top 75). But you don't make No.10 upon release without being able to command a significant audience. Their fans are out there, no matter how much it makes them sweat.
Oh Blimey
Here's a worrying stat for you: every one of the last nine Miley Cyrus chart hits has peaked in its first week position. Not since Midnight Sky back in 2020 has she had a single climb the charts beyond its initial entry point. So on that basis what are the chances of her new single End Of The World progressing beyond the No.23 that it arrives at this week? Really should, the first release from what will be her ninth album Something Beautiful is a glorious pop anthem which sounds terrific on the radio and through your earbuds. But this is Miley Cyrus and she really should be charting higher.
Think Panther
Speaking of enigmatic acts who hide their real identity, that technically no longer applies to PinkPantheress although we are still supposed to pretend not to know that her real name is Victoria Walker and you still get the feeling that given the choice she would happily retreat to the bedroom anonymity which characterised her early career. Just over two years on from Boy's A Liar, the No.2 hit which pushed her firmly into the mainstream, the singer-songwriter is back with new material although just like Miley above her you cannot help but think she should be charting higher. New single Tonight shows that most of the formula is still intact, the club-friendly track replete with her mewed lyrics and clever wordplay. But it is three minutes rather than 45 seconds long. That's the only part that jars.
The Rest
Also poking its way into the Top 40 after an eight week wait: Here In Your Arms from Nathan Dawe and Abi Flynn. This comes after it first entered at No.45 only to spend the next two months sculling around in the 50s. This was oddly the same fate that befell his last chart single We Ain't Here For Long which peaked at No.45 last summer during an extended four month chart run as a never-was hit. But that's the way it works with the producer, his singles are either huge smashes (think Flowers, 21 Reasons or 0800 Heaven) or miss the mark completely. Rarely is there an in between.
At the top of the albums chart there's a landmark event, the 10th No.1 album for Elton John although this time it is with his first ever single artist collaborative effort as the veteran star teams up with American singer Brandi Carlile on Who Believes In Angels. The pair had been dancing around each other for some time, Carlile having featured on one of the tracks on his 2020 Lockdown Sessions album while the pair's duet Never Too Late featured in his documentary film of the same name last year and garnered an Oscar nomination to boot. Do we take this chance to celebrate Elton's enduring appeal or note that an albums chart repeatedly dominated by old men is as far from rock and roll's spirit of youthful rebellion as it is possible to get.
Meanwhile the singles market expands once again, as it always seems to do in the spring. Consumption nudges towards the 32 million mark in what is once again a high point since the record was set at Christmas. And we may surpass even that total if the trend continues.
