UK Chart Analysis, 4/1/2006

Ne-Yo and Embrace battle it out for #1 on the singles chart while 2 former X Factor contestants claim the top 2 spots on the albums chart. Click below for details.

UK Singles Sales:

1. So Sick - Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo leads a pack of 3 recent US Billboard Hot #1 hits to debut on the UK chart this week. "So Sick" was #1 in the US this week and claims the title in the UK this week also. It was reportedly a tight race, with the #2 track leading at midweek. "So Sick" is a decent R&B ballad, and having your first single debut at #1 is a great way to begin a career

2. Nature's Law - Embrace

As stated above, they were leading at midweek but have to settle for #2. As is often the case with "indie" singles, they start out strong with fan anticipation driving sales, but peter out toward the end of the week. Still, this is by far Embrace's biggest single ever, outpacing th #7 peak of the first single from their last album, the Chris Martin-penned "Gravity" as well as their previously highest charting single ever, 1998's "Come Back to What You Know." This is the first single from their new album, This New Day, out tomorrow in the UK. I've been listening to it all day, and it's not bad (album review forthcoming).

4. Stupid Girls - P!nk

Also debuting with a first single from a forthcoming album is P!nk, who charges in at #4 (actually up from #49 last week) with "Stupid Girls," the best track she's released since 2002's trio of fab pop singles. This is P!nk's 13th top 40 single and 6th to hit the top 5. After the disappointing releases from her last album, this is a real turnaround--a gem of a pop single.

11. Temperature - Sean Paul

Second in the line of recent Billboard #1s. This is actually the #1 single this week in the US, and I'm a bit surprised it didn't go top 10, as Sean Paul has usually done well in Britain. Honestly though, I don't think it's that great, so I'm not disappointed.

16. Bad - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson continues his re-rereleases, which have consistently charted within the top 20, but not, alas, within the top 10. "Bad" was the second single from Bad, hitting #3 in October 1987.

18. Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

They've been getting heaps of praise for this single and their forthcoming album. "Gold Lion" becomes their second highest-charting hit, just under 2003's #16 release, "Date With The Night."

24. Grillz - Nelly Featuring Paul Wall, Ali, & Gipp

Whoa Nelly! 2This is the last of the 3 recent Billboard #1s to chart, and it comes in surprisingly low for Nelly, who's usually good for a top 10 hit, and has topped the UK chart 4 times, most recently just a few weeks ago as a featured artist on The Notorious BIG's "Nasty Girl."

25. Heart in a Cage - The Strokes

The Strokes score their 8th top 40 hit this week with "Heart in a Cage," second release from First Impressions of Earth. This placement is a bit low for them and may signal fan fatigue, as it's a decent track. I remember a time when The Strokes were cutting edge; now they seem a bit tired.

28. Naive - The Kooks

Speaking of cutting edge, get ready for the Kooks. Retro-rockers in the Franz Ferdinand vein--this is actually their fourth single, and is charting this week on downloads only. Get ready for a top 10 debut next week.

Albums Chart

Welcome to the X Factor album chart. Journey South, a contender group in the last X Factor competition, debut at #1 this week with their self-titled collection of covers. Their sound is vaguely countryish, but very pop. The fact that they topped the chart probably means that when Shayne Ward (the X Factor winner) releases his album soon, it will be big. But wait! At #2 is the debut album by another X Factor contender, Andy Abraham's The Impossible Dream. Andy's sound is jazzy pop and like Journey South is a decent, but unmemorable collection of covers. Down in the bottom rungs of the top 10 are debuts by established artists, Prince debuts at #9 with 3121, presumably the address of his last fling, and at #10 Beverley Knight's greatest hits collection debuts.

Airplay:

It's a third week at #1 for Corinne Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On," while James Blunt holds at #2 with "Wisemen." Orson finally make an appearance in the top 5 at #4 with "No Tomorrow."