UK Chart Analysis, 11/18/2006

What an exciting chart week. As I’ve discussed, this week had a flood of major releases, including three huge singles competing for the top three. This week brings 13 debuts and three risers that debuted on download sales last week. Five of the debuts are downloads-only sellers, so next week should be really exciting too. With all this tight competition, the record of the week is…

1. The Rose - Westlife

Westlife it is then. Despite not appearing on either the BBC Radio 1 or Radio 2 playlists, Westlife continues to defy all logic to score yet another #1 single. The 21st single of their career—all of which have gone top 5—becomes their 14th #1 single, lengthening their chart career to nearly 8 years now. The track, a remake of the song made famous by Bette Midler, is from The Love Album, the eighth Westlife longplayer (they’ve released one every November since their debut in 1999, including a greatest hits collection in 2002). This is their sixth remake #1, following “I Have a Dream,” “Against All Odds,” “Uptown Girl,” “Mandy,” and “You Raise Me Up.”

2. The Saints Are Coming – U2 & Green Day

Pole position then goes to U2 & Green Day with “The Saints Are Coming,” a remake of the 1978 punk rock song by Scottish band the Skids. The single is a charity release to benefit the music industry of New Orleans, still struggling since Hurricane Katrina. At #2, this tops the #3 performance of “American Idiot” just over 2 years ago to become Green Day’s highest-charting single. This is U2’s fifth #2 single, matching the performance of their last release, “One,” a remake of their own 1992 hit and another collaboration, that time with Mary J. Blige. It will appear on U2's forthcoming greatest hits collection, U218.

3. Rock Steady – All Saints

As if by introduction, “The Saints Are Coming” is followed at #3 by the All Saints and their big comeback “Rock Steady.” Not heard since late 2000, the previously dismantled All Saints reformed this year, and appear to be going as strong as ever. The band appeared on the scene in 1997, hitting the top 10 with “I Know Where It’s At.” They followed that with “Never Ever,” which first debuted at #3, but stuck around in the top 10 for a long time, hitting #1 eight weeks later. The single was a huge seller, and won the Brit Award for best British single of 1997. The success of “Never Ever” propelled the girl group to stardom as the cool antidote to the Spice Girls, whose star was beginning to fade. All Saints scored four more #1 singles, including 2000’s second-biggest seller, “Pure Shores,” from the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach. New album Studio One is out tomorrow.

8. Easy – Sugababes

Losing out on the top 5 competition are the Sugababes with “Easy,” their fantastic new single from Overloaded: The Singles Collection, out tomorrow. This is a surprisingly low placing for them, owing to the unusual competition from Westlife, U2 & Green Day, and the All Saints. Surprisingly, this track hasn’t gotten much airplay, a sharp contrast to last year’s “Push the Button” and “Ugly” which both were airplay #1s. This is their 12th top 10 hit, all of which appear on the new collection.

9. Jump – Madonna

Here’s a pleasant surprise. Despite the very stiff competition and the well-known “diminishing returns” effect (the fact that subsequent singles from an album usually chart progressively lower), Madonna’s fourth Confessions on a Dancefloor single manages to become the 4th straight top 10 hit from that album, just a couple of rungs below the #7 peak of the last single, “Get Together.” More radio friendly than its predecessor (and scoring better airplay, having peaked at #3 last week on the airplay chat), “Jump” is fun dance/pop. Even if the video is bit lame, this is a great single, her 58th top 10 (not counting re-release placings).

12. Smack That – Akon (featuring Eminem)

A surprisingly high downloads debut for Akon, perhaps owing to his co-star’s popularity. Akon scored three top 10 hits from his first album, including #1 single “Lonely.” This is the first single from his forthcoming second album.

14. My Love – Justin Timberlake (featuring T.I.)

The second-highest downloads only debut is from Justin Timberlake, who hit #1 with his last single, “Sexyback,” could it be #1 next week?

15. This is Not Real Love – George Michael & Mutya

George Michael’s greatest hits collection, TwentyFive, is out tomorrow, promoted by this release, a smoky ballad duet with former Sugababes member Mutya Buena. Her old sisters beat her by seven places, but Mutya and George’s voices do go well together on this sexy, simple song. At #15, this is 2 places lower than his summer single, “An Easier Affair,” also included on the new collection. This is George Michael’s 34th solo top 40 hit and Mutya’s first.

17. Shoot the Runner – Kasabian

Kasbian’s 6th top 40 hit becomes their 6th straight to go top 20. More accessible than previous release, the top 10 “Empire” from the summer, “Shoot the Runner” is a fun sing-along track. Can’t you just hear this playing during sporting events?

18. Self Control – Infernal

Why wasn’t this a bigger hit? This is a fantastic song, a remake of one of Laura Branigan’s biggest ’80s hits. They hit #2 earlier this year with their first single, “From Paris to Berlin,” which, at last as of July, was the second-biggest selling single of the year.

22. Wild Blue Yonder – Paul Weller

Paul Weller, founder of The Jam, has an enduring popularity in the UK, that doesn’t stretch far beyond those waters. This is his first top 40 single for 2006; his last top 10, “From the Floorboards Up,” hit #6 in the summer of 2005.

28. Lovelight – Robbie Williams

Debuting on downloads is Robbie Williams’ second Rudebox single, “Lovelight.” Covering more familiar pop territory than previous single “Rudebox,” “Lovelight” is a fun retro/disco remake. Should go top 10 next week. “Lovelight’s” #28 debut bests “Rudebox’s” #30 downloads debut from 2 months ago.

29. I Just Wanna Know – Taio Cruz

I’ve never heard of this guy, but it sounds like typically bland U.S. R&B, although it does have a nice strings bridge. That’s about the only thing going for it.

33. Hurt – Christina Aguilera

Also debuting on downloads is the second Back to Basics single from Christina Aguilera. This time she’s gone to the album’s eclectic second disc for a Linda Perry-penned Ballad, “Hurt,” which explores similar territory to her 2003 #1, “Beautiful.” Last time out she hit #2 with snappy “Ain’t No Other Man.”

37. Set the Fire to the Third Bar – Snow Patrol (featuring Martha Wainwright)

Snow Patrol debuts at #37 on downloads alone. Last single “Chasing Cars” took 8 weeks to reach its eventual peak position at #6, and it’s still hanging around the top 40, rising one place this week to #26 in its 17th week. Will “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” perform similarly? Likely not, given the glut of big new releases over the next month that will push older singles out of the top 40 faster than during the summer.

39. I Found Out – The Pigeon Detectives

I don’t what this is, but I don’t like it. Yuck.

So that’s it for this week. Next week Justin Timberlake and Akon will try to unseat Westlife for #1. Hard to tell if they’ll do it. Westlife’s last single, “You Raise Me Up” became a surprisingly big hit, spending 2 weeks at #1, but nine of their #1s spent only a week at the top, a few with big falls the week after.