UK Singles Chart, 5/31/2008

1. Take a Bow - Rihanna

After only a week at #1, The Ting Ting's "That's Not My Name" is knocked from #1 by Rihanna's "Take a Bow," which become's the Barbadian singer's second #1 hit after last year's "Umbrella." The Ting Ting's can take more than a little solace in the fact that they have this week's #1 album with their debut, We Started Nothing. This rather quick turnover--two new #1s in two weeks--reverses this year's trend of long stays at the top, with the four #1 singles previous to The Tings Tings--Madonna's "4 Minutes," Estelle's "American Boy," Duffy's "Mercy," and Basshunter's "Now You're Gone" all spending 4 or 5 weeks at the top.

7. Warwick Avenue - Duffy

Up six spots to #7 this week is Rihanna's competition for #1 next weekend, Duffy's "Warwick Avenue." The soulful track is Duffy's follow-up to her massive #1, "Mercy," still the biggest hit of the year so far. I'm really hoping to see this at #1 in 6 days.

10. Violet Hill - Coldplay

After peaking at #8 last week, Coldplay's "Violet Hill" slips two spots to #10. Surely the decision not to release this as a physical single is hurting its chart promise. Could this have been Coldplay's first #1 hit if it had been fully released? Perhaps. The single spends its second week at #1 on the airplay chart this week.

12. Closer - Ne-Yo

Could Ne-Yo be heading to his second UK #1? Possibly. "Closer" is already up to #12 on download sales, and the physical single isn't out until June 23rd--plenty of time for further growth. Ne-Yo hit #1 with his first single, "So Sick," and has had two other top 10 hits since then.

16. Love Song - Sara Bareilles

Also doing well on advance download sales is American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles with her debut "Love Song." I'm a little sick of this song (it wore out its welcome on U.S. radio) at this point, but in Britain, where it's a new quantity, it appears to be doing well, up seven spots this week, with its full release still 3 weeks away.

18. Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi

Finally it's time for me to write about Gabriella Cilmi. I can no longer ignore this record. This single was released in March, at which time it didn't perform very spectacularly, spending only 1 week in the top 40 at #38. Then the unexpected happened--3 weeks later it returned to the top 40 and has kept climbing ever since, up one spot to #18 this week. It finally attracted the attention of Radio 1, where it's now on the B list. The single is currently spending its third week at #1 in her native Australia.

19. I Can Be - Taio Cruz
23. 10,000 Nights - Alphabeat
27. Mistress Mabel - The Fratellis
28. Always Right Behind You - The Zutons

Here's a cluster of tracks all selling on downloads that all get a physical release today. It will be interesting to see how they do this weekend. I'm betting the best performance will come from the Fratellis' first single from their second album--top 5 for sure. Taio Cruz and Alphabeat should be top 10 too. Zutons are the wild card here. "Always Right Behind You" has been doing well on airplay (it's #6 this week), but their biggest hit to date was "Valerie," which hit #9 in June of 2006 (and was since remade by Amy Winehouse, whose version became her biggest hit to date).

33. Great DJ - The Ting Tings

This is an interesting entry. "Great DJ" was released as The Ting Ting's first single in March, but was found to be chart-ineligible (I think it was being offered for free or something). However, now that the track can be downloaded as an album cut, it is finally able to chart, debuting at #33. How big a hit this would have been we'll never know.

36. Rhythm Is a Dancer - Snap!

What's this doing here? Apparently it's been featured in a TV ad, rekindling interest in it. This single spent 6 weeks at #1 in the summer of 1992, Snap's second #1 hit after "The Power."