UK Singles Chart, November 14, 2009

1. Everybody in Love - JLS

JLS tops the chart with their second single, "Everybody in Love." It the year's 26th #1 hit and it makes JLS the 8th act to have scored a second #1 this year. The single was produced by J.R. Rotem, who also produced Sean Kingston's #1 hit "Beautiful Girls," as well as "Better in Time" for Leona Lewis. Speaking of Leona, she's the favorite to unlodge JLS next week with her new single, "Happy."

3. Meet Me Halfway - Black Eyed Peas

Fully released Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway" climbs 3 notches, closing the gap, um...halfway...between #1 and where the single was last week. It becomes their 8th single to reach the top 3. Of course it's a far cry from their last two singles--both #1s--but they were among the decade's biggest hits, so that's hardly a fair yardstick.

5. Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke feat. Flo Rida
6. T!k T0k - Kə$#@

Kesha debuts at #6 with her first solo single. Kesha was the featured vocalist on Flo Rida's #1 hit from earlier this year, "Bad Boys." Now she's just one spot below her former host's own guest turn as the rapper on Alexandra Burke's "Bad Boys," down 1 spot this week to #6.

9. End Credits - Chase & Status feat. Plan B

Electronic duo Chase & Status score their first top 40 hit this week with "End Credits." Its from the upcoming thriller Harry Brown and will presumably be playing over the credits. The tune sounds really familiar, and I've been trying to figure out if it samples something else, but so far, I haven't had any luck.

10. Bad Romance - Lady GaGa

"Bad Romance" climbs four notches to #10, becoming Lady GaGa's 4th top 10 hit. The CD single's release is still 2 weeks away. Due to the upcoming X Factor Finalist's single (a remake of "You Are Not Alone"), it's unlikely GaGa has a shot at #1. But hopefully #2. Although...

11. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys

...Sometimes singles reach their peak on downloads before their physical singles, especially if there is a long delay between the two. Case in hand: 5 weeks ago "Empire State of Mind" was #2. This week, with its CD single out, it limps up just two spots to #11. Hardly a boost.

15. Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

"Just Say Yes" is a new track from Snow Patrol's upcoming greatest hits collection. It debuts at a respectable #15, becoming the band's 11th top 40 hit. The band released its first album in 1998, but flew under the radar until the single "Run" from their third album became a major hit in 2004, hitting #5 (it subsequently became a #1 hit last year when covered by Leona Lewis). Several other top 10 hits followed, including most notably "Chasing Cars" in 2006, which was the 14th best-selling single of the year, despite having peaked at #6 (thus out-selling quite a few of the year's #1 hits).

18. Flashback - Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris' third Ready for the Weekend single charts significantly lower than his #1 hit "I'm Not Alone" or its #3 follow-up, "Ready for the Weekend." Frankly, I'm not that surprised, as I didn't hear many hit singles when I reviewed the album, apart from those already out.

19. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

I don't need to watch ITV or read Wikipedia to know that this is here because of X Factor. And here I was hoping it was because Glee had started airing in the UK (apparently that doesn't happen until next year).

25. We Weren't Born to Follow - Bon Jovi

This was on X Factor too.

29. I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne

Interesting to see how Chris Brown's new single is doing. This is his first tentative attempt to return to the charts following the rather public assault on his ex-girlfriend Rihanna (who has also reappeared with an interview and a provocative new single, "Russian Roulette"). So far the reception for Brown appears to be rather tentative (in the US, the single is currently #24 for a second week). This gets a physical release in 3 weeks--we'll see whether the public is ready to embrace him over the next few weeks.

32. You Should Have Known - Laura White

Speaking of tentative embraces, Laura White, an X Factor finalist from last year, fails to find chart gold with her first single.

Next week: Look for Leona Lewis's "Happy" to challenge JLS for #1, N-Dubz looks for a top 5 hit with their single, and the Sugababes release their first single with new member Jade Ewen.