UK Singles Chart, October 1, 2011

1. (NEW) No Regrets - Dappy

Another week, another #1 single. This week it's British singer/rapper Dappy with his solo debut single "No Regrets." Dappy is no stranger to the charts, having appeared on 13 top 40 hits as one-third of the hip-hop group N-Dubz.

As I implied at the beginning, this is the 9th consecutive week with a new song at #1. That's pretty remarkable, but not unheard of. Just last year there was a string of 10 weeks with a new #1 song every week--a run that ended just this time last year in fact. And in 2000, there was a run of 13 weeks with a new #1 hit every week. So this is definitely cool, but not any kind of record.

Way more notable in my opinion is that this is the 11th #1 hit in a row by a British act. At no point during the 59-year history of the British singles chart has this happened before. The closest was a run of 10 British #1s in early 1963 if you count Frank Ifield, who was born in Britain but whose family moved to Australia when he was 9. I just went through the full list of UK #1 hits, and there was always an American, Irish or Australian act to break up such a potential streak--even in the heyday of the Beatles, the Bee Gees and '80s new wave, there were always foreigners in the mix. But not now, with Americans Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera knocking on #2 for 4 weeks in a row now, failing to break through to the top spot.

2.(2) Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 (feat. Christina Aguilera)

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera spent a fourth week at #2. If they are chartwatchers--presumably if not, their label bosses are--it must be pretty frustrating to see a constant turnover of brides, with your own track planted firmly as the bridesmaid. They might get their shot next week, with Sak Noel's "Loca People" probably the biggest new single this week. Even if it doesn't happen, spending a lot of time at #2 can be its own reward. Last year's #1 single, Eminem & Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" was never a #1 hit. If you had to choose, wouldn't you rather be the year's biggest hit than just for a week?

4.(NEW) It Girl - Jason Derulo

Jason Derulo follows his #1 hit "Don't Wanna Go Home"--incidentally the last non-British #1 hit--with another top 5 tune, his fifth so far.

5.(NEW) I Won't Let You Go - James Morrison

British singer-songwriter James Morrison returns with the first single from his third album. It's his fifth top 10 hit and third to reach the top 5, bested in peak position only by his #2 hit with Nelly Furtado, "Broken Strings." The album, The Awakening, is out tomorrow.

7.(14) The A Team - Ed Sheeran

Sheeran's latest single, "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" falls to #20 this week, but its his previous release that's his biggest hit this week. It's the oldest single in the top 20 actually. Still surprises me how this one endures.

9.(39) Cannonball - Damien Rice

Reality show shenanigans are no doubt responsible for giving Damien Rice his first top 10 hit. "Cannonball" had previously been Rice's biggest hit, reaching #19 in 2004. This is actually the song's third chart run. It was initially released in 2003, at which time it hit #32.

10.(9) Jealousy - Will Young

Nice to see Will Young is still in the top 10. This is "Jealousy's" fifth week on the chart and its fourth in the top 10. That's a pretty good run for Young, whose singles have had a tendency to fall rather quickly. Only three of his singles have spent this much time in the top 10: "All Time Love" (#3) spent 4 weeks and "Evergreen" (#1) and "Leave Right Now" (#1) each spent 6 weeks in the top 10.