What's this all about?
Top 40 Countdown
Number of eligible records: 8
⬆ (9) Lewis Capaldi - Grace
New (39) Dominic Fike - 3 Nights
New (37) DJ Khaled ft Chris Brown & Lil Wayne - Jealous
New (36) Martin Garrix ft Macklemore & Patrick Stump - Summer Days
New (26) Halsey - Nightmare
New (30) Tyler the Creator - I Think
New (17) Tyler the Creator - Earfquake
(1) Ed Sheeran ft Justin Bieber - I Don't Care
Missing Out
None
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Monday, 27 May 2019
Record of the Year 2015: Galantis - Runaway (U & I)
Picking a record of the year is getting more difficult, if anything because the number of Top 40 hits is giving me less records to choose from. The days of a more interesting Dance record getting into the charts are long gone and in 2015 it would appear you'd have 2 choices, either background music or cheese.
I decided to go for cheese and decided my favourite was "Runaway (U & I)" by Galantis.
I can't remember how I first heard this but I do remember it entering my head one day and turning to Google to figure out what the tune was.
Maybe it wasn't that difficult to choose after all, I think this is the only Top 40 hit of 2015 that I've gone out of my way to listen to, so on that basis maybe it was the only contender for record of the year.
Sunday, 26 May 2019
Top 20 in 1999 Reviewed - Week 21
Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time the plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.
So this is the top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
Whatever happened to Fierce? This was their second Top 40 hit and it narrowly missed the Top 10. It took until their fourth single for them to score their first Top 10 hit and then they promptly disappeared off the face of the earth. It's definitely of it's time, but then that's a good thing.
Verdict - Good
The only solo Top 40 hit from Pete Heller of Heller & Farley. He is also a well known DJ in the House scene. One of the best records of 1999 in my opinion, great tune.
Verdict - Good
When Fatboy Slim and Armand Van Helden went head to head in 1999, who actually won? I have no idea but the chart battle was clearly won by Fatboy Slim who made number 2 with this (vs Armand Van Helden at 18). This was the final single from his "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" album and a great tune to hear out loud with your hands in the air.
Verdict - Good
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
I don't think I've heard this one for 20 years so it sounds a bit different to the way I remembered it. I think this is one of those songs you need to listen to several times over to really appreciate, but as I've not done that it just gets an ok from me at the moment.
Verdict - OK
I ended 1998 watching the death of Tiffany on Eastenders and then going to the pub and wondering why I bother watching Eastenders because it's just depressing. I stopped watching Eastenders from that point, but then a few months later Tiffany comes back to haunt me with this crap. The formula was to take a dreary song by Polish singer Edyta Górniak and in true Eastenders style make it even more depressing.
Verdict - Rubbish
Despite the band members being in their mid-30s by this point, The Offspring seemed very American high school to me in this era. This was their follow up to "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and to be honest I just found it irritating.
Verdict - Rubbish
Summer was just around the corner and what better way to mark it than with this tune. Powerhouse aka Lenny Fontana and vocalist Duane Harden, the vocalist on "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden, came with what is almost the perfect summer anthem. I liked it at the time, but when I heard it down the pub on Christmas Eve that year, possibly for the first time since the summer, I decided I loved it.
Verdict - Good
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
Super Furry Animals were a band I'd put on the list of boring bands alongside the likes of Travis and Stereophonics. I'd struggle to name a record of theirs which I presumed to be because they were so boring I'd forgot them. However, years later I realised the error of my ways, their music isn't actually that bad and certainly isn't boring. They hold the record for most Top 40 hits without a Top 10 and this was their most successful single peaking at number 11.
Verdict - OK
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
This was their third single in a row which was an old song they ruined. I've since discovered all the songs on their final studio album were covers.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/20, or 50%. Again an evenly balanced Top 20.
Here is the Top 40 in full.
Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.
So this is the top 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
20. Fierce - Dayz Like That
Whatever happened to Fierce? This was their second Top 40 hit and it narrowly missed the Top 10. It took until their fourth single for them to score their first Top 10 hit and then they promptly disappeared off the face of the earth. It's definitely of it's time, but then that's a good thing.
Verdict - Good
19. Pete Heller - Big Love
The only solo Top 40 hit from Pete Heller of Heller & Farley. He is also a well known DJ in the House scene. One of the best records of 1999 in my opinion, great tune.
Verdict - Good
18. Fatboy Slim - Right Here Right Now
When Fatboy Slim and Armand Van Helden went head to head in 1999, who actually won? I have no idea but the chart battle was clearly won by Fatboy Slim who made number 2 with this (vs Armand Van Helden at 18). This was the final single from his "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" album and a great tune to hear out loud with your hands in the air.
Verdict - Good
17. The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
16. Skunk Anansie - Secretly (New)
I don't think I've heard this one for 20 years so it sounds a bit different to the way I remembered it. I think this is one of those songs you need to listen to several times over to really appreciate, but as I've not done that it just gets an ok from me at the moment.
Verdict - OK
15. Martine McCutcheon - Perfect Moment
I ended 1998 watching the death of Tiffany on Eastenders and then going to the pub and wondering why I bother watching Eastenders because it's just depressing. I stopped watching Eastenders from that point, but then a few months later Tiffany comes back to haunt me with this crap. The formula was to take a dreary song by Polish singer Edyta Górniak and in true Eastenders style make it even more depressing.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. The Offspring - Why Don't You Get A Job?
Despite the band members being in their mid-30s by this point, The Offspring seemed very American high school to me in this era. This was their follow up to "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" and to be honest I just found it irritating.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. Powerhouse ft Duane Harden - What You Need (New)
Summer was just around the corner and what better way to mark it than with this tune. Powerhouse aka Lenny Fontana and vocalist Duane Harden, the vocalist on "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden, came with what is almost the perfect summer anthem. I liked it at the time, but when I heard it down the pub on Christmas Eve that year, possibly for the first time since the summer, I decided I loved it.
Verdict - Good
12. Basement Jaxx - Red Alert
Prior to hearing this tune, "Red Alert" to me was one half of Red Alert and Mike Slammer, a Rave duo who did "In Effect" in the mid 90s and who ran Slammin Vinyl. This was the second hit for Basement Jaxx and the one that made the masses start to take notice. Perhaps a bit overplayed at the time but a good tune.
Verdict - Good
11. Super Furry Animals - Northern Lites (New)
Super Furry Animals were a band I'd put on the list of boring bands alongside the likes of Travis and Stereophonics. I'd struggle to name a record of theirs which I presumed to be because they were so boring I'd forgot them. However, years later I realised the error of my ways, their music isn't actually that bad and certainly isn't boring. They hold the record for most Top 40 hits without a Top 10 and this was their most successful single peaking at number 11.
Verdict - OK
10. Bryan Adams - Cloud Number 9
Just under a year before Chicane topped the charts with his collaboration with Bryan Adams he remixed "Cloud Number 9" by Bryan Adams. The result is a record that is more Dance and less guitar than your typical Bryan Adams song. It's alright, but it's nothing special.
Verdict - OK
9. 911 - Private Number
This was their third single in a row which was an old song they ruined. I've since discovered all the songs on their final studio album were covers.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. Stereophonics - Pick A Part That's New
I remember knowing quite a few people at the time who loved the Stereophonics and I just didn't get it. One man in particular who used to wear a Stereophonics hat all the time would say Pop Music has no skill because everything gets written for you, Dance Music has no skill because DJing is easy, but the music he listens to is written by the bands themselves who can play instruments and play together and that takes skill. Fair enough, but if using your skills of writing songs, playing instruments and playing together produces something that sounds like this then what's the point?
Verdict - Rubbish
7. Phats And Small - Turn Around
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
6. Westlife - Swear It Again
Ever wondered what happened to Nomad, who did "(I Wanna Give You) Devotion" in the early 90s? Well one of it's members, Steve Mac teamed up with another songwriter, Wayne Hector, to write this the debut hit of Westlife. A complete change of direction then, but I guess it helped pay the bills.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. TLC - No Scrubs
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
4. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
3. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much (New)
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me (New)
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. Boyzone - You Needed Me (New)
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/20, or 50%. Again an evenly balanced Top 20.
The Hitlist Review
Last night we had the first episode of a new TV music quiz, The Hitlist. Here's what I made of it:
When I saw a trailer for the show the impression I got was mixed. On one hand it's a music quiz so should be right up my street. But in the trailer they said "Do you know your Ed Sheeran from your Ariana Grande?" which implied it might be too modern for my liking. The fact it's presented by a member of JLS and a member of The Saturdays would also imply that.
There were 3 pairs of contestants who walked into the studio to a song of their choice. First was a father and daughter who came out to "I Drove All Night" by Roy Orbison, good song. Then came Glen and Christopher who came out to some Cheryl Cole song, a terrible choice but more to the point surely they should have came out to "Diamond Lights". Finally we had 2 females come out to "The Best" by Tina Turner. When the female presenter asked why they chose "Simply the Best" I shouted at the TV for the first time saying it's "The Best" not "Simply the Best.
The introduction went on far too long for my liking, but that's a complaint I have about most TV quizzes. It was 7 minutes into the show before we had our first question.
Round 1 was Number Ones and Number Twos. They played a clip of a number one and the contestants had to buzz in and give the artist and title. If they got it correct they'd get played the number two record from the same week as the number one and would be the only contestants to get the opportunity to answer. The first 2 pairs to get 5 correct would progress to the 2nd round.
The first clip was played and it was something modern I didn't know. Obviously the number two record was also modern, and I didn't get that one either. Fortunately not all clips were modern so I got some. I think I knew all the 20th Century clips and the only 21st Century one I got in that round was "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry.
Onto the 2nd round where the contestants would pick a category that would contain 4 clips. Each clip would have a clue as to who the artist is, for example there was the category "Stage Names" and the clue was the real name of the artist in the clip. Each pair would take it in turns to pick a clip and they'd have 45 seconds to name the artist and title for all the clips they hear with the option to skip 3 clips, first to run out of time would get eliminated.
Again I was good on the older clips but not so good on the modern ones. They had to be entirely accurate when giving the artist and title, when played "Re Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" by Artful Dodger the contestants weren't given it because they said "Rewind" instead of "Re Rewind". Fair enough, but then in another clip the contestants were given it when they said "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre when it's in fact by Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx.
It was the father and daughter who made it to the final round. They picked a category and would be played clips related to the category. They would begin the round with £10,000 and would have 5 seconds to give the artist and title of each clip, after which the money would start going down like a clock until they gave the answer. They would have the option to skip and be played a new clip, but the money would continue to go down. After 10 correct answers the contestants would win however much money is left.
I knew all the clips in the final round including the ones the contestants skipped, but that was because there was nothing too modern in there. It was the father who answered all the questions in this round, but his daughter did get a few of the modern ones earlier on in the quiz.
How did I find the quiz then?
Well I'd say it's as good as can be expected. Ideally I would want there to be no waffle at the beginning and no modern questions, but that was never going to happen. It wasn't as modern as I expected it to be though which is a good thing.
Would I apply to go on?
Not sure, the problem is I don't know anyone with decent knowledge of modern music to go on with. I've done music quizzes before with some pretty knowledgeable people and got all the 20th century questions correct, but ended up not winning from flopping on the modern ones. But never say never.
When I saw a trailer for the show the impression I got was mixed. On one hand it's a music quiz so should be right up my street. But in the trailer they said "Do you know your Ed Sheeran from your Ariana Grande?" which implied it might be too modern for my liking. The fact it's presented by a member of JLS and a member of The Saturdays would also imply that.
There were 3 pairs of contestants who walked into the studio to a song of their choice. First was a father and daughter who came out to "I Drove All Night" by Roy Orbison, good song. Then came Glen and Christopher who came out to some Cheryl Cole song, a terrible choice but more to the point surely they should have came out to "Diamond Lights". Finally we had 2 females come out to "The Best" by Tina Turner. When the female presenter asked why they chose "Simply the Best" I shouted at the TV for the first time saying it's "The Best" not "Simply the Best.
The introduction went on far too long for my liking, but that's a complaint I have about most TV quizzes. It was 7 minutes into the show before we had our first question.
Round 1 was Number Ones and Number Twos. They played a clip of a number one and the contestants had to buzz in and give the artist and title. If they got it correct they'd get played the number two record from the same week as the number one and would be the only contestants to get the opportunity to answer. The first 2 pairs to get 5 correct would progress to the 2nd round.
The first clip was played and it was something modern I didn't know. Obviously the number two record was also modern, and I didn't get that one either. Fortunately not all clips were modern so I got some. I think I knew all the 20th Century clips and the only 21st Century one I got in that round was "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry.
Onto the 2nd round where the contestants would pick a category that would contain 4 clips. Each clip would have a clue as to who the artist is, for example there was the category "Stage Names" and the clue was the real name of the artist in the clip. Each pair would take it in turns to pick a clip and they'd have 45 seconds to name the artist and title for all the clips they hear with the option to skip 3 clips, first to run out of time would get eliminated.
Again I was good on the older clips but not so good on the modern ones. They had to be entirely accurate when giving the artist and title, when played "Re Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" by Artful Dodger the contestants weren't given it because they said "Rewind" instead of "Re Rewind". Fair enough, but then in another clip the contestants were given it when they said "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre when it's in fact by Peter Andre and Bubbler Ranx.
It was the father and daughter who made it to the final round. They picked a category and would be played clips related to the category. They would begin the round with £10,000 and would have 5 seconds to give the artist and title of each clip, after which the money would start going down like a clock until they gave the answer. They would have the option to skip and be played a new clip, but the money would continue to go down. After 10 correct answers the contestants would win however much money is left.
I knew all the clips in the final round including the ones the contestants skipped, but that was because there was nothing too modern in there. It was the father who answered all the questions in this round, but his daughter did get a few of the modern ones earlier on in the quiz.
How did I find the quiz then?
Well I'd say it's as good as can be expected. Ideally I would want there to be no waffle at the beginning and no modern questions, but that was never going to happen. It wasn't as modern as I expected it to be though which is a good thing.
Would I apply to go on?
Not sure, the problem is I don't know anyone with decent knowledge of modern music to go on with. I've done music quizzes before with some pretty knowledgeable people and got all the 20th century questions correct, but ended up not winning from flopping on the modern ones. But never say never.
Saturday, 25 May 2019
UK Singles Chart: 2015
Joining the 30+ Top 40 singles club in 2015 were Britney Spears and Justin Bieber:
Tinie Tempah scored his 6th and 7th number ones:
Kanye West keeps his streak of hits every year since 2004 going:
2015 was the first full year that streaming was included in the charts. The most notable impact this had on the charts was a big reduction in the number of Top 40 hits overall. There were just 204 new entries in 2015, the last time there had been less than that was in 1959 when it was still a Top 30.
We also had the first instance of an act having multiple Top 40 hits resulting from the release of a new album. The artist in question was Justin Bieber, who was also the most successful act of the year from a chart perspective.
He scored his first ever number one with his 27th Top 40 hit "What Do You Mean?" which was number one on three separate occasions. He then scored his second number one with "Sorry". Then came the release of his album giving him 7 songs in the Top 40 at the same time. The following week "No Pressure" entered the Top 40 giving him 8 songs in the Top 40. Then the following week "Love Yourself" knocked "Sorry" of the top giving him his third number one of the year.
"Love Yourself" stayed at number one until the week before Christmas week when charity record "A Bridge Over You" by Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir claimed Christmas number one before "Love Yourself" reclaimed the top spot the following week.
X Factor winner Louisa Johnson only managed number 9 with "Forever Young" which made it the first X Factor winners song not to reach number one.
Previous years winner Ben Haenow had his second and final hit with "Second Hand Heart" which was a duet with Kelly Clarkson. There was also the only hits for the previous years contestants Fleur East with "Sax" and boyband Stereo Kicks with "Love Me So".
There were also the only hits for the 2013 series contestants Luke Friend with "Hole in my Heart" and Karen Harding with "Say Something". It was also the end for 2012 contestant Ella Henderson who's final hits were as featured vocalist on "Glitterball" by Sigma and "Here For You" by Kygo.
Little Mix, the 2011 winners, scored their third number one with "Black Magic" and had another hit with "Love Me Like You". It was the year Zayn Malik left One Direction but they carried on without him until the end of the year when they went on hiatus. Amongst their hits was the number one "Drag Me Down". Olly Murs had hits with "Seasons" and "Kiss Me" but neither made the top ten.
From the US X Factor, Fifth Harmony had their second Top 40 hit in as many years with "Worth It". Outside of X Factor there were no other boybands or girl groups in the Top 40 in 2015.
The most successful act from a chart perspective in 2014, Jess Glynne, had a successful 2015 as well with three number ones bringing her total to 5. These were "Hold My Hand", "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" and "Not Letting Go" with Tinie Tempah.
Electropop was still big in 2015 with number ones such as "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellis Goulding and "King" by Years and Years. However it's popularity was clearly fading. Flo Rida, one of the main rappers in Electropop in previous years returned to making Rap music with "GDFR" and turned to Funk with "I Don't Like It I Love It" which is his last hit at the time of writing. The other rapper best known for Electropop, Pitbull continued in that genre with "Time Of Our Lives" but this was his last Top 40 hit at the time of writing.
The biggest genre in 2015 quantity wise was Deep House and it's sub genres Tropical House and Future House.
There were the number one hits "Cheerleader" by OMI, "Are You With Me" by Lost Frequencies, "House Every Weekend" by David Zowie, "Easy Love" by Sigala and "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)" by KDA ft Tinie Tempah & Katy B. The first two number ones from Justin Bieber were also Tropical House records.
The DJ credited with starting Tropical House music, Kygo, made his chart debut in 2015 with "Firestone". There was also the debut of the DJ credited with starting Future House, Tchami with "Promesses".
Calvin Harris also made a Deep House record in 2015 with "How Deep Is Your Love". There was still plenty of the generic EDM hits in the charts though, Calvin Harris also had a hit with "Pray to God" and David Guetta and Afrojack collaborated with Nicki Minaj on "Hey Mama".
Former Swedish House Mafia members Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso were back in the charts as Axwell Λ Ingrosso with the hit "Something New". Also making their debut was fellow Swedish group Galantis with "Runaway (U & I)". There was also the debut of Major Lazer with "Lean On" which was in collaboration with DJ Snake and fellow chart debutant MØ.
Drum & Bass was still going in the charts with DJ Fresh returning to the genre with "Gravity" featuring Ella Eyre, who herself had two Drum & Bass hits of her own with "Together" and "Good Times". Sigma had three hits in 2015 and Ed Sheeran had a Drum & Bass hit with "Bloodstream" which had been remixed by Rudimental, who themselves had a hit with "Never Let You Go". There was also an official collaboration between Rudimental and Ed Sheeran with "Lay It All On Me" but this was a generic EDM record as opposed to Drum & Bass.
The big American Rap record of 2015 was "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth which featured on the Fast & Furious soundtrack and made number one. It was the debut for the singer Charlie Puth who followed this up with another number one "Marvin Gaye".
There wasn't a great deal of R&B in the charts in 2015, but a notable amount of it came from rappers singing with "Only One" by Kanye West ft Paul McCartney, "Hotline Bling" by Drake and "Beautiful Me" by Dappy. At the same time we had Rihanna make a Rap record with "Bitch Better Have My Money".
Having returned to Grime the previous year, Lethal Bizzle continued to make Grime in 2015 with "Fester Skank" and Skepta with "Shutdown". There was also the debut of Grime artist Stormzy with "WickedSkengMan 4" which he followed up with "Shut Up".
It was once again a quiet year for Indie Music, but we did have the number four hit "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon which is their only hit to date.
Adele was back in the charts for the first time since 2012 with the number one hit "Hello". She followed this up with "When We Were Young".
Aside from the notable reduction in quantity of hits, what other impact does streaming appear to have had on the charts? The notable difference has been the rise of Deep House and particularly Tropical House. It's often been said that this is background music with little substance which in a way makes it perfect music to stream. You have some house work to do, you want a bit of background noise but don't want something that distracts you, you find a Tropical House playlist on Spotify or Deezer etc and then play it which contributes to it's chart performance.
It's also seemed to make it more difficult for older chart acts to return to the charts. The earliest chart debutant to have a hit in 2015 was Paul McCartney, but these were collaborations with Kanye West. The next earliest was Madonna, but this was an EDM record produced by Diplo. The only other 20th Century debutants to have hits in 2015 were Shaggy, Usher and Britney Spears but they were all collaborating with more recent chart debutants.
Will we continue to see a similar story in 2016?
| Artist | No of Hits | New Hits | Year of Last Hit | |
| 1 | Elvis Presley | 124 | 2007 | |
| = | Cliff Richard | 124 | 2009 | |
| 3 | Elton John | 69 | 2009 | |
| 4 | Madonna | 68 | Living for Love | 2015 |
| 5 | David Bowie | 58 | 2013 | |
| = | Status Quo | 57 | 2010 | |
| 7 | Queen | 53 | 2009 | |
| 8 | Michael Jackson | 51 | 2014 | |
| 9 | Paul McCartney | 49 | Only One, FourFive Seconds | 2015 |
| = | Kylie Minogue | 49 | 2014 | |
| 11 | Rod Stewart | 45 | 2001 | |
| 12 | Pet Shop Boys | 44 | 2009 | |
| 13 | Diana Ross | 43 | 2005 | |
| = | Rolling Stones | 43 | 2005 | |
| = | Depeche Mode | 43 | 2009 | |
| 16 | Stevie Wonder | 41 | 2005 | |
| = | U2 | 41 | 2009 | |
| = | Rihanna | 41 | FourFive Seconds, Bitch Better Have My Money | 2015 |
| 19 | UB40 | 40 | 2005 | |
| 20 | Mariah Carey | 39 | 2013 | |
| = | Jay-Z | 39 | 2013 | |
| 22 | Prince | 38 | 1997 | |
| = | R Kelly | 38 | 2014 | |
| 24 | Janet Jackson | 37 | 2006 | |
| = | Bon Jovi | 37 | 2013 | |
| 26 | Tom Jones | 36 | 2009 | |
| = | George Michael | 36 | 2012 | |
| 28 | Erasure | 34 | 2007 | |
| = | Manic Street Preachers | 34 | 2010 | |
| = | Robbie Williams | 34 | 2013 | |
| = | Kanye West | 34 | Only One, FourFive Seconds, All Day | 2015 |
| = | Justin Bieber | 34 | Where Are U Now, What Do You Mean, Sorry, I'll Show You, Love Yourself, Company, Mark My Words, The Feeling, No Pressure | 2015 |
| 33 | Frank Sinatra | 33 | 1993 | |
| = | Shakin Stevens | 33 | 2005 | |
| = | Morrissey | 33 | 2009 | |
| 36 | Iron Maiden | 32 | 2007 | |
| = | Simply Red | 32 | 2007 | |
| = | Whitney Houston | 32 | 2009 | |
| = | Eminem | 32 | 2014 | |
| 40 | Roy Orbison | 31 | 1992 | |
| = | Bee Gees | 31 | 2001 | |
| = | REM | 31 | 2005 | |
| 43 | Lonnie Donegan | 30 | 1962 | |
| = | Beatles | 30 | 1996 | |
| = | Tina Turner | 30 | 2004 | |
| = | Duran Duran | 30 | 2005 | |
| = | Paul Weller | 30 | 2010 | |
| = | Mary J Blige | 30 | 2010 | |
| = | Glee Cast | 30 | 2011 | |
| = | Britney Spears | 30 | Pretty Girls | 2015 |
Tinie Tempah scored his 6th and 7th number ones:
| Artist | No of #1s | New #1s | |
| 1 | Elvis Presley | 21 | |
| 2 | Beatles | 17 | |
| 3 | Cliff Richard | 14 | |
| = | Westlife | 14 | |
| 5 | Madonna | 13 | |
| 6 | Take That | 12 | |
| 7 | Abba | 9 | |
| = | Spice Girls | 9 | |
| 9 | Rolling Stones | 8 | |
| = | Oasis | 8 | |
| = | Eminem | 8 | |
| = | Rihanna | 8 | |
| 11 | George Michael | 7 | |
| = | Michael Jackson | 7 | |
| = | Kylie Minogue | 7 | |
| = | U2 | 7 | |
| = | Elton John | 7 | |
| = | McFly | 7 | |
| = | Robbie Williams | 7 | |
| = | Calvin Harris | 7 | |
| = | Tinie Tempah | 7 | Not Letting Go, Turn the Music Louder (Rumble) |
| 22 | Slade | 6 | |
| = | Rod Stewart | 6 | |
| = | Boyzone | 6 | |
| = | Blondie | 6 | |
| = | Queen | 6 | |
| = | Sugababes | 6 | |
| = | Britney Spears | 6 | |
| = | David Guetta | 6 |
Kanye West keeps his streak of hits every year since 2004 going:
| Artist | Hits Every Year Since | |
| 1 | Kanye West | 2004 |
| 2 | Rihanna | 2005 |
| 3 | Chris Brown | 2006 |
| 4 | Calvin Harris | 2007 |
| 5 | Flo Rida | 2008 |
| 6 | Jason Derulo | 2009 |
| = | David Guetta | 2009 |
| = | Pitbull | 2009 |
2015 was the first full year that streaming was included in the charts. The most notable impact this had on the charts was a big reduction in the number of Top 40 hits overall. There were just 204 new entries in 2015, the last time there had been less than that was in 1959 when it was still a Top 30.
We also had the first instance of an act having multiple Top 40 hits resulting from the release of a new album. The artist in question was Justin Bieber, who was also the most successful act of the year from a chart perspective.
He scored his first ever number one with his 27th Top 40 hit "What Do You Mean?" which was number one on three separate occasions. He then scored his second number one with "Sorry". Then came the release of his album giving him 7 songs in the Top 40 at the same time. The following week "No Pressure" entered the Top 40 giving him 8 songs in the Top 40. Then the following week "Love Yourself" knocked "Sorry" of the top giving him his third number one of the year.
"Love Yourself" stayed at number one until the week before Christmas week when charity record "A Bridge Over You" by Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir claimed Christmas number one before "Love Yourself" reclaimed the top spot the following week.
X Factor winner Louisa Johnson only managed number 9 with "Forever Young" which made it the first X Factor winners song not to reach number one.
Previous years winner Ben Haenow had his second and final hit with "Second Hand Heart" which was a duet with Kelly Clarkson. There was also the only hits for the previous years contestants Fleur East with "Sax" and boyband Stereo Kicks with "Love Me So".
There were also the only hits for the 2013 series contestants Luke Friend with "Hole in my Heart" and Karen Harding with "Say Something". It was also the end for 2012 contestant Ella Henderson who's final hits were as featured vocalist on "Glitterball" by Sigma and "Here For You" by Kygo.
Little Mix, the 2011 winners, scored their third number one with "Black Magic" and had another hit with "Love Me Like You". It was the year Zayn Malik left One Direction but they carried on without him until the end of the year when they went on hiatus. Amongst their hits was the number one "Drag Me Down". Olly Murs had hits with "Seasons" and "Kiss Me" but neither made the top ten.
From the US X Factor, Fifth Harmony had their second Top 40 hit in as many years with "Worth It". Outside of X Factor there were no other boybands or girl groups in the Top 40 in 2015.
The most successful act from a chart perspective in 2014, Jess Glynne, had a successful 2015 as well with three number ones bringing her total to 5. These were "Hold My Hand", "Don't Be So Hard On Yourself" and "Not Letting Go" with Tinie Tempah.
Electropop was still big in 2015 with number ones such as "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellis Goulding and "King" by Years and Years. However it's popularity was clearly fading. Flo Rida, one of the main rappers in Electropop in previous years returned to making Rap music with "GDFR" and turned to Funk with "I Don't Like It I Love It" which is his last hit at the time of writing. The other rapper best known for Electropop, Pitbull continued in that genre with "Time Of Our Lives" but this was his last Top 40 hit at the time of writing.
The biggest genre in 2015 quantity wise was Deep House and it's sub genres Tropical House and Future House.
There were the number one hits "Cheerleader" by OMI, "Are You With Me" by Lost Frequencies, "House Every Weekend" by David Zowie, "Easy Love" by Sigala and "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)" by KDA ft Tinie Tempah & Katy B. The first two number ones from Justin Bieber were also Tropical House records.
The DJ credited with starting Tropical House music, Kygo, made his chart debut in 2015 with "Firestone". There was also the debut of the DJ credited with starting Future House, Tchami with "Promesses".
Calvin Harris also made a Deep House record in 2015 with "How Deep Is Your Love". There was still plenty of the generic EDM hits in the charts though, Calvin Harris also had a hit with "Pray to God" and David Guetta and Afrojack collaborated with Nicki Minaj on "Hey Mama".
Former Swedish House Mafia members Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso were back in the charts as Axwell Λ Ingrosso with the hit "Something New". Also making their debut was fellow Swedish group Galantis with "Runaway (U & I)". There was also the debut of Major Lazer with "Lean On" which was in collaboration with DJ Snake and fellow chart debutant MØ.
Drum & Bass was still going in the charts with DJ Fresh returning to the genre with "Gravity" featuring Ella Eyre, who herself had two Drum & Bass hits of her own with "Together" and "Good Times". Sigma had three hits in 2015 and Ed Sheeran had a Drum & Bass hit with "Bloodstream" which had been remixed by Rudimental, who themselves had a hit with "Never Let You Go". There was also an official collaboration between Rudimental and Ed Sheeran with "Lay It All On Me" but this was a generic EDM record as opposed to Drum & Bass.
The big American Rap record of 2015 was "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa ft Charlie Puth which featured on the Fast & Furious soundtrack and made number one. It was the debut for the singer Charlie Puth who followed this up with another number one "Marvin Gaye".
There wasn't a great deal of R&B in the charts in 2015, but a notable amount of it came from rappers singing with "Only One" by Kanye West ft Paul McCartney, "Hotline Bling" by Drake and "Beautiful Me" by Dappy. At the same time we had Rihanna make a Rap record with "Bitch Better Have My Money".
Having returned to Grime the previous year, Lethal Bizzle continued to make Grime in 2015 with "Fester Skank" and Skepta with "Shutdown". There was also the debut of Grime artist Stormzy with "WickedSkengMan 4" which he followed up with "Shut Up".
It was once again a quiet year for Indie Music, but we did have the number four hit "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon which is their only hit to date.
Adele was back in the charts for the first time since 2012 with the number one hit "Hello". She followed this up with "When We Were Young".
Aside from the notable reduction in quantity of hits, what other impact does streaming appear to have had on the charts? The notable difference has been the rise of Deep House and particularly Tropical House. It's often been said that this is background music with little substance which in a way makes it perfect music to stream. You have some house work to do, you want a bit of background noise but don't want something that distracts you, you find a Tropical House playlist on Spotify or Deezer etc and then play it which contributes to it's chart performance.
It's also seemed to make it more difficult for older chart acts to return to the charts. The earliest chart debutant to have a hit in 2015 was Paul McCartney, but these were collaborations with Kanye West. The next earliest was Madonna, but this was an EDM record produced by Diplo. The only other 20th Century debutants to have hits in 2015 were Shaggy, Usher and Britney Spears but they were all collaborating with more recent chart debutants.
Will we continue to see a similar story in 2016?
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