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Last week, it was festive season on the U.K. singles chart. Now we’re entering Stick Season. Noah Kahan is on track to snag the first U.K. No. 1 single of 2024 – and the first of his career – with “Stick Season” (via Republic Records), which leads the midweek chart. The Vermont, U.S.-born singer and […]
With Christmas out of the way, Taylor Swift is eying a return to the U.K. chart throne by week’s end.
Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI) leads the midweek U.K. chart, up 2-1, and is on track for a fourth non-consecutive stint at No. 1.
It’s not just at the pointy end of the midweek chart where Swift marks her territory. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is one of seven Taylor LPs projected to impact the top 40, the Official Charts Company reports, including 2017’s reputation (at No. 9), 2022’s Midnights (No. 10), 2019’s Lover (No. 11), 2020’s folklore (No. 14) and evermore (No. 26), and the original, 2014 release of 1989 (No. 39).
Meanwhile, ABBA’s juggernaut, Gold: Greatest Hits, could rebound to No. 3, its highest chart position since 2008. The career retrospective has already logged a record 1,130 weeks – and counting – on the Official Chart.
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Also on the rise is Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (Island), which is set to lift 8-6, for a new peak, as its title track has a shot at No. 1 on the national singles chart.
Also on the way up, based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the OCC, are collections from Fleetwood Mac (50 Years – Don’t Stop, up 13-7 via Rhino), Michael Jackson (The Essential up 26-18 via Epic), Post Malone’s (The Diamond Collection, up 27-19 via Republic Records) and Elvis Presley (ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits, up 48-35 via RCA).
Festive records should begin their annual pilgrimage down and out of the chart, including Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise), the leader on the most recent tally, published Friday, Dec. 29.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published this Friday, Jan. 5.
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” bloomed in a big way, as her pop hit ended 2023 as the U.K.’s biggest single.The lead track from Cyrus’ chart-leading eight studio LP Endless Summer Vacation (Columbia), “Flowers” captured 198 million combined audio and video streams in the U.K., according to data published by the Official Charts Company — good enough for the most-streamed song and music video for the year. Along the way, “Flowers” logged 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, raking in some 1.7 million U.K. chart units since its release in January 2023. Also, its 91,000 downloads led all tracks in 2023.Coming in at No. 2 on the OCC’s tally of biggest tracks for 2023 is Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (via Live Yours/Neighbourhood), a different type of athlete that spent 10 consecutive weeks at No. 1 and collected 161 million audio and video streams in the territory. “Sprinter” ends 2023 with 1.2 million U.K. chart units. Following its release last June, “Sprinter” set a new record for the biggest streaming week for a rap single in U.K. (13.4 million streams and 108,200 chart units in its first tracking week). By the end of its run, another record for a rap track.Completing the year-end singles podium is Raye and 070 Shake’s “Escapism” (Human Re Sources), with 1.2 million total U.K. chart units, a sum that includes 142 million audio and video streams. Taylor Swift appears twice on the tally, with Midnights cut “Anti-Hero” (at No. 4 via EMI) and 2019 Lover album track “Cruel Summer,” which was finally issued as a single in 2023, for a No. 2 peak on the weekly chart and No. 11 appearance on the year-end list.Christmas only comes once a year, though two festive classics make the year-end cut. Wham’s “Last Christmas” (Epic) which set a new record for endurance when it became the U.K.’s coveted Christmas No. 1 single for 2023, 39 years after release, comes in at No. 18 on the year-end list, which Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas is You” (Columbia) is at No. 29.
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Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023:
“Flowers” — Miley Cyrus
“Sprinter” — Dave & Central Cee
“Escapism” — Raye featuring 070 Shake
“Anti-Hero” — Taylor Swift
“Miracle” — Calvin Harris/Ellie Goulding
“Calm Down” — Rema
“Kill Bill — SZA
“Boy’s A Liar” — Pinkpantheress
“As It Was” — Harry Styles
People” — Libianca
Michael Bublé’s Christmas (via Reprise) proves it’s the gift that keeps giving as it heads back to No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart.
The festive hit lifts 2-1 for a sixth non-consecutive week at the summit, to close out the year atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published last Friday, Dec. 29.
Christmas first reached the summit of the national tally following its release back in November 2011, returning to the top for two weeks in December that same year, the Official Charts Company reports. Since then, the LP has logged time at No. 1 in January 2021 and December 2022.
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According to the OCC, Christmas is home to five of the top 40 biggest Christmas songs of the 21st century in the U.K. – “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” (No. 1), “Holly Jolly Christmas” (No. 8), “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (No. 15), “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (No. 19), and “Jingle Bells” (No. 20) with the Puppini Sisters.
The Canadian crooner holds off Taylor Swift’s former leader 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI), which lifts 3-2; and The Weeknd’s The Highlights, up 9-3 (via Republic Records/XO), respectively.
As Brits handed out gifts over the festive season, compilations provided the soundtrack. Elton John’s Diamonds (up 12-4 via Mercury/UMR), ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits (up 15-5 via Polydor), Eminem’s Curtain Call: Greatest Hits (up 10-9 via Interscope), and Fleetwood Mac’s 50 Years – Don’t Stop (up 23-13 via Rhino) all climb the chart. It’s worth noting, ABBA’s career retrospective has now logged a staggering 1,130 weeks on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, and makes its first dent on the top 5 since September 2021.
Predictably, a batch of festive compilations made their mark. Bing Crosby’s Christmas Classics (UMR/Virgin) lifts 73-18, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song (UMR/Virgin) rises 86-22, both new peak positions.
The top new entry belongs to vocal group Pentatonix, with their addition to the festive season’s playlist, The Greatest Christmas Hits (RCA), new at No. 64.
Wham’s “Last Christmas” is the last U.K. No. 1 of 2023, leading a top 40 that features a record-setting array of holiday singles.
“Last Christmas” logs a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and ends the year as one of the market’s top 20 singles, based on sales and streams captured by the Official Charts Company.
Released back in 1984, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley snagged a piece of chart history when “Last Christmas” recently completed the longest journey to the coveted Christmas No. 1, completing its odyssey after 39 years.
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The British duo’s evergreen pop treat heads-up an all-Xmas top 5, outpointing Sam Ryder’s “You’re Christmas to Me” (unchanged at No. 2 via EastWest/Rhino), Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (unchanged at No. 3 via Columbia), Ed Sheeran and Elton John’s “Merry Christmas” up 5-4 via Atlantic/EMI) and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (up 7-5 via MCA), respectively.
“Last Christmas” became Wham’s fifth U.K. No. 1 when it summited on Jan. 1, 2021 – some 36 years after release. And in doing so, it discarded the unwanted record as the U.K.’s best-selling single to not hit the top.
The latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Friday, Dec. 29, is one for the history books, boasting a record 37 festive songs in the top 40.
The singles to buck the trend are Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” (down 4-10 via Republic Records), the only non-Christmas song in the top 10; Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” (down 8-27 via Atlantic), and Tate McRae’s “greedy” (down 17-37 via Ministry of Sound).
Finally, Cher scores her highest-charting single in the U.K. in over 22 years, as “DJ Play a Christmas Song” (Warner Records) lifts 20-18.
A week earlier, the pop icon established two new Official Chart records by becoming the first solo artist ever to score a top 40 hit with new material across seven consecutive decades, and the oldest female solo artist to crack the top tier.
“DJ Play a Christmas Song” is Cher’s highest charting track in the U.K. since “The Music’s No Good Without You” reached No. 8 in November 2001.
She wasn’t the queen of Christmas this year, though Mariah Carey does reign over Australia’s final chart of 2023 with “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (via Columbia/Sony).
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Carey’s holiday classic lifts 2-1 to close out the festive season Down Under, leading an all-Christmas top 5 on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Dec. 29.
Last week, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was pipped for the Christmas No. 1 by Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” (Atlantic/Warner). By completing its chart climb, the hit from 1994 boasts a sixth successive year reaching No. 1.
The top five on the latest tally is rounded out by Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (up 5-2 via Warner/Universal), Wham’s “Last Christmas” (up 4-3 via Sony), Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” (up 10-4 via Reprise/Warner) and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (up 7-5 via Universal), respectively.
Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” dips 1-7, ending a six-week stint at the summit. It’s one of just two non-Christmas titles in the current ARIA Top 20, the other being Tate McRae’s “Greedy” (RCA/Sony), down 3-15.
A handful of new tracks impact the survey, all of them Christmas-themed. Among them is Cher’s “DJ Play a Christmas Song” (at No. 45 via Warner Music), which has already established chart records for the pop icon in the U.S. and U.K. Its parent LP Christmas, Cher’s 27th studio album, is the top new release of the week, opening at No. 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) holds at No. 1 for the ninth consecutive week, extending its lead as the longest running No. 1 LP of the year in Australia.
Swift owns every title in the top 5 on the ARIA Chart, with the exception of Bublé’s double-diamond certified Christmas (Reprise/Warner), up 4-2. Count them up, Swift has seven of the top 10 albums.
Mary J. Blige closes out 2023 with a new No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Still Believe in Love,” featuring Vado, crowns the list dated Dec. 30. The calendar year’s final champ advances from the runner-up spot and was the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending Dec. 21, according to Luminate.
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“Still Believe in Love” takes the chart’s top spot despite remaining essentially even in plays compared with the prior week. Last week’s leader, Usher, Summer Walker and 21 Savage’s “Good Good,” slips to No. 3 after falling 5% in plays during the tracking week. (Between the pair, Muni Long’s “Made for Me” climbs 3-2 with a 5% play gain.)
Thanks to “Still Believe in Love,” the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul nabs her eighth career champ on Adult R&B Airplay. Further, she breaks out of a tie with H.E.R. to solely have the third-most No. 1s among women artists in the chart’s 30-year history. Alicia Keys leads the scoreboard, with 14, while Toni Braxton ranks second with 11.
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As “Still Believe in Love” joins the collection, here’s a review of Mary J. Blige’s eight Adult R&B Airplay No. 1s:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Mary J. Blige), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1“Not Gon’ Cry,” four, March 2, 1996“Be Without You,” 14, Feb. 4, 2006“Take Me As I Am,” one, Jan. 27, 2007“IfULeave,” Musiq Soulchild featuring Mary J. Blige, eight, Jan. 10, 2009“Thick of It,” 16, Nov. 12, 2016“U + Me (Love Lesson),” three, May 6, 2017“Good Morning Gorgeous,” four, Feb. 26, 2022“Still Believe in Love,” featuring Vado, one (to date), Dec. 30, 2023
For featured act Vado, the New York-based rapper lands his first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 with his first appearance on the chart. Prior to his collaboration with Blige, the rapper had scored a pair of entries on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with Cam’ron – “Speaking in Tungs” and “Hey Muma”. Plus, he’d also make chart waves with two albums, the solo effort Slime Flu, which reached No. 22 on Top Rap Albums in 2010, and the Cam’ron collaborative set Gunz N’ Butta, which peaked at No. 7 on the same chart in 2011.
Elsewhere, “Still Believe in Love” repeats at its No. 14 best on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. Despite the static rank, the song added 2% in weekly audience to reach 6.6 million in the latest tracking week.
Taylor Swift is the queen of Christmas in Australia as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) retains the chart title for an eighth consecutive week.
With that feat, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) is the longest running No. 1 album of 2023, outpointing Swift’s own Midnights, which led for seven non-consecutive weeks between January and July, ARIA reports.
Swift completed unprecedented sweeps on the ARIA Albums Chart during the year, and doubled up on both main tallies. The U.S. pop star’s sales and streaming action should reach fever pitch in February 2024 when Swift’s The Eras Tour visits Australia for seven sold-out stadium shows, produced by Frontier Touring.
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Meanwhile, Australian alternative rock favorites Violent Soho return to the ARIA Chart at No. 2 with Hungry Ghost (I Oh You/Universal), their third album. The LP roars up the survey thanks to a 10th anniversary reissue, which eclipses its previous peak of No. 6, during a run when Hungry Ghost logged more than a year in the top 50. Violent Soho, which announced an indefinite hiatus in 2022, has reigned over the ARIA Albums Chart twice: with 2016’s Waco and 2020’s Everything Is A-OK.
Completing Australia’s albums chart podium is Swift’s Midnights, up 4-3; while Michael Bublé’s double-diamond certified Christmas (Reprise/Warner) shines on the national tally, up 8-4. Christmas first hit No. 1 in 2011 and logged 15 weeks at the summit, across six stints, ARIA reports.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” (Atlantic/Warner) completes a sixth-straight week at No. 1, handing the Louisville rapper honors as the first new artist in six years to reign over Australia’s chart during the week of Christmas.
With Harlow’s hit getting all the love, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia/Sony) is denied a sixth consecutive Christmas No. 1; it’s up 3-2 on the ARIA Chart, published Friday, Dec. 22, ahead of Tate McRae’s “Greedy” (down 2-3 via RCA/Sony), Wham’s “Last Christmas” (up 5-4 via Sony) and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” (up 9-5 via Warner/Universal), respectively.
Cher enters the U.K. history books — twice — as “DJ Play a Christmas Song” (via Warner Records) blasts to No. 20 on the national singles tally.
The pop legend’s holiday number vaults 41-20 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Dec. 22, meaning Cher becomes the first solo artist to land top 40 hits with new material in seven consecutive decades, and she becomes the oldest female to snag a top tier hit.
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At 77 years, 7 months old, Cher is the oldest solo female performer to secure a top 40 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, beating the previous mark set by Shirley Bassey, who was 70 years and 4 months old when “The Living Tree” peaked at No. 37 in 2007.
No other solo artist has achieved a top 40 U.K. hit across seven consecutive decades, the Official Charts Company reports. Cher got the ball rolling with her debut solo single “All I Really Want To Do” from 1965, and has cracked the top 40 every decade since.
“Cher cements her position as a living legend this week, notching up two incredible landmarks,” comments Martin Talbot, CEO of the Official Charts, “becoming the oldest living female to secure a Top 40 single and the only female solo artist to claim an Official Top 40 single in seven consecutive decades.”
The late Captain Sir Tom Moore holds the record for the oldest artist to score a U.K. No. 1 single, doing so at age 99 years and 11 months old when his charity-fundraising collaboration with Michael Ball, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” summited in 2020.
“DJ Play a Christmas Song“ is Cher’s highest-charting single in the U.K. in over two decades, since “The Music’s No Good Without You” reached No. 8 in 2001. It’s the lead single from her 27th studio LP Christmas, which vaults 15-5 on the latest albums tally, for a new peak position and 11th career top 10 effort.
“DJ Play a Christmas Song” has been a record-setter on both sides of the Atlantic. When the single jingled to the top of the Dec. 2-dated Dance/Electronic Song Sales survey, she became the first solo artist to earn a new No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart; the only other act to have at least one new No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart in each of the seven decades from the 1960s through the 2020s is the Rolling Stones.
Hackney Diamonds are forever, it would seem, as the Rolling Stones return to No. 1 in the U.K.
The Stones’ latest album bumps 6-1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Friday, Dec. 22, for its second non-consecutive week at the top.
Featuring collaborations with Lady Gaga, Elton John Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, and contributions from former bass player Bill Wyman and the group’s late drummer Charlie Watts, Hackney Diamonds (via Polydor) is the Stones’ first album of original material in 18 years– since A Bigger Bang, which peaked to No. 2 in 2005.
Following its release in October, the LP went straight to No. 1 for the rock legends’ 14th U.K. No. 1, by outselling the rest of the top 5 combined.
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“It’s a wonderful way to round off 2023,” the Stones say in a statement published by the Official Charts Company. “Thank you to everyone for listening to Hackney Diamonds. Have a very happy Christmas and New Year.”
The Christmas gift for the Stones also doubles-up as a late birthday present for guitarist Keith Richards, who turned 80 on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise) holds No. 2 on the new chart, while Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via EMI) improves 4-3.
Cher brings some Christmas cheer to the latest tally with her Christmas (Warner Records) collection, which lifts 15-5 for a new peak position. Christmas features “DJ Play A Christmas Song,” which lifts 41-20 on the latest U.K. singles chart, an effort that sees the iconic entertainer become the first solo artist to achieve a top 40 hit with new material on the Official U.K. Singles Chart across seven consecutive decades, the Official Charts Company reports.
At 77 year and 7 months, Cher is also the oldest solo female performer to snag a top 40 U.K. single, besting previous record holder Shirley Bassey, who was 70 years, 4 months old when “The Living Tree” reached No. 37 in 2007.
