Meet Me At The Top 3
Welcome to the unfolding story of this week's UK charts, dated the start of December in what I can only conclude is some kind of administrative error.
This is one of those odd weeks too where the really interesting stuff is taking place below the music at the very top. But tradition is everything so let's deal with that first. Once more we have an immovable Top 3 as the biggest hits of the moment are just far ahead of the chasing pack. Entertainingly two of them have ended up with extended chart runs precisely one place below their actual peak: Bruno Mars and Rose's APT locked in place at No.3 for the fourth straight week after first reaching No.2, just behind Gigi Perez' Sailor Song stranded at No.2 for the fourth time in its own right after its brief sojourn at No.1.
The reason for that is the continuing No.1 run of Gracie Abrams' That's So True which this week enjoys a full lunar month at the summit - and further extending the record run of solo female artists at No.1 to 14 weeks. That's So True wobbles in sales slightly and dips below the 50K mark - by no means extraordinary for a No.1 single. But in a relatively quiet market it still remains comfortably the biggest song of the moment, so fair play.
"Ken"
Kendrick Lamar has had a busy year overall, landing a sequence of hit singles back in the spring thanks to his extended on-record feud with Drake - the most successful of which was easily Not Like Us which peaked at No.6 before enjoying a four-month sojourn in and around the Top 10. This week he got to upset the apple cart again with the unannounced drop of a brand new album GNX which almost needless to say wasn't bought by anyone in particular (994 downloads was its sole tally) but was streamed in large numbers into the ears of the people who like this sort of thing.
The album itself debuts at No.1, frustrating Michael Kiwanuka who was for most of the week tracking to top the charts with his own Small Changes album. It is the rapper's second No.1 album, although he has endured a long wait for this. He last topped the charts in 2015 with To Pimp A Butterfly. What do you mean you remember it well?
In America where limits on simultaneous hits do not apply the rapper is perhaps entertainingly set to wipe out the Top 10 and ensure Christmas songs are a no-show for Thanksgiving week for the first time in years. Here in Britain of course he is restricted to three, and perhaps almost inevitably they all line up in a row. Squabble Up is No.4, Luther (featuring SZA) is No.5 and TV Off (featuring Lefty Gunplay) is No.6. The appeal of the man I must confess escapes me, and it is very tempting to assume these are all one or two-week wonders (we only have a couple of "normal" chart weeks left before Christmas anyway), but the extended success of the springtime dis tracks makes me wonder if this isn't dangerously presumptive.
Not Easy Being Green
The movie version of the stage musical Wicked has been a long time coming, not least because of the production shutdown that resulted from last year's Hollywood writer's strike. But the film (the first of two parts apparently) finally hit screens last week, with the soundtrack of the tale of the tyro witches of Oz followed in its wake. The Wicked soundtrack is No.1 on the compilations chart but the superstar power of its performers meant that numerous tracks from it land on the singles chart too.
The way is led, perhaps inevitably, by the one song from Wicked that everyone knows. And in truth the only really memorable one it contains. Act 1 climax Defying Gravity smashes its way to No.7 for both Ariana Grande and British star Cynthia Evrio. Easily the biggest of them all, it is actually the third version of the song to chart. The Broadway Cast Recording as performed by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chinoweth reached No.60 in 2008 followed by a Glee Cast version in 2010 which made it all the way to No.38.
Following the precedent that was set with the Encanto soundtrack three years ago the primary artist for Wicked tracks is considered to be "the cast" meaning that despite suggestions on midweek updates that more hits would pepper the Top 75 it is only permitted two more. Those are Popular (performed by Ariana Grande solo) at No.13 and What Is This Feeling (credited to Grande and Evrio once more - albeit with the credits reversed) which sticks at No.17. It is curious that up until now few bookmakers have entertained the possibility that any Wicked songs could be contenders for Christmas No.1. In truth nobody has any clue as to what could be a contender. But those of us hunting for value on this have come up empty-handed so far.
The reason I highlight the "cast is the artist" rule here is because of course the arrival of her Wicked performances on the chart might have otherwise disrupted the chart progress of Ariana's own holiday perennial. Santa Tell Me is busy making its usual way up the listings and is both unaffected and unimpeded with a rise to No.27. The chart swamping by Christmas songs continues apace, the Yule Log now up to a grand total of 28. That's down on the 32 we had this week last year, but in line with the slower pace of progress in 2024. And the presence of six contemporary new entries in the Top 20 has inevitably reduced the available places for others to occupy.
Jingle Jangling
Belatedly arriving is Ed Sheeran and Elton John's Merry Christmas which is new at No.31 after reversing its ACR status. This of course is the last year it is entitled to do so as it will celebrate its three year anniversary in late December meaning its new year slide to the depths will be a permanent one. Top 10 every year since release, it has only been so thanks to its status as a newer and thus SCR eligible hit. It will be fascinating to see its true level of popularity when it becomes a permanent catalogue item next season.
Those who enjoy a bit of European culture will appreciate the song that is brand new at No.21. Ma Meilleure Ennemie from Belgian/French duo Stromae and Pomme is taken from the soundtrack of the second series of the Netflix animated drama Arcane: League Of Legends and reportedly set a new record globally for first-day streams for a French language track. It returns Stromae to the UK charts after a break of more than 14 years, his only other chart hit being Alors On Danse which crept to No.26 in October 2010. Back to the present day though, and I must confess I love this far more than I have any right doing so. I'd hate for this to get lost in the Christmas mix along with everything else.
The relentless march towards Christmas madness will now start to accelerate. We have at best one more week of relative normality before catalogue tracks sweep all before them. So make the most of it next time around.
