Dermot Kennedy battling to become first Irish act at Number 1 in Ireland for five years with Giants

Dermot Kennedy could become the first Irish act to reach Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart in over five years this week.

The Dubliner’s new single Giants is currently at Number 2 on today’s sales flash and it is incredibly close at the top – just 123 chart sales (downloads & streaming equivalent sales) stand in the way of Dermot and the coveted top spot. DaBaby’s Rockstar ft. Roddy Ricch occupies the Number 1 slot at the midweek stage.

Giants was released last Wednesday (June 24) and debuted at Number 42 on last week’s Top 50 last week based on less than 48 hours of sales. Giants will also be released on 7" vinyl in August, with Side B being the studio version of Days Like This, the Van Morrison song he performed on RTÉ One's The Late Late Show in April.

MORE: Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest songs of 2020 so far

Boyband Hometown were the last Irish act to lead the Top 50 in March 2015 with their second single Cry For Help. The last homegrown solo artist to top the Irish Singles Chart was Finbar Furey in August 2013 with The Last Great Love Song.

Dermot has previously scored three Top 10 singles, with Outnumbered topping out at Number 2. Giants has been added to the streaming edition of his debut album Without Fear, 2019’s second fastest-selling album and the fifth fastest-selling debut album of the 2010s.

The cut-off for sales and streams to count towards this week’s chart is 11:59pm on Thursday (June 25). This week's final Official Irish Singles and Albums Charts will be published on OfficialCharts.com/Ireland at 3pm on Friday. Listen to the chart every Friday on RTÉ 2FM with Bláthnaid Treacy at 7pm.

© IRMA