1. Singles
  2. Albums
  3. Film
  4. MoreView all charts
Previous
Next

Official Singles Chart on 15/12/2017

15 December 2017 - 21 December 2017

The Official UK Singles Chart reflects the UK’s biggest songs of the week, based on audio and video streams, downloads, CDs and vinyl, compiled by the Official Charts Company. The UK Top 40 is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, the Top 100 is published exclusively on OfficialCharts.com. View the biggest songs of 2023.

 

Hot right now

Decorative flameDecorative flameDecorative flame

Join the conversation by joining the Official Charts community and dropping comment.

Already registered?

Log in

No account?

Register

avatar

JON BATE

0

I would guess that we have a very low selling chart on our hands.

SH

Scott Harris

0

"All I Want For Christmas Is You" is back at the same haunting peak it reached almost 2 decades ago. When will it EVER hit #1 in the UK? For it's a timeless song, it'll keep on trying.

avatar

Kirk Bottoms

0

my question what sites just for download a songs my exmple apart of iTunes helps the OCC means if I wanted to help Wham get to number 1 how many times could me download it or any song that I like.

avatar

Mark Wakeman

0

With all the Xmas songs going up the charts some have their original peak chart position listed whilst others have a lower re-entry era as their peak chart position. How does this work?

Wizzard and Slade's records both came out the same year reaching 4 and 1 respectively but Wizard's highest chart position is listed as only 12 above whilst Slade's number 1 is listed as highest chart position

avatar

Kirk Bottoms

-1

if you look at old songs of Christmas for example all I want for Christmas only got to number 2 in 1994 since download started it says in peak got to number 1 and now streaming it also says got to number 1. But for the main uk top 100 since downloads with Wizards song number 12 might be the highest it got to since the download helped Christmas song. with slade getting to number 1 in the 70's then since its not gone back to number 1 since download it only got to the highest since download and also the streaming charts have different peaks of christmas song

L

Luk

0

'Every day's like Christmas ' by Kylie should be on that list!

avatar

Sumi K

1

Does anyone know what happened to Greg James? Why isn't he hosting the countdown show? It's already been at least a month and MistaJams filling in for Greg James.

avatar

Foxes

1

He hosted the chart this week, and he was absent for 6 weeks because he was hosting the BBC's show 'Sounds Like Friday Night'.

F

Formation

1

Very disgusting move from The Official UK Charts for not crediting Beyoncé on the "Perfect" remix song! But they have no problem crediting Justin Bieber on that "Despacito" remix! Shame on you, Official Charts!

avatar

Piran

2

OCC don't seem to credit artists on a new version if the original was already popular.
A bit of a shame really; they didn't credit Beyoncé as a featured artist on 'Mi Gente' either.

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

personally, I think if a song can chart top 40 on its own it should be charted separately. stops people making several remixes to improve chart positions.

avatar

Stuart Gaynor

5

They've already mentioned that it is up to the record label to give any featuring artists an official song credit, not the charts company.

avatar

Piran

2

I've thought a bit more about this today & sorry, but I have to disagree with you there.
Firstly, if you look at the iTunes chart now, 'River' is reported to be at #1 with a considerable margin, however they chart the different versions of 'Perfect' separately & if you add up their points, 'Perfect' is actually the best selling song at this moment. It means that the #1 on iTunes isn't necessarily the biggest selling song currently, which can be misleading.
Also, if all three versions of 'Perfect' appeared on the Official Charts, Ed wouldn't be allowed to chart with any different songs, because the OCC have their "three songs maximum per artist" rule in place. The rule was already unfair to begin with in my opinion, but that would just make it worse.
That's just my opinion though & it's an interesting discussion for sure! :)

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

oh yeah I didn't really think of the three song rule... maybe you're right. but if they take that rule away then id go back to thinking they should make different versions separate. :)

avatar

Piran

1

Possibly. An advantage of that would mean the Official Charts are consistent with iTunes & Spotify.
That said, if that was the case, would different versions of the same song chart on their own when it came to annual charts?

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

well I'm not sure about that to be honest. probably not I guess.
ive always charted different versions of a track separately, and kept them separate in eoy charts too :)

avatar

Piran

2

Well you know what rules I have on my own chart.
If I did chart 'Perfect' separately, the Beyoncé duet would still be at #1, the original would be just inside the Top 10 & the Andrea Bocelli symphony would be in the lower part of the bubbling under chart.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

cool! I haven't actually heard the Andrea Bocelli one yet, but you can see where the other two are in the chart I just uploaded five minutes ago! :D

avatar

Piran

1

I actually just commented on your chart, although I saw that the 'Perfect Duet' debuted reasonably low. Is it likely to gain next week?
I'm happy to see that Christmas songs are finally on your chart! :)

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah I just replied to you! :)
well, it has grown on me a bit this week so could climb a bit, but not too much especially due to Christmas songs.
yeah well I wasn't ready to enter them on the first especially as I hadn't listened to any yet, but the 8th seems a good week especially as last year they started entering on the 9th!
I think ill follow a similar pattern to last year with the weeks things happen in regard to Christmas songs, but ill probably have more entries and higher positions! :D
what are your peak positions for Christmas songs?

avatar

Piran

2

I started listening to Christmas songs this year back in the middle of November, which is earlier than ever before, haha! :D
Well here are my Christmas #1s for each year since I started my Crown Note charts...
2008: Taylor Swift - Love Story
2009: Joe McElderry - The Climb
2010: WHAM! - Last Christmas
2011: Coldplay - Paradise
2012: James Arthur - Impossible
2013: Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
2014: Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
2015: Adele - When We Were Young
2016: Robin Schulz & David Guetta ft Cheat Codes - Shed A Light
2017: Wait & see... ;)
'All I Want For Christmas Is You' peaked at #2 for me both this year & in 2014, while 'Fairytale Of New York' reached at #3 peak back in 2010 & 2011.

F

Formation

1

Right, even if they count it separately, the "Perfect duet" song would still chart in the top ten without any support from the original! Can't really understand, why the British charts didn't use this formula!

avatar

Piran

2

Yeah, 'Perfect Duet' might even have been #1 anyway. A few commenters on here think that different versions for the same song should chart separately, so that we don't get more problems like this.
What I don't understand though is how they credited Beyoncé in lots of other countries, like: US, Canada, New Zealand & Sweden to name a few, but not the UK.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

well, I'm not 100% sure what all my xmas #1s have been, but I'm pretty sure it was Starving last year! and possibly something like In2 by WSTRN in 2015. and before then I only had a very static top 20 so I don't really count them lol ;)

avatar

Piran

1

'ln2' reached #5 on my personal charts, but it dropped out of the Top 40 within like nine weeks unfortunately.
Believe it or not, while 'Starving' is easily Hailee's biggest hit to date, it only peaked at #2 in my personal charts.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

well, those two were both big #1s for me, spending I think 6 and 8 weeks respectively at the top!
my latest chart is going up now, I was feeling ill last night so couldn't upload it. hope you can check it out! :)

avatar

Piran

1

I hope you're feeling better now!
Regarding your chart, I just left a comment on it. ;)

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

im feeling a bit better thanks! but still not 100% unfortunately. I should hopefully still be able to go over to OCC tomorrow and then post a chart, so speak to you then! ill look at your comment now! :)

avatar

Piran

1

I checked out both your review & your new chart, but I'll post a reply to your Christmas songs re-ordering soon.
I took a brief look earlier & I agree with most of it, so I'll post my re-ordering in the replies to your post too! ;)

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

hey Piran, and Merry Christmas! that'll be cool to check out! so when will that be up? :D

avatar

Piran

1

My latest chart went up yesterday, but I know you've already left a comment on it. ;)

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

hey Piran, do you know if there was a big top 40 chart last week? I'm looking for it before I do my chart, but I cant find it? :/
can you find one on the website, or have they changed websites?

avatar

Piran

1

The latest weekly chart I could find was the Christmas one.
They didn't do one last Sunday because of the Chart Of The Year, but there appears to be no weekly chart, even when you search through the archives.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

strange... have they ever done that before? :/

avatar

Piran

1

Not that I'm aware of.
Usually, they do a Chart Of The Year, but at least post the weekly Top 40 later in the week. It could be that Sunday fell on a New Year's Eve last year.

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

Hello everybody, this is my chart review for this week:
- Congratulations to Ed Sheeran for his second week at #1 with Perfect. especially with the Andrea Bocelli remix coming out today too, Ed looks like the front-runner for Christmas #1!
- great to see Mariah Carey and Wham! at #2 and #3, and although it would be great to see a Christmas song at #1, it looks unlikely.
- only one new entry in the chart this week, but I really like Ramz's Barking so I'm glad to see it enter!
- I'm also really glad to see Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me enter the top 40 for the first time!
- although it is disappointing to see Camila Cabello fail to get her first ever solo top 40 debut, #46 is still a great return. Also bear in mind that she would have been at #28 had it not been for all the Christmas songs :)
- Not a great deal else to mention this week, but next week it will be very interesting to see who manages to get Christmas #1! I will also rank every Christmas song charting next week! :D

avatar

Foxes

2

Hopefully 'Never Be The Same' can chart in the coming weeks. It should at least hit the Top 40 after Christmas, but I'm hoping for a Top 10 eventually!
I hope that 'Perfect' can get the Christmas #1. Ed Sheeran is a close 2nd favourite artist for me, so I'm always hoping for the best for him!
Interestingly, 'Real Friends' followed the exact same path as 'All Night' by Steve Aoki & Camila's former bandmate Lauren Jauregui: both songs hit #99 on the update for the week they were released, but missed out on the Top 100 entirely on the actual chart.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah, i'd say NBTS has 80% chance of charting after Christmas, however it was in the Vodafone Top 40 on Sunday so can debut in my chart on its first week when I catch up! ;)
don't get me wrong, I think Ed Sheeran is an amazing artist and deserves Christmas #1, but its just the way he's doing it which is slightly annoying, the way he's getting remixes to fuel his #1 push.
wait, how did you see the update? I tried to look at it in the week, and it just gave the link to the albums update...? :/

avatar

Foxes

1

I saw the update when it came out on Monday, but here's a link to it: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart-update/
I do think that he is pushing a bit too hard for the Christmas #1. 3 very popular versions of 'Perfect' are more than enough to get him to #1, and just the Beyoncé version and the original would've likely got him there anyway.

avatar

Kirk Bottoms

1

Hi Calum do you think the Vodafone big top 40 is better now.because before October there had a chart the people could change the top 10 then at 6pm the top 10 was locked.so then then that top 10 was known then the itunes live top 10
But as they have changed the format as i listen to both charts friday and sunday i also hope Wham gets to Christmas number 1

avatar

Foxes

0

I think that the Big Top 40 is better for including more than just iTunes, but I don't really use them as any kind of credible source. 'Gorgeous' somehow managed to get to #1 there despite it only being out for 2 days at the time, and it being out-sold, out-streamed and out-played by 'Havana' for those 2 days.

avatar

Calum Pk7

0

Hi Kirk! to be honest, I preferred it how it used to be, as at least the chart looked plausible and made sense. now, you get Gorgeous entering at #1 despite never being at #1 at any point never mind for the whole week, and songs debuting two days after release even though the chart is now apparently whole week sales.
also, radio airplay is also included now I think, which makes it worse as less songs by non-famous artists which don't get radio recognition can enter. the chart is still cool to listen to, but I prefer it how it used to be to be honest. :/

avatar

Piran

6

My thoughts & observations on the UK charts as always…

- ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran spends a second consecutive week atop the singles chart. As well as the boost it got last week thanks to the Beyonce duet, there is now a version with Andrea Bocelli which is also currently in the Top 5 on iTunes, fuelling its sales for the coming week.

- Since ‘÷’ is #1 on the albums chart today, this is the first time since the last week of April that an artist had both the #1 single & #1 album in the same week… & that was Ed himself!

- Meanwhile, ‘Perfect’ remains at #1 on the airplay chart for a fourth non-consecutive week.

- In terms of Christmas songs, there are 17 of them inside the Top 40 this week. The festive hits that hit a new peak were: ‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ by Michael Buble, ‘Step Into Christmas’ by Elton John, ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ by Chris Rea & ‘Santa Tell Me’ by Ariana Grande, while ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ returns to its #2 peak 23 years after release!

- There was only one new arrival into the Top 40 that wasn’t a Christmas song & that was ‘Barking’ by Ramz. Climbing 41-27 following last week’s debut, it becomes his first Top 40 appearance. Believe it or not, when I saw the title to this song, I thought it was going to be about animals barking, or some metaphor related to it, but no, it turns out that Ramz is giving a shout-out to his girl from the town in East London called ‘Barking’. You may regularly hear shout-outs to places in chart hits these days, but it’s too bad that this song in general is completely generic & forgettable. Firstly, if you’re going to try & copy Dave’s or J Hus’ flow, at least bring a bit more intensity to the song so that you don’t sound half asleep. The hook is extremely repetitive but doesn’t come across as catchy, in which he mentions about this girl calling him early in the day, where he brags for the most part in the verses just to show off to his haters. The line that did make me laugh a bit was the “7am in the morning” part… if it’s 7am, it’s obviously going to be morning! Thankfully, the production is fine enough & I’ll say that I did enjoy the tingles over the scattering trap beat. Ramz does seem to have a bit of a cheeky & jolly flow too, so I can understand the appeal there. This isn’t terrible, but I don’t see much that stands out compared to the dozens of other minor grime hits we’ve had entering the charts this year. If you’re a fan of the subgenre, check it out, but otherwise, you’re not missing anything special.

- ‘Santa Tell Me’ by Ariana Grande soars 60-29 after its re-entry for a fourth consecutive Christmas last week. Interestingly, this was originally released back in 2014, but this is the first time it has impacted the Top 40. Like most Christmas songs in the charts right now, the production is a little basic, although I love the strings & jingles, especially in the opening of the song. In the lyrics, Ariana is reaching out to Santa to ask him whether or not her boyfriend is going to stick around going into the New Year. The tone of the song is very interesting though & the delivery is all over the place; her vocals are kind of cute for the most part, but then we get a gospel choir out of nowhere at the start of the final hook & Ariana is closing out the song hitting some real high notes & showing off how incredible her range is. I really wish this could’ve charted this well, but at least it finally made it. I like this a lot!

- As some of the biggest albums of 2017 experience the expected big Christmas sales boost, ‘÷’ by Ed Sheeran returns to #1 for an 18th non-consecutive week, although this is the first time it has been at the top since the last week of August.

- The rest of the Top 5 is: ‘The Thrill Of It All’ by Sam Smith (1-2), ‘Beautiful Trauma’ by P!NK (4-3), ‘Together Again’ by Michael Ball & Alfie Boe (3-4) & ‘Human’ by Rag’n’Bone Man (13-5).

- At the moment, these are some of the songs that seem to be the biggest contenders for 2017 Christmas #1: ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Last Christmas’ by WHAM!, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Mariah Carey, ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ by Michael Ball & Alfie Boe, ‘Fairytale Of New York’ by The Pogues ft Kirsty McColl, 'River' by Eminem ft Ed Sheeran & many more.

- Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you all have a good weekend. :)

- My latest Crown Note chart: https://crownnote.com/charts/piran-delves/pirans-top-40-54

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

Hey Piran, another great review! for a second I though id be first comment, but no you had to get in there first ;)
Ed's tactics for getting christmas #1 are clever by releasing two big remixes just before, but it probably isn't a good thing as now other artists will do the same. do you think they may change the rules because of Ed again? ;)
tbh I think they should make a song separate if it charts top 40 on its own, but not replace the original and chart as a separate record. what do u think? :)

avatar

Piran

2

Thanks Calum! I see you've posted a review yourself, so I'll check it out & leave a comment either later or tomorrow. :)
Haha, yeah, I finished my review just in time! :P
I have this feeling that WHAM! might finally get to #1 next week, but yeah, you can tell that Ed isn't giving up without a fight. I personally don't see them changing the rules, but it would be hilarious if Ed made the OCC do it again. ;)
I'm not sure really, but I do think that if a song gained significantly in performance after a version was released with a featured artist (say a rise of 50% in overall performance), then that featured artist should be credited, no matter how well the original has done.
It's disappointing to see 'Let Me Go' fall so far & 'Real Friends' miss the chart completely, but I think 'Never Be The Same' will reach the Top 40 eventually, like when a video is released on when the album comes out.

avatar

Calum Pk7

4

it would be great if Wham! got to #1 this year, but I highly doubt it due to Ed's three popular versions of Perfect. it depends on how many streams the Christmas tracks get as Christmas day nears though! I remember last year Last Christmas was Spotify #1 on Christmas Day with 800k streams which is massive, a total I don't think even Post Malone or Drake reached!
I do think its unfair on everyone else though, the way Ed now has three separate versions of the track, all of which were likely to hit top 10 on their own. (well, if first day sales of the Andrea Bocelli remix are anything to go by)
this may be a one-time thing and, just like the divide album performance, its unlikely any other artist will match Ed's extent of doing this, but if it happens again the rules may well be changed. :)

avatar

Gazelle

1

'Happy Christmas (War Is Over)' by John Lennon & Yoko Ono has not reached a new peak position this week. It originally reached no. 4 in 1972 when it was first released, before peaking at no. 2 in 1980 when John Lennon was tragically killed.

avatar

Piran

0

Thanks, fixed that.
Its peak is shown at #35 on the latest chart for some reason...?

avatar

Foxes

1

The only songs to top 1m streams on Spotify in a day in the UK this year are 'Despacito (Remix)', 'Shape of You', 'Castle on the Hill' and 'Galway Girl', and 'New Man' passed 800k. I find it fun to go back and look at the day '÷' was released on Spotify: 'Save Myself' was 16th, the lowest from '÷', with 510k streams! https://spotifycharts.com/regional/gb/daily/2017-03-03
I do agree that separate versions of a song should chart separately, though.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

haha yeah, divide's chart success was something else! I doubt any artist except Ed Sheeran can do that lol. what about One Dance in 2016, did that ever hit 1m?

avatar

Foxes

1

I'd love to tell you, but spotifycharts only seems to go back to the start of 2017. :/

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

oh right. I don't think it got 1m plays in a day anyway did it? probably like 700k at most, I'm pretty sure songs get more streaming now than they did then.

avatar

Foxes

1

Yeah, I think it will've peaked at around 700k - 800k, since streaming has massively increased since then, even if it was already massive then.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah, I remember everyone on here going on so much about how badly streaming had affected the charts, its increased so much since then! although tbh One Dance was one of the greatest reasons for the rule changes, as it held several songs which got like a month on top of the sales chart off #1, like CSTF, This Girl, TIWYCF etc. I was really annoyed at its #1 stay too tho! ;)

avatar

Foxes

1

Great to see 'Perfect' get another week at #1 and be likely for #1 next week due to the strong sales and streams of all 3 versions, though I do think that they should all chart separately. It'd be quite funny to see the OCC have to change rules because of Ed for the 2nd time in one year, though.

Ed is also ending the year just as strong as he started it. 'River' is #1 on iTunes right now, 'Perfect Duet' is #3 and 'Perfect Symphony' is #4. Depending on the streams of 'River' and how its sales and streams hold up throughout the week, that may also be a contender if not for the Christmas #1, then for a #1 shortly after.

EDIT: 'River' is almost definitely heading for a #2 on the update, and possibly on the main chart as well. It's #1 on iTunes, and is selling 1.61x more than 'Last Christmas' at #2, and it's #1 on Spotify, and is streaming 1.25x more than 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' at #2. It'd be the most likely contender for Christmas #1 if different versions of a song charted differently, since, if all sales of all versions of 'Perfect' on iTunes were added up, it'd beat 'River' by 1.21x, and if all streams of it on Spotify were added up it'd beat 'River' by 1.03x. https://imgur.com/a/nsLXa

Can I now call myself an official psychic? I've said ever since '÷' got released that it was going to get 18 weeks at #1, and this week that prediction comes true. Now I kind of hope it doesn't get any more weeks at #1 so that my prediction can stay 100% true. :D

'÷' has now also matched 'In The Lonely Hour' for the most visits to #1 on the albums chart by a male artist, and 1 more separate visit and it will match the all-time record set by '21' and 'Our Version of Events'.

I mostly agree with your thoughts on 'Barking', though I think that I like the song a bit more than you. It's good to see so many Christmas songs reach new heights this week, though.

I wish 'Never Be The Same' had charted in the Top 40 this week, though it seems likely to do so after Christmas as the Christmas songs drop out.

My 'x' review: http://disq.us/p/1olprtn

My latest CrownNote chart: https://crownnote.com/charts/gameskiller01/8th-december-2017-14th-december-2017

avatar

Foxes

1

I wasn't really following the charts when 'One Dance' got its monster run at #1, though I would've liked some of those other songs to get to #1. I think the OCC should change streaming ratios again though, not necessarily so that each stream counts for less, but so that paid streams are worth more than free streams.
I think something like a 100:1 ratio for paid streams (Spotify Premium, Apple Music, etc.), a 200:1 ratio for free streams (Spotify Free, Apple Music Trial, etc.) and a 400:1 ratio for YouTube views would work quite well, and then they could get rid of the "300:1 ratio after 10 weeks and 3 consecutive weeks of decline" rule.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah that would be really good actually! although maybe 150:1 would be better than 100:1, as these sites aren't expensive so loads of people have them. I agree that the declining rule is stupid though.

avatar

Foxes

1

I thought of 100:1 since I think that paid streams should be worth more than streams are currently, but 150:1 for paid and 250:1 for free would work as well.
Also, remember how just yesterday we were saying about how Ed is the only artist that could have such a massive impact? Well, one quick look at the Spotify UK Charts shows that Eminem can have a huge impact, if not quite as big as Ed's.
He's currently at #1 (with Ed on 'River'), #11, #17, #18, #23, #26, #28, #29, #35, #39, #46, #47 (with the less-than 1 minute long 'Revival (Interlude)', no less), #53, #59, #60, #63, #65 and #67 with all 17 proper tracks on 'Revival' and the interlude. All in the Top 75. The only track that didn't make it is the 26-second long 'Remind Me (Intro)'.
'Perfect Symphony' only hit #77.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

wow, well that's a surprise, especially so close to Christmas! I doubt he'll stay there all week though.

avatar

Foxes

1

He definitely won't stay there all week, but 'River' may stay at #1 all week, and I hope it does. 'River' is currently my top pick for Christmas #1. I absolutely love the song.
I also updated my early predictions on my chart, if you want to check them out. :D https://crownnote.com/charts/gameskiller01/8th-december-2017-14th-december-2017

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

oh okay, I see Camila looks likely to be knocked off #1! tbh I don't think the song is that great, Eminem's old stuff like The Monster were better. still good though!

avatar

Foxes

1

I think she'll return a week or two after, but I think that 'River' is Eminem's best work yet. I also love Eminem's old stuff like 'The Monster', but 'Revival' is a great album. I'd say Eminem's probably my 4th favourite artist, so 'Revival' tracks will make a big impact on my chart next week! :D

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

I haven't listened to anything else in revival yet, but I will soon and I look forward to it! :)

avatar

Ireneusz Chmielewski

1

No-one should have any doubts that the UK Xmas #1 this year will be "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran...

avatar

Piran

0

With how well all three version are doing, I absolutely agree!
My prediction for the Christmas Top 5 is...
#1: Ed Sheeran - Perfect
#2: Eminem ft Ed Sheeran - River
#3: WHAM! - Last Christmas
#4: Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
#5: Rita Ora - Anywhere

avatar

Piran

1

'Perfect' seems to have the lead after 24 hours according to the OCC, but I still don't know if it's going to be at #1 on streaming. That said, all three version have been in the Top 5 on iTunes since Friday, so its sales are massive when you combine them!
My early prediction for the Christmas Top 5 right now is:
#1: Ed Sheeran - Perfect
#2: Eminem ft Ed Sheeran - River
#3: WHAM! - Last Christmas
#4: Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
#5: Rita Ora - Anywhere
What do you think it'll be?
Haha, your long-term chart predictions are impressive for sure. 'Revival' is looking very likely to be the #1 next week, but I think '÷' could take back the top spot the following week given there are no major or surprise releases next Friday.
Regarding the OCC changing the chart rules again because of Ed, while I agree that would be hilarious, I disagree that the three versions should be charted separately.
Say that were to happen this coming week, 'River' would absolutely be the Christmas #1, yet 'Perfect' would've actually been the more popular song.
Also, remember the "three songs maximum per artist" rule; if all versions of 'Perfect' charted separately, Ed wouldn't be allowed to have any more songs inside the Top 100 at that time.
That said, if the OCC are going to just going to show the original in the charts, they should consider commenting on the sales & streams of each version in their weekly articles, so we know much each version contributes to its chart performance.
I just commented on your latest Crown Note chart, but I'm a bit too busy to check the 'x' review right now, as I'm going home from University tonight & still need to pack!
I'm sure I'll be able to take a look either tomorrow or some day next week though. :D

avatar

Piran

2

Yeah, looking at the predictions after the first day, WHAM! have fallen to #3 thanks to the release of 'River'. Either way, it looks like Ed will be celebrating a Christmas #1 this year, meaning that for a second year in a row, a non-festive song will have topped the UK charts on Christmas Day.
Regarding those 800M streams, I don't recall seeing Drake or Post Malone reach that high. What about 'Despacito'? I know 'Shape Of You' & 'Castle On The Hill' definitely passed 1M streams on their first day!

avatar

Foxes

2

'Perfect' does have the lead right now, but it was apparently only by a small amount.
My prediction would be:

#1) Ed Sheeran - 'Perfect'
#2) Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran - 'River'
#3) WHAM! - 'Last Christmas'
#4) Mariah Carey - 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'
#5) The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl - 'Fairytale Of New York'

Though I'd prefer for 'River' to get to #1.
Only 2 versions of 'Perfect' have been in the Top 5 since Friday, since the original was at #15 last time I checked, though it's at #6 now. Did Ed do a live performance of it or something? Because all 3 versions have been given a massive boost.
I think that 'Revival' may top the chart for 2 weeks. Its streaming is massive and its sales are very good as well. Only time will tell, though.
The only reason I think that separate versions should chart separately is because it prevents artists kind of manipulating the charts by releasing many remixes to help boost performance. Though I can see why people would want to combine them, since they are all based on the same song. I've always thought that the "3 per artist" rule was a bad idea anyway, so them having to remove the rule if they made different versions chart differently would be fine by me. If they didn't remove the rule though it'd be ridiculous.
I replied to your comments on CrownNote, and I look forward to your views on my 'x' review whenever you get around to looking at it. :D

avatar

Foxes

1

My comment below shows all songs that passed 1m streams in a day in 2017, though I couldn't go back to check whether 'One Dance' did in 2016.

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

well, Wham! are currently #3 on both Spotify and iTunes, so it has a decent chance if its streams & downloads improve as the week goes on!
yeah, I think despacito may have passed a million too! :)

avatar

Foxes

2

https://disqus.com/by/disqus_XJbjZC0JLD/ https://disqus.com/by/calumpk7/ Daily 'River' vs. 'Perfect' update 17/12/2017:

On iTunes, 'River' loses handily to all the versions of 'Perfect', with 'Perfect' selling 1.65x more than 'River', but on Spotify 'River' actually beats 'Perfect' by 1.07x, even when all of the versions are combined.

avatar

Foxes

1

After a bit of digging:

'Castle on the Hill' had a 5 day streak from 06/01/2017 - 10/01/2017 of passing 1m streams.

'Shape of You' had several streaks of passing 1m streams:
9 days from 06/01/2017 - 14/01/2017
3 days from 16/01/2017 - 18/01/2017
2 days from 20/01/2017 - 21/01/2017
2 days from 03/03/2017 - 04/03/2017
& 1 day on 06/03/2017
For 17 days total.

'Galway Girl' had a 6 day streak from 06/03/2017 - 11/03/2017 of passing 1m streams.

'Despacito (Remix)' had a 2 day streak from 26/05/2017 - 27/05/2017 of passing 1m streams.

avatar

Foxes

1

On the second day of 'Revival's release, all tracks are still in the Top 100 in Spotify, with the lowest being 'Arose' at #86 (which would be at #53 if not for the Christmas songs, and all others would be in the Top 50).
'Perfect Duet' is at #10, 'Perfect' is at #47, and 'Perfect Symphony' is at #159.

avatar

Piran

2

Thanks for the update Gameskiller! :)
I think that Eminem will definitely have the Christmas #1 album & 'River' might end as a #1 on streaming on Christmas Day (as well as a future #1 overall), but 'Perfect' is just unstoppable on sales right now.
Have you had a chance to check out the Andrea Bocelli symphony yet?

avatar

Piran

2

Well its stable enough on streaming, but its sales are continuing to fall fast unfortunately. It's easily still the best selling Christmas song at the moment! :)
Yeah, I just checked the Spotify archives & 'Despacito' passed 1M daily streams towards the end of May.

avatar

Foxes

2

Yeah, Eminem will definitely have the Christmas #1 album, and while I'd love for him to get the chart double with 'Revival' and 'River', I think that 'Perfect' will be able to edge out a #1 because of the strong sales of all 3 versions. I think that 'River' will be the Christmas #1 on streaming though, and hopefully a #1 on the main chart in a few weeks.
I'm still clinging to the hope that 'River' will gain on sales while 'Perfect' will fall, giving 'River' the Christmas #1, though. It was originally quite close on sales, but all 3 versions of 'Perfect' got a massive boost last night for some reason, giving them a huge lead.
I have heard 'Perfect Symphony', and it's my least favourite of the 3 versions. I still much prefer 'Perfect' to either of the 2 other versions.

avatar

Piran

1

I definitely saw 'One Dance' hit 800k at one point, but from what I remember, it was very consistent around 500-600k streams per day for a while, hence why it got 15 weeks at #1.

avatar

Foxes

0

I don't know what kind of figures 'One Dance' got, since I didn't follow the charts back then.

Though, after a bit of digging, I've found all the songs that passed 1m in 2017:

'Castle on the Hill' had a 5 day streak from 06/01/2017 - 10/01/2017 of passing 1m streams.

'Shape of You' had several streaks of passing 1m streams:
9 days from 06/01/2017 - 14/01/2017
3 days from 16/01/2017 - 18/01/2017
2 days from 20/01/2017 - 21/01/2017
2 days from 03/03/2017 - 04/03/2017
& 1 day on 06/03/2017
For 17 days total.

'Galway Girl' had a 6 day streak from 06/03/2017 - 11/03/2017 of passing 1m streams.

'Despacito (Remix)' had a 2 day streak from 26/05/2017 - 27/05/2017 of passing 1m streams.

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

well that's disappointing that its sales are falling... :(
I hope it can be Christmas #1 though :)

avatar

Foxes

0

I think it'll probably be #3. At the moment the main 2 contenders for #1 are 'Perfect' and 'River', with 'Perfect' leading the way. Both songs have a massive lead over any other songs, though.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

Eminem's certainly doing really well then! lol I'm surprised Perfect's dominance is lessening, still doing really well in sales with all three in top 6 tho. if he stays like that all week he should probably get #1 :)

avatar

Foxes

0

Yeah, he'll probably be at #1 with 'Perfect', though I think that 'River' will be the streaming #1. Even when all versions of 'Perfect' are combined, 'River' still beats them on Spotify. 'Perfect' has a massive lead on iTunes, though.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

that's cool! wow, 17 days for Shape Of You and only five for COTH lol :)
I'm a bit surprised Galway Girl was at 1m so long tho, I don't really remember it getting 1m streams for that long.

avatar

Foxes

0

I'm surprised 'Galway Girl' didn't get to #1 with those streams. It was beating 'Shape of You' on Spotify and I'm pretty sure it was beating it on iTunes as well. Apple Music & Google Play must've preferred 'Shape of You'.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

so pretty close then! itll be really interesting to see how it changes over the week! :)

avatar

Foxes

0

I think that both will fall as the week progresses, but I think that 'Perfect' will fall more. I still think it'll be strong enough on sales to beat 'River' overall, but maybe not by a huge amount.

avatar

Piran

1

So we generally agree, other than #5. Haha, well we've already learned that you have psychic powers to some extent! ;)
Yeah, Ed performed the original on the Strictly Come Dancing Final last night, with no doubt had good viewing figures.
I did see that you gave 'x' a 10/10, which is awesome! Have you heard any others in your life that deserve that score? I'm going to predict that Camila's debut album might be the next one to do that!

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah I remember being annoyed SOY stayed at #1 that long. no, I think the big thing was the Stormzy remix which kept it at #1, as that had really big sales and decent streams so gave SOY a boost over Galway Girl.

avatar

Piran

2

Have you heard 'Revival' in full yet & if so, what are your most & least favourite tracks from it be & what would your overall rating be?

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

yeah, its insane that all three are top 6 on iTunes right now! :)

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah sadly, although all Christmas songs will have more of a boost as the week goes on. so I hope Last Christmas can get to #1! :)

avatar

Foxes

0

Ahh yeah, I'd forgotten about the Stormzy remix. Kind of ironic as I'm listening to Stormzy right now. :D

avatar

Foxes

0

Do you know if Ed did a live performance of it or something last night? Because they were at #3, #4 and #15, but then in the next update they all got massive boosts to #2, #3 and #6, and have stayed there ever since.

avatar

Foxes

0

It's definitely possible! My favourite for Christmas #1 would be 'River', then 'Last Christmas', then 'Fairytale of New York', then 'Perfect'.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

yeah I think it was the Brits they performed it at, and it got to #1 on iTunes for a couple of weeks and I think peaked at like #17 on Spotify. so it gave the song a good boost.
tbh that's another example of what ive been going on about, there were countless remixes of soy and although only one remix was big, all counted towards the song remaining at the top ahead of Galway Girl.

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

hmm not sure sorry. maybe google it or something? :)

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

id have to say id prefer: #1 Last Christmas, #2 AIWFCIY, #3 FONY. I don't want Christmas songs to totally dominate the top 40 but I think they deserve the top 3 and at least #1. especially given there's a campaign for Last Christmas to reach the top spot. :)

avatar

Foxes

0

If he performed on the Strictly final, that explains the boost they got. They'll probably fall as the week progresses, though I doubt they'll fall enough to let 'River' overtake them.
Off the top of my head, I can't actually think of any other albums that I'd give a 10/10, though I've got no doubt that 'Camila' will be the next to do so! :D

avatar

Foxes

0

I wouldn't mind seeing Christmas songs take up the entire Top 3, but I just love 'River' too much to not want it to get to #1. :D

avatar

Foxes

0

I have heard 'Revival' in full, and, other than 'River', my favourite 3 tracks would be 'Nowhere Fast', 'Bad Husband' and 'Like Home', and my least favourite would 'Framed'. Overall, I'd give it an 8.5/10. I was very impressed with it, and it has some great tracks! That rating may even increase as I listen to it more!
On current predictions, 4 tracks from it will hit the Top 10 on my chart and 10 songs will hit the Top 40! I'd also expect to see many new entries next week, not only from Eminem, but also from Dave, Stormzy and Giggs.

avatar

Foxes

0

I've just learnt from Piran that he did a performance on the Strictly final, which explains the big boost.

avatar

Foxes

0

Yeah, I do agree with you that remixes should count differently if they're strong enough to reach the Top 40 by themselves. The Stormzy remix peaked at #10 on Spotify though, which is even more impressive!

avatar

Piran

1

That's cool! I like 'Bad Husband' too, but 'Untouchable' could potentially end up in my chart next week too. ;)
Wow... that's a huge takeover from both Eminem & the current big grime artists! What do you think of Eminem in general as an artist?

avatar

Piran

1

I've just realised that another reason artists could be releasing remixes of songs is to overcome the 300:1 streaming ratio due to continued decline in performance. Do you think 'Perfect' could've been hit with that ratio if the Beyoncé & Andrea Bocelli versions hadn't been released?
'Fearless' by Taylor Swift, 'Progress' by Take That & maybe 'Mylo Xyloto' by Coldplay would probably be 10/10 albums from me! :D

avatar

Foxes

0

I wasn't a huge fan of 'Untouchable', to be honest. It's not one of the worst, but it's not one of the best either for me. I'd say that Eminem is my 3rd favourite artist though, so I'm definitely a fan!
Yeah, after 'Revival' I decided to finally check out Dave's 'Game Over' and 'Six Paths', Giggs' 'Wamp 2 Dem' and Stormzy's 'Gang Signs & Prayer', and I love a lot of the tracks on them! :D

avatar

Piran

1

I hope so, but I'm still saying #3 for 'Last Christmas' on Friday.
I'd love to see 'River' hit #1 as some point! :)

avatar

Piran

1

Does that make Ed the only artist ever to have multiple songs pass 1M daily streams on Spotify, or was Justin Bieber able to do that as well? Also, what were the opening figures for 'Look What You Made Me Do'?

avatar

Foxes

0

It definitely could've been. It was beginning to slow down, and I think that it would've been hit on the week of the Christmas #1, or the week after.

avatar

Piran

1

I've definitely heard 'Gang Signs & Prayer' & would probably give it a strong 7/10. I even saw Stormzy live at a festival back in August & he was amazing!
I like a lot of Dave's new music, so I should probably check out 'Game Over'. Giggs isn't a bad rapper either.
Regarding 'Revival', what were your least favourites from that album?

avatar

Foxes

0

I think that Ed's the only one to do it, and is definitely the only one to do it with 2 songs simultaneously 2 separate times. I don't think that Spotify was quite big enough in 2015 / 2016 to get Justin Beiber past 1m in 1 day in the UK alone.

avatar

Piran

1

On another note, when the hype of 'Perfect' does eventually fade, what's your prediction for 'Happier' when it's released as the next official single? Do you see it passing its previous peak of #6?

avatar

Foxes

0

I'd give 'Gang Signs & Prayer' a weak 8/10, so we've got really similar scores for it!
My least favourites from 'Revival' would be 'Framed', 'Arose' and 'Heat', and I'm really not a fan of the chorus on 'Offended', though I really like the rest of the song.

avatar

Piran

1

I just checked the Spotify archives & I saw that when 'Despacito' first reached 1M, they didn't appear to credit Justin. The same appeared to happen on the Official Chart, where the original managed to reach #4 before they counted the remix.

avatar

Foxes

0

I think it'll definitely pass #6. It's never left the Top 200 on Spotify as far as I'm aware! I think it even has a better chance of reaching #1 than 'Perfect' did before the remixes were released. It's the type of song that should do very well on both streams and sales, while 'Perfect' is lacking on streams a little bit.

avatar

Foxes

0

Yeah, I saw that as well. It only happened for 1 day though; the day before Justin was credited, and the day after the remix was counted as a new entry straight in at #1. I think it was a mistake.
Oh, and 'Look What You Made Me Do' opened on 627k.

avatar

Piran

1

Haha, I want to go back & hear all the tracks again, but I've played 'River' since 14 times since release, which would easily put it in my Top 3 listened to songs of the week!
It's a shame that 'Revival' is getting poor critical criticism so far though. :(

avatar

Piran

1

I remember 'Look What You Made Me Do' set the global record for most Spotify streams in its first day worldwide by a female artist, so I was just curious to see if the same happened in the UK. What about the opening Spotify figure for 'Hello' then, or do the archives not go back that far?

avatar

Foxes

1

Once again, we have a case of me seriously overplaying a song. I've listened to 'River' 430 times since its release, which puts it at #7 on my all time list (since May, at least), and easily my most listened-to track of the week.
I haven't actually seen any reviews on 'Revival', so I didn't know that it's been getting poor criticism. I'd say it's a really good album, and it holds some of Eminem's best work to date imo.

avatar

Piran

1

What amazed me is that Marvin Humes just said that Ed got five #1s on the Big Top 40 in 2017 alone! I think he also topped that chart with 'Sing' & 'Thinking Out Loud', which would bring his total to seven. :D
He got presented with the first "Big Top 40 #1 award" last weekend & he seemed really pleasantly surprised about it!

avatar

Foxes

1

Sadly the archives only go back to the start of 2017, so I can't say for sure what 'Hello' opened on. It may have been more though, with how ridiculously popular Adele is worldwide, but especially in the UK.

avatar

Piran

1

Haha, so it's debuting at #1 for you without question then! It seems like 'River' & 'Real Friends' could be holding your Top 2 spots for a very long time to come.
What are some of the biggest #2 peaking songs on your personal chart?

avatar

Foxes

1

I think they were 'Shape of You', 'How Would You Feel (Paean)', 'Shape of You (Stormzy Remix)', 'Galway Girl' and 'Perfect Duet'.
It's not a surprise that he got the award with how many #1s he's had on the chart. :D

avatar

Piran

1

It turns out that 'Hello' was streamed 7.32 million times in its first week according to Wikipedia, so it must've passed 1 million streams for at least one day.

avatar

Piran

1

Yeah, from what I can remember, those were the five! I don't think any artist has got as many Big Top 40 #1s in the same year, since it essentially acted as the sales chart before the end of the summer. ;)

avatar

Foxes

1

Yeah, it should be an easy #1 for it. I can see 'River' & 'Real Friends' holding the Top 2 for ages now. Even with how much I like some of the other tracks from 'Revival' none of them have been enough to dislodge 'Real Friends' from #2 at the moment. Those 2 tracks are also giving a serious battle to take the Top 2 spots for my favourite songs of the year. :D
Some of the biggest #2 peaking songs on my chart are 'Boa Me' (which lost to 'Havana (Remix)'), 'Linguo' (which lost to 'Let You Down'), 'Back To You' (which lost to 'Feels'), 'Rap God' (which lost to 'Dark Times') & 'Fetish' (which lost to both 'New Rules' & 'Mercy'), but the biggest debut on my chart not to reach #1 was actually 'End Game' which (so far) has peaked at #3, behind 'Real Friends' and 'Never Be The Same'.

avatar

Foxes

1

Yikes, that's a huge amount. But were those all on Spotify, or is that including other streaming services? Because if it's including others it likely peaked at around 700k - 800k on Spotify.
Also, 'Shape of You' got 8.71m streams on Spotify alone in its first week in the UK, which is insane.

avatar

Piran

1

Good point. It never mentioned just Spotify streaming, just overall streaming.
That 8.71M figure is amazing & it caused it to debut with a download plus streaming equivalent sales figure of 226k, which appeared to be the highest by a male artist in nearly four years in case I missed anyone out (since 'Impossible' by James Arthur entered at #1 in December 2012 with nearly 490k)! :O

avatar

Piran

1

How many weeks do you think 'River' & 'Real Friends' will hold the Top 2 for? I'm sure the latter will be back at #1 when Camila's album comes out, unless you like an unreleased album track more.
As for me, 'New Rules' by Dua Lipa, 'Galway Girl' & 'How Would You Feel [Paean] by Ed Sheeran, 'Wolves' by Selena Gomez & Marshmello & 'Versace On The Floor' by Bruno Mars are some of my biggest #2 peaking hits. The latter managed to end up in my Top 10 songs of 2017! ;)

avatar

Calum Pk7

2

ah yeah that makes sense! :)

avatar

Calum Pk7

3

oh wow I didn't realise it was that much! so yeah I guess Ed is the perfect example in two instances that very popular remixes should count separately! :)

avatar

Foxes

1

Do you think we'll see a figure higher than 226k anytime soon? Digital sales are on their way out, less people are buying the X Factor winner's singles, and streaming is taking over. I think that it'll get to the point where the chart is based almost entirely on streams. Physical sales don't really have any impact on the chart anymore, and digital sales will likely be the same within 10 years.

avatar

Piran

1

It'll mostly be down to streaming at this point, or sales once every few years. Ariana Grande's gained in popularity a lot, but I don't see her reaching a figure that big with her next single. I think it'll be Adele whenever she decides to put out a new album, which I have a feeling won't be until 2019 at the earliest.
Do you think it's going to get to the stage where streaming controls the charts entirely? It seems to be heading in that direction if the past few years are anything to go by.

avatar

Foxes

1

Since 'River' will likely be at #1 until Camila's album releases, and 'Real Friends' will likely go back to #1 when Camila's album releases, I'd say that they'll hold the Top 2 until the start of February, at the very least.
'Rap God' is actually #6 on my CrownNote leaderboard, ahead of 'Dark Times', and 'Fetish' is at #8, ahead of 'New Rules', but they both lost to the songs that they're now ahead of originally.

avatar

Foxes

1

If the streaming ratio doesn't change and there's another huge debut, then I think we might see a figure higher than 226k. I doubt it'll be until someone like Adele or Ed Sheeran comes out with brand new music, though.
I think it'll inevitably get to that point, and possibly sooner than we expect. Paid-for sales dropped below 1m for the first time since January 2006 this past week, and paid-for sales have been below same week, previous year sales for 228 weeks in a row, while streaming figures have been hitting new records nearly every week. They now account for 93% of the entire singles market in the UK.

avatar

Piran

1

How long were: 'Rap God', 'Dark Times' & 'Fetish' at #1 on your charts for, if they got there at all?
'Rap God' would've peaked at #2 for me, 'Dark Times' would've been bubbling under, while 'Fetish' would've missed the chart completely.

avatar

Piran

1

Even then, I don't know if Ed' next era is going to be bigger than his current one? Do you think '÷' will be Ed's peak in terms of commercial success, or will his next album perform even better?
Were you able to check out my ranking of the Billboard Top 100 Songs of 2017? I sent you a link to it on Crown Note recently.

avatar

Foxes

1

'Rap God' & 'Fetish' are some of my biggest songs to peak at #2, while 'Dark Times' got to #1 for 1 week, just like all of my others, with the exception of 'Mercy', 'New Man', 'Real Friends' (2 weeks (so far, for 'Real Friends') and 'Havana' (8 weeks).

avatar

Foxes

1

I doubt that Ed is going to out-do '÷', but he should still be incredibly successful with his next album, and could possibly have a single that beats 'Shape of You' in terms of first week sales, even if it doesn't beat it overall.
I haven't seen it yet. I'll check it out in about an hour when I'm a bit less busy! :D

avatar

Piran

1

Speaking of one week #1s, do you remember how back in 2014, we'd sometimes have seven or eight consecutive weeks where a song wouldn't last more than seven days at the top. If a song reached up to four or five weeks at #1 back then, it was a huge deal as it was probably sell 1M copies & be the biggest song of the year.
Last year, the only song that didn't get multiple weeks at #1 was 'Pillowtalk'.

avatar

Piran

1

Oh yeah, I'd expect his next album to get a double digit number of weeks at #1, given it doesn't clash with another major release like Adele's.
That's fine. You might not know every song there, but I think you'll like the song I chose at #1 in that re-ordering! ;)
By the way, it turns out we're already over 125 comments on this thread since Friday night! I didn't realise the OCC refreshing the comments thread would boost the number of posts by this much.

avatar

Foxes

1

If Ed releases his next album before Adele, he'll become the artist with the most weeks at #1 on the albums chart this decade (he's at 34 right now, behind Adele's 36)! He's already 2nd for the most weeks at #1 on the singles chart this decade (with 25, behind Justin Beiber with 30, though Ed's includes uncredited vocals on 'Love Yourself'. He's still 2nd without those 6 extra weeks, though.), and he's 1st for most weeks at #1 as a lead artist (with 19, ahead of Drake's 15 and Justin's 14). Then it'll just depend on whether Ed or Adele spend more weeks at #1 with their next albums for who's going to hold the title this decade!
Wow, that's a lot of comments. And the majority of them are just from me, you and Calum! :D I'm sure there'll be a lot more before next Friday, as well.

avatar

Foxes

1

Yeah, nowadays it's more likely for a song to spend multiple weeks at #1 than for it to not. We have had a fair few 1-week #1s this year though (6, to be exact).

avatar

Piran

1

Also, with the Christmas #1 being announced on Friday, think about how many there are going to be next week! :D
By the way, they just announced the Official Chart Update on Radio 1! None of it really surprises me too much, but I didn't think 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' & 'Fairytale Of New York' would drop as much as they did. I was definitely expecting Ed to hold the top two spots.