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Official Singles Chart Top 40 on 12/1/2018

12 January 2018 - 18 January 2018

The Official UK Top 40 chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company, based on official sales of sales of downloads, CD, vinyl, audio streams and video streams. The Top 40 is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, the full Top 100 is published exclusively on OfficialCharts.com. View the biggest songs of 2023.

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🧡 oliviasnoodles 🍜

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I think this is the first 2018 chart where songs released in the year make debuts, which is nice.

KF

Karl Frost

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I take it Greatest Showman is subject to only 3 songs being allowed?

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Pa

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So tired of Ed Sheran. He is a good singer. But come on 35 weeks for perfect it's just to much..
Wanted so much foe rita with Anywhwre and For You to reach Njmber 1

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Piran

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My thoughts & observations on the UK charts as always…

- ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran spends a sixth week in a row atop the singles chart! With ‘River’ by Eminem ft Ed Sheeran just behind at #2, Ed breaks another Official Charts record; he is now the artist with the most weeks at #1 & #2 simultaneously, with a total of 14!

- ‘Perfect’ also remains at #1 on the airplay chart for a seventh consecutive week.

- The highest debuting song of the week is ‘Finesse [Remix]’ by Bruno Mars ft Cardi B at #7, giving Bruno his 11th Top 10 appearance & Cardi B her first! I was very pleased that this was announced as the next single from ‘24k Magic’, because the original was one of my favourite tracks on that album in my opinion. That’s because Bruno pays tribute to 90s R&B by bringing back New Jack Swing & making this sound like such a fun throwback! With more listens, believe it or not, Cardi B’s verse actually makes me enjoy this even more than the original; her flow is getting better with every song she appears on! Some of the lyrics don’t really make a lot of sense at times, but that’s only a very minor issue when both artists are bringing so much attitude to the song! I loved it from the first time I heard it & I really hope this sticks around to become a massive hit.

- Liam Payne & Rita Ora collaborate on ‘For You’, which is featured on the upcoming ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ soundtrack & it enters the chart at #11 this week! Once again, the first single from the soundtrack is a team-up between a former 1D member & a huge female pop star, which I can see why they’d do given what the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy is about. However, it’s mostly Rita as to why I like this; she opens the song by introducing to the blossoming relationship, but she admits to being in a better state of mind when Liam is by her side. Her vocals are sincere & smooth, then evokes warm thoughts as she remains transfixed on her lover throughout the hook. Then we get to Liam & honestly, he plays the role more of a featured artist than a lead artist here & it’s annoying that his voice seems auto-tuned, given that he sounds decent with his natural vocals. Liam & Rita don’t seem to have a huge amount of chemistry for a soundtrack to a film like this, but I will say that I like the harmonies a lot. Overall, it’s not amazing, but there’s still a fair bit of quality here & I’m happy that these two collaborated. I could see myself getting into this more in the coming weeks!

- Justin Timberlake makes his highly-anticipated comeback by announcing his upcoming fifth studio album & the lead single from it, called ‘Filthy’, debuts on the chart at #15 today! This came as big surprise, considering I’d heard that JT was apparently going down a country-inspired route on his new album, but this is anything but country! If anything, it reminds me of his earlier discography, as it sounds like a 00s dance classic. It starts with that typical moment Timbaland moment of bombast, with those guitar licks that are well over-the-top & the cheerful “Hey”s. What I think caught a lot of people off-guard was how it morphs into a sleek funk banger, along with the blinding lashes of synth & an addictive bassline! What was a little disappointing was that JT’s vocals seem both limited & monotonous, but even with that, he still has a lot of charisma here as usual! The lyrics are either very $exy or dismissing the haters, but he sounds convincing in both of these with his delivery. I will admit that this did take a few listens to grow on me & the general response so far has been rather polarising, but with a Super Bowl performance & an album release at the start of February, I could see this going higher very soon (at least cracking the Top 10), so I’m looking forward to seeing how this does.

- Continuing with songs for soundtracks, 'All The Stars' by Kendrick Lamar & SZA, from 'Black Panther', debuts at #33 in the new chart. I'll be honest, I've found a lot of pop music taken from superhero films to be either completely generic, or collaborations that didn't stick the landing, or both. That said, 'All The Stars' doesn't fit into anything of those categories, although I did expect better from a team-up between these two acts. There's not a memorable in either the writing or the production. but Kendrick raps well enough about conflict & resolve, while SZA delivers a big & hopeful anthemic hook over the stamping drums & slick streaking synths. Overall, this is certainly listenable, but there's not a lot I'm going to recommend here either.

- Next up, rising 44-37, ‘Bad’ by Steel Banglez ft Yungen, Mostack, Mr Eazi & Not3s enters the Top 40 on its seventh week charting. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this, considering it a big collaboration between five upcoming grime artists & I think I like this a little bit more than I should. That’s because I’m not a huge fan of the lyrics, where a guy is only in love with a girl because she does bad things, but the way they deliver those lyrics makes it seem like it’s an awesome thing to be doing some things that are wrong, which it clearly isn’t. Most of the acts here go into their more boring flows, but I have to admit that Mostack’s hook is incredibly addictive & throwing in a bouncy tropical beat works much better than expected here. Overall, I don’t see it having a massive replay factor for me, but it’s at least one of the more tolerable songs you hear on urban radio at the moment.

- Following up her recent #1 hit, Dua Lipa ascends 55-38 after its debut last week, thanks to the release of an official video for the song. What I find incredible is that a relatively new act is entering the Top 40 with the seventh official single from her self-titled debut album. I’m certainly a fan of this, but not as much as everything else she’s given out before. I did find the drums that are crisp & even nearly militaristic. Her vocals don’t have the range that her other songs do, but she still has that power to her voice that I really like. Lyrically, the song is similar to ‘New Rules’ in the sense that she’s getting over her ex, that there’s no more chances for him & she won’t make the same mistakes & have her heart broken by him again. That said, her delivery is a bit more intense & angrier, which I can appreciate her for, although I understand that because that chorus Is so centred around the F word, it might have trouble getting much radio traction. That said, if this does become a hit, I’ll be completely fine with that. Decent song!

- Finally, after debuting on last week’s chart, ‘Bartier Cardi’ by Cardi B ft 21 Savage climbs 54-40, giving Cardi her second UK Top 40 appearance as the lead artist. After the disaster that was ‘Bodak Yellow’, I was expecting her to be one of those rappers who I’d much rather hearing on a guest verse rather than their own discography, but ‘Bartier Cardi’ might prove me wrong. Firstly, 21 Savage is probably the best I’ve heard him, even though he still provides some gangster lyrics, but with how Cardi B switches up her flow a bit & how there’s a lot more personality than ‘Bodak Yellow’ here, Cardi B didn’t really need 21 Savage to feature on this in my opinion. Both rappers bring fast & diverse flows to this song & 21 Savage is having a bit more fun in this one, but there’s also fewer punchlines & more repeated rhymes from Cardi B. There’s nothing notable to say about the production other than the lumbering trap beat. Overall, I’m nowhere near as mad at this as I am ‘Bodak Yellow’, but I’m not sure how much I’m going to remember this going forward.

- On the albums chart, the soundtrack to ‘The Greatest Showman’ rises 4-1! I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t already.

- The rest of the Top 5 this week: ‘÷’ by Ed Sheeran (1-2), ‘Too Good At Goodbyes’ by Sam Smith (2-3), ‘Human’ by Rag’n’Bone Man (3-4) & ‘Revival’ by Eminem (stationary at #5).

- I would expect Camila to debut at the spot next week & while I’ve not heard her debut album yet, I’ve loved all of her solo music so far, so I have every expectation that it’ll be very good!

- Looking ahead to next week, these songs could enter the Top 40 for the first time: ‘My My My!’ by Troye Sivan, ‘Strangers’ by Sigrid, ‘Let Me Down’ by Jorja Smith ft Stormzy, ‘End Game’ by Taylor Swift ft Ed Sheeran, ‘IDGAF’ by Dua Lipa & Future & maybe even more.

- I mostly enjoyed the debuts this week & I like seeing ‘I Know You’ hit the Top 40, but it’d be cool to see ‘Breathe’ make it too!

- 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-40-58

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Foxes

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I really love seeing 'Bad' enter the Top 40 this week. You already know I love the track since it debuted at #1 on my chart a couple of months back and has stuck around ever since, and even made my year-end Top 40, so it's great to see it finally getting some mainstream attention. I also love the new entries for 'For You', 'IDGAF' and 'Bartier Cardi', and it's cool seeing 'Finesse (Remix)' have a high debut, though you know that I much prefer the original.
I'm about 95% certain that this will be 'Perfect's last week at #1. 'River' is selling and streaming much more than any version of 'Perfect' now, so I really can't see 'Perfect' keeping #1 next week. It could even drop to #3, as 'Barking' is doing extremely well now and will probably overtake 'River' on Spotify before the end of the week.
I really want 'Breathe' to hit the Top 10 as well. If it wasn't for 'Camila' 'Breathe' would currently be the front-runner for #1 on my chart next week, though as things stand it's currently looking at a #11 placement. I still absolutely love the song though and think it really deserves to be a Top 10 hit.
I'm also really hoping that 'Camila' can debut straight in at #1 next week, but 'The Greatest Showman' scares me. It's currently outselling 'Camila' on iTunes and looks like it's streaming better on Spotify as well. 'Camila' will definitely do much better on physical, but that didn't really help 'á' this week.

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Piran

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Wow... has 'Bad' been out for that long? I thought it was only released within the last two months, haha!
I was actually impressed with all of the new arrivals this week, but I wonder how many of them will stick around.
Yeah, I agree with you that 'River' should be the new #1 next week. If you combine all the version combined, 'Perfect' has about 83.1% of the streams of 'River' on Spotify, while it's selling just under 63% of 'River' at the moment. Interesting, all versions of 'Perfect' seem to have similar sales figures now, while 'River' (& four out of the Top 5 on iTunes) are all currently discounted.
Could 'Breathe' be a future #1 on your chart then. or will Camila always have a song out in front of it? What did come as a bit of a surprise was seeing 'Barking' hit #1 for you, considering how much you said you're loving 'Real Friends' & 'River' right now.
I wouldn't be massively surprised if 'Barking' hits #2 on Friday enough, but I think 'Tip Toe' might have a chance of breaking into the Top 10 on Friday as well.
I hope your exams went well! I had a couple last week (which both went fairly well), but I'll have a much harder one on Tuesday morning!

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Foxes

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Well, 'Bad' did release in the last 2 months on 24th November 2017, but it's still been out for quite some time now.
I liked most of the new arrivals as well this week, and the most surprising was 'Bartier Cardi'. With me not liking any of Cardi B's previous songs I didn't really expect much, but her and 21 Savage bring some pretty intense flows over a really great beat, so I've ended up really liking this track!
I wonder how long 'River' will be able to keep #1 for. I think that 'Barking' will give it some pretty strong competition, but I don't know whether it'll ever be able to make it to #1. 'Barking' could end up being similar to 'rockstar' in that it manages to top the chart based mostly on streams, and it never manages to really sell that much, but I don't think that it's going to get that many streams. I guess only time will tell.
It was a bit of a surprise for me when 'Barking' hit #1 on my chart as well, to be honest! In the chart before it wasn't even in the Top 10 in the Early Predictions, and then when I spoke to you again a bit later in the week I thought that it had a really good chance of Top 10 and possibly even Top 5, and by the time I was creating my chart it had become my favourite track of the week!
Sadly, I don't think that 'Breathe' will ever manage to get to #1 on my chart. By the time the tracks from 'Camila' start to fall down enough to let another song hit #1, chances are 'Breathe' will also be falling down the chart. I think it has a really good chance of hitting the Top 10 in the coming weeks, though.
Glad to hear that your exams went well! I think that my exams went fairly well, but even if they didn't I've always got the chance to resit them in May, so I should be alright. :D

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Piran

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I was going to say, I definitely remember hearing 'Bad' on the radio about a week before Christmas.
Yeah, I was surprised how much of an improvement 'Bartier Cardi' was to 'Bodak Yellow' for similar reasons that you mentioned, but the latter is the only song of Cardi B's that I really don't like.
'Barking' could possibly be the biggest climber on my charts next week & even with the 'Camila' takeover, I think it might have a chance at the Top 20 & then reaching the Top 10 the following week!
'Breathe' is another song that could hit my Top 40; it's easily better than both 'You Don't Know Me' & 'Instruction' in my opinion, even though that's mostly thanks to Ina Wroldsen's vocals.
Thanks! I think for the first two, I've done well enough to get the marks I need & even if this final one does goes wrong, it might not necessarily count for my final grade this year (we have to take 120 credits, but only the best 100 are required for second year). I'm sure you did fine with your tests, but good lick with the results! ;)

LM

Lee Moore

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why do the OCC continually abbreviate artist credits in the chart.. amateurish and frustrating

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redflag1

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I'm very sad, everything sounds the same, what happened with British pop and dance, everything is now rap and black music, it happens, they put a lot of money, UK people need to return to their identity, everything is being lost

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Dan Love

3

You seem oblivious to the fact that ed Sheehan is number 1

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Foxes

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And 2.

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Dan Love

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Yeah but that's a feature on an American artist's track

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Foxes

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True, but the main reason for the track's popularity is because Sheeran features on it.
Also, 4 out of the Top 5 tracks this week are from British artists, and all of the Top 5 at least feature a British artist.

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Piran

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I actually like all of the new Top 40 arrivals this week!
I like that Ed Sheeran broke the record for the most weeks at #1 & #2 simultaneously, but I think a break from his chart dominance is really needed soon.
I love seeing: 'Barking', 'Let You Down' & 'I Know You' all hit new peaks inside the Top 10.
I hope everyone's had an enjoyable week. My full review will be up tomorrow! :)

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Calum Pk7

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Hey Piran! I totally agree Ed's dominance needs to end soon, especially Perfect, which I didn't think would be #1 anyway as all versions are doing distinctly worse than River. I'm just getting a bit bored of Perfect now, after all it was released as a single back in September and come January it's still at #1.
I also love seeing Barking doing so well, I think it could be a good #1 contender in the coming weeks.
another song which could be up there soon is NBTS; since the album release it's gained a lot of traction in both downloads and streaming. it should be top 10 next week unless it sees a significant decline. where do you think it will peak? :)

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Foxes

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I'm pretty sure that this will be 'Perfect's last week at #1 (and I hope it is). With how far down all versions are now, even when you combine all of them they still can't beat 'River' on either iTunes or Spotify. I also think that 'River' won't survive at #1 on Spotify for this entire week. , it may even be gone by Monday (and by "gone" I mean down to #2). 'Barking' is really steadily climbing on Spotify and is giving 'River' a real run for its money now. It's not doing quite good enough on sales to beat 'River' completely yet though, but it should be at least #3 next week, if not #2.
Something that I find really interesting about 'Barking' is that, despite it being #2 on Spotify in the UK with 411,502 streams, it doesn't even make Spotify's global Top 200. The #200 track on Spotify globally is getting 549,125 streams, so that means that 'Barking' is getting less than 137,623 streams in the rest of the world combined, but is extremely popular in the UK.
I can see 'Never Be The Same' reaching Top 10 next week as well with the huge album boost, and I really can't see it anywhere lower than #15 unless it starts to drop off heavily as the rest of the album tracks start to disappear from Spotify's Top 200.

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Calum Pk7

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Hey Gameskiller! I too hope Perfect goes off #1 next week, River deserves a chance at the top. that's interesting about Barking though - I know hes a uk rapper and its his first track so he may not have any exposure anywhere else in the world, but its still very surprising he has over three times as many streams in the UK as the rest of the world!
NBTS has taken at hit to #9 on iTunes now, but bear in mind five of the tracks above it have discounts, so that could have something to do with it. tbh though, it will be how it performs on Spotify over the coming days that determine whether it can hit top 10 next week. I think it has a good chance of staying in the top 10 all week though.

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Foxes

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Well 2nd day sales and streams are looking very good. Every track is still in the Top 150 on Spotify and 'Never Be The Same' is still up at #6, and it's also still in the Top 10 in iTunes at #9. It's also looking more likely that 'River' will be the #1 single next week, which will be really good to see, and 'Barking' has a decent chance of #2 as well.
I also think that 'Havana' has a really good chance of topping the Hot 100 next week, which would be amazing since it's been stuck at #2 and #3 behind 'rockstar' and 'Perfect' for so long.

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Calum Pk7

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yeah, i was really happy to see NBTS stay pretty stationary today too! its even gone back up to #8 on iTunes now!
it would be cool to see River at #1, and i'd love it if Havana could top the top 100 too! :)

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Piran

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'River' is easily outstreaming & outselling 'River' now, so it'll almost certainly be #1 next week! I wouldn't even be surprised if 'Barking' becomes a future chart-topper too, given it's nearly dominant in streaming & it's recently gained a lot of sales traction.
'Never Be The Same' is in the Top 10 on both metrics, so I agree with you on that prediction! I think if it's being pushed as the next single & it gets a video within the next week or two, Top 5 is certainly possible! ;)

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Calum Pk7

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i certainly hope so! I had heard of some kind of video for NBTS on youtube but turns out its just a compilation of clips of Camila's life story, not the official mv. I hope one is made though! it would be interesting to see what they would do with it! :)

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Piran

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I think an official music video will be made, considering it's the second official single now! :D
That said, I'm confused why 'Never Be The Same' isn't in the Top 10 on the update now that I think about it, considering it's been on the Top 10 on both iTunes & Spotify almost all the time since Friday.

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Calum Pk7

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well I think NBTS can reach top 10 on Friday, given it has climbed to #4 on Spotify, and is now #11 on iTunes (but only because three songs by The Cranberries have hit top 10, none of which are likely to have any streaming).
and I'm also really glad She Loves Control has seen a rebound on Spotify, climbing for two days in a row up to #42! I think its downloads could stop it entering straight into the top 40, but It has a chance if it continues to climb throughout the week! :)