The UK charts enter into a holding pattern as we await Miley’s album. But has there ever been a Top 10 featuring so many tracks with “incomplete” artist credits?
Also hidden from sight of everyone but nerds this week:
Ariana gets her due in America and sets some small records with her regular singing partner
The German No.2 single is pretty good
Lathums v Slowthai for the No.1 album is too close to call
To Feature Or Not To Feature
Tracks featured on the Official UK Singles Chart don’t generally change credits. It doesn’t matter how many new variants you release or how many new voices are added to remixes, the artist credit as listed on the charts is that of the “primary version” - or in other words the first one to have appeared.
This rule first came to the fore in late 2017 when despite re-versioning Perfect as a duet with the likes of Beyonce and Andrea Bocelli the single remained credited to Ed Sheeran solo and topped the charts on that basis. Similarly just over a year later, Old Town Road retained its solo credit for Lil Nas X despite the vast majority of its sales being that of the version featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. Compare that with the US charts where Beyonce and Cyrus took their rightful place in the “artists” field of the database and are credited with No.1 singles.
That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions to the rule. Fireboy DML’s Peru began its chart life as a solo offering, only to have (ironically) Ed Sheeran adduced to its credits when it began its proper chart run in early 2022. Similarly last spring Big Energy was several weeks into its chart run as a “Latto” single before it sprouted contributors and became “Latto x Mariah Carey” following the release of the DJ Khaled remix which propelled it properly up the charts.
But you have to ask nicely for this to happen. And most of the time nobody really bothers that much. This is why this week we have the curious sight of three of the current Top 10 singles listed as solo works when the vast bulk of their sales and streams are for alternate versions featuring duet vocals.
Leading the way is Pinkpatheress, listed on her own at No.2 with Boy’s A Liar. Only really the track is Boy’s A Liar Pt2 featuring Ice Spice as an equal partner.
Rocketing to No.4 is The Weeknd with his 2016 album track Die For You, now properly a 2023 hit rather than just a viral resurface thanks to the release last week of a new version which sees him duet with Ariana Grande. Those with long memories will note that two years ago he also stirred Ariana Grande vocals into his existing hit Save Your Tears which propelled it to the top of the US charts credited as a duet.
Meanwhile still lingering at No.6 is Calm Down which history will remember as a solo hit by Rema. Even if the version you hear on playlists is the “remix” which also features Selena Gomez. Interestingly on YouTube the original solo version (which has been around for far longer) has 397M views, the Gomez version a small distance behind with 331M. But it is catching up fast.
Die To The Top
In quite extraordinary (but not unexpected) scenes Miley Cyrus’ Flowers is no longer the No.1 single in America. Instead it is Die For You, which as you will note is now no longer credited to The Weeknd alone, but to Ariana Grande as well. Making this the second Hot 100 No.1 they have “collaborated” on together.
It is the seventh No.1 single for both artists and they in turn also become the sixth collaborative pairing to top the US charts with two different singles. The others are Jennifer Lopez/Ja Rule, Nelly Furtado/Timbaland, Eminem/Rihanna, Rihanna/Drake and Drake/Future.
In one further fun note Die For You tops the US charts 6 years and 2 months since it first charted, officially the second-slowest climb to No.1 in American chart history. The record holder is All I Want For Christmas Is You which took a month shy of 20 years to get there.
Meanwhile, check out the song at No.7 as Shakira’s 2023 chart comeback continues apace. Alas, the British reticence to embrace foreign-language tracks means TQG has stalled at No.88 on our shores and seems unlikely to progress further.
Aus Tra Lia
No shifting Miley at the top of the Australian charts for now, but here too comes The Weeknd as the new version of Die For You propels it to prominence over there. You will note that the Australian policy on credits is all over the place. For now The Weeknd remains the sole credited artist on his hit single, but just look across the way at No.9 as Until I Found You, which spent its entire (sadly) brief UK chart career credited to Stephen Sanchez alone is in Australia listed as an Em Beihold duet.
Guten Tag
The exciting event on the French charts that I was teasing last week? That was the possibility flagged up by some correspondents that Mylene Farmer’s new single might make a surprise play for No.1 and blast the rap songs out of the way. Sadly Rayon Vert only limped in at No.45 so we can park that and move on.
To Germany then, where although Flowers did enjoy a brief week in the sunshine at the top, it was swiftly barged out of the way by the track which has occupied the top of the Offizielle Deutsch Charts for the last five weeks.
Komet by Udo Lindenberg and Apache 207 smells like a hip-hop hit from the title but it is actually a gloriously Germanic gothic pop single, with an epic production which turns it into something of a Eurodisco flashback. It is another of those Eurohits which makes you wonder if it couldn’t have potential outside the country in whose language it is performed. But I guess we will never get the chance to find out.
Gratuitous Archive Flashback Feature
Five years ago: God’s Plan remains at No.1 in the middle of its extended run, leaving an ever-changing parade of less memorable singles to dash themselves futilely against the walls. Post Malone’s Psycho took its turn this week. But check down the bottom end of the column, as the first shoots of George Ezra’s second coming started to take root.
Ten years ago: Do you tire of modern-day pop records that are over in two and a half minutes? Well, check out Justin Timberlake as he makes it to No.1 with a song that lasts over eight! Feels like a lifetime.
Twenty Years ago: Christina Aguilera is at No.1 with one of her most famous ballads, a track that as the article notes only really became a single because Dirrty bombed in America and her label pooed themselves.
Midweek Teases
This is set to be a very odd week on the singles chart. Remember, Miley’s album comes out this Friday so this is essentially the last chance people like Pinkpantheress and The Weeknd have to depose her at No.1 for a little while. And extraordinarily they just aren’t taking it. Eight weeks in Flowers still has a lead of several thousand over its nearest contenders. There’s no change at No.1 imminent.
No big new singles are making an impact either (Nicki Minaj’s Red Ruby Da Sleeze is tracking to be the highest new entry down in the Top 30), meaning most attention will actually be on the albums chart whose first midweeks suggest will have six new entries in the Top 10 alone.
The Lathums are presently No.1 with their new album From Nothing To A Little Bit More but even Official Charts note that they could well surrender the crown later in the week to Slowthai. Although he is lagging behind in second place, his record UGLY is going to benefit from added streaming numbers as the week progresses. Don’t write him off just yet.
If you have enjoyed this newsletter, please tell everyone you know and send them the link to subscribe. Share this email with a friend, tweet a link or post on Facebook about it.
The new UK charts are announced by Radio One from 4pm every Friday, can be seen in full on officialcharts.com and musicweek.com, and you can read by own detailed charts analysis - now celebrating its 30th year online - at chart-watch.uk.
There’s no charge for this newsletter, and never will be. However much Substack begs me to turn on that feature. But if you fancy thanking me for the work that goes into putting it together, then you can always buy me a coffee. A man has to get his sugar rush from somewhere. My grateful thanks to Charlie for his donation in the last fortnight and to Tasos for their loyal and ongoing support.