It’s a busy week, particularly if you count all the re-entries from Eminem singles that were disqualified from the chart under the instant gratification rules last week.  (I won’t bother.)  Meanwhile, the number 1 slot changes hands for the sixth straight week.  Hmm.

39.  Awolnation – “Sail”

I don’t know quite what’s going on here.  Awolnation are a curious rock/synthpop hybrid act from California.  This is their first UK hit, and it’s been climbing from the lower reaches for a few weeks.  It has the odd distinction of having spent a year on the Billboard chart in America without ever making the top 20.  It’s from an album that’s been out for two years, though, so its appearance on the top 40 now is a little odd.  As best as I can figure, it’s here because the album is being reissued in a belated special edition.

Another oddity about “Sail” is that there’s a fan-made video which has way, way more views than the official version.  Admittedly, it’s fan-made by actual filmmakers, but it’s got 77 million views, which is an awful lot for something like that.

36.  Jessie J – “Sexy Lady”

This already made number 22 as an album download in October, because it’s in a make-up advert.  The adverts have continued, but it’s only now returning to the chart, presumably because they’re starting the promotion for its “official” single release.  No video yet though.

31.   Justin Bieber – “Bad Day”

Another “Music Mondays” release.  Very much more of the same.  At this rate he’s going to be missing the top 40 by the end of this project.

25.  Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody – “The Last Time”

A track from Swift’s album “Red”, rather oddly performed on last week’s X Factor results show despite the fact that it isn’t a single, doesn’t have a video, and has been available for months.  There’s been a lot of this sort of thing on the results shows this year, which is why we haven’t seen anywhere near the chart impact of previous years.  (Another reason is that they’ve had Lady Gaga on, promoting songs that aren’t eligible to chart.)

It’s the first solo chart credit for Gary Lightbody, the lead singer of Snow Patrol.

14.  Katy B – “5am”

The second single from her second album.  The last one was “What Love Is Made Of”, which got to 21, so this is a bit more like it – after all, she was placing in the top ten with tracks from the first album.  Katy B’s got her niche as a songwriter with both feet planted firmly in clubland, and this dutifully ticks off the 5ams and the valiums.  I like her in small doses, but boy, you know what you’re getting with Katy B.

13.  Ed Sheeran – “I See Fire”

This was made available midweek as an instant grat track for pre-orders of the Hobbit film soundtrack.  You can, of course, also buy it individually – and I imagine Sheeran’s ultra-loyal fan base will be doing exactly that, since the rest of the album is 28 tracks of Howard Shore.  It’s Sheeran’s biggest hit as lead artist since “Lego House” made the top 5 in 2011.

7.  Britney Spears – “Work Bitch”

Britney Spears long since ceased to be a singer so much as a brand name to be attached to autotuned synthpop productions, and this is pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a 2013 Britney Spears single called “Work Bitch” – which is to say, it’s actually not a bad production job, and it plays to her brand much as you’d expect.  If you’re feeling charitable, you could read it as self-reproach.  There are six writers credited for this thing, including Spears herself, will.i.am and Sebastian Ingrosso.

This is swan diving down the iTunes chart, so sales for it must have been hugely front loaded.

3.  Little Mix – “Move”

The lead single from the X Factor winners’ second album.  It’s a strange choice – it’s certainly doing the right thing by foregrounding their harmonies and presenting them as proper singers, not just reality show alumni.  But it’s also missing a chorus, which is particularly odd since it’s got a rousing bridge that feels like it ought to be leading into one.  It turns out to be a bridge to nowhere.  For all that, it’s growing on me –  it’s at least an interesting record, once you realise that it’s never going to get to the chorus.

1.  Storm Queen – “Look Right Through”

An anonymous dance record going straight to number one – something we don’t see quite so often these days.  Storm Queen is Morgan Geist, a producer from New Jersey, though it’s basically a collaboration with singer Damon Scott, who can apparently also be found busking on the New York subway.  It’s certainly not going to be at the top next week; it’s already on its way down the iTunes chart.

The video above is the original US version from 2011.  However, the UK label is actually promoting a completely different mix, which now has its own entirely different video.

I prefer the original, to be honest, but I’m sure Ministry of Sound know their market.  The remixer here is Mark Kinchen, or “MK”.  He’s from Detroit, and he’s been around forever – he did the remix of “Push The Feeling On” by the Nightcrawlers that got to number 3 back in 1992.

As for Storm Queen, that’s a collaboration of DJ Morgan Geist and singer Damon Scott, who is (or was at the relevant time) a subway busker in New York.  There’s a lengthy article about Scott here, if you’re interested.  Apparently a video of him singing “Someone Like You” went viral last year.

On the album chart, it’s virtually a clean sweep of the top 10:-

• “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” by Eminem at 1, as you’d expect.  This is his seventh straight number one album.
• “James Arthur” by James Arthur at 2.  Last year’s X Factor winner.  “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” is still in the top 10.
• “Demonstration” by Tinie Tempah at 3.  His second album. The first got to number 1, but hey, it’s a busy week.  “Children of the Sun” is still in the top 10.
• “Music of the Night” by Andre Rieu at 4.  One for the grannies.  This is the eleventh album Rieu has released since 2010, others including “In Love With Maastricht”, “Waltzing in Europe”, “And the Waltz Goes On” and “You Lift Me Up – Songs for Mum”.  You get the idea.
• “Saturday Night at the Movies” by the Overtones at 5.  More easy listening.  They’re a vocal harmony group, and this is their third top ten album.
• “You & Me” by Shane Filan at 6.  Debut solo album by a member of Westlife.  The single “Everything to Me” made number 13 in September.
• “The Nation’s Favourite Elvis Songs” by Elvis Presley at 7.  Self-explanatory festive repackaging exercise.
• “Word of Mouth” by the Wanted at 9.  Ooh, nasty.  Below the Shane Filan solo album?  Ouch.  Still, it’s a third top ten album – just.
• “Avril Lavigne” by Avril Lavigne at 14.  Her fifth album, the first to miss the top ten.  The single “Here’s to Never Growing Up” made number 14 in July.
• “The Best of Nickelback – Volume 1” at 15.  Volume 1?!?
• “The Very Best of Bob Dylan” at 16.  Reissued greatest hits album.
• “Antiphon” by Midlake at 39.  Texan psychedelic rock band.  This is their fourth album, but only the second to chart in the UK.  Video for the title track.