It’s the second week to factor streaming into the chart, and the muted start for the new format continues, with one of the dullest charts of the year.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

38.  Matrix & Futurebound featuring Tanya Lacey – “Don’t Look Back”

This is the fourth top 40 appearance for Matrix & Futurebound; the last one, “Control”, made the top 10, but we seem to be back on form here.  It’s hovering around the bottom end of the iTunes top 40 as I write, but doesn’t seem to be on course for any major progress.  Which is odd, since it’s a perfectly radio friendly dance track that you might have expected to get a bit more support than this.

Singer Tanya Lacey has charted before – she was also on Loick Essien’s “How We Roll”, which apparently made number 2 in 2011, but doesn’t even ring a bell now.  Oh, and she has a co-writing credit on will.i.am’s “T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)”.

24.  MKTO – “Classic”

More Nickelodeon escapees.  Actually, these guys escaped their Nickelodeon show (Gigantic) a while back; Malcolm Kelly was the kid in the first two series of Lost.  The song has done okay in mainland Europe and Australia, but it’s a weirdly dated thing that doesn’t feel like a natural fit for the UK charts.

6.  Jess Glynne – “Right Here”

Jess Glynne has already appeared as the guest singer on two number one hits this year – Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be”, and Route 94’s “My Love”.  Keeping to the now familiar pattern, she now releases a single of her own.  And does slightly less well than I’d have expected.  It’s another of this year’s deep house revivals, though Glynne seems to have gone one step further and copied the production values of a late-80s dance music video to boot.  This really does look as though it belongs on the ITV Chart Show, and not entirely in a good way.

4.  The Vamps – “Somebody To You”

Jumping from last week’s number 39 with the release of the version that has Demi Lovato on it.  Either Demi Lovato has some really completist fans, or the Vamps do.

1.  will.i.am & Cody Wise – “It’s My Birthday”

Well, the good news is that a quick glance at the iTunes chart shows this is going to be another one-week stay – though when you see what it’s up against, you might reassess it.

This appears to be basically an exercise in launching the career of will.i.am’s signing Cody Wise.  Cody Wise’s Wikipedia entry largely informs me that he has made a record with will.i.am.  Also, he was in the Broadway production of The Lion King.

The most interesting thing about this track is the source material.  It’s technically a cover, but of something way off the beaten track for the singles chart.

This is “Urvasi Urvasi”, from the 1994 film Kadhalan.  It’s by AR Rahman, one of the most successful composers in Indian cinema, previously best known in the UK chart for “Jai Ho”, one of his contributions to the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire.  Kadhalan is the film where he made his name – though more for a song called “Muqabla”, which was a massive hit in India.  Despite being made in 1994, “Urvasi Urvasi” sounds like an Indian take on minimalist early eighties electropop.  And it’s fantastic.  Will.i.am has, of course, ruined it entirely.

On the album chart (in addition to some fairly random mid-table archive re-entries, which are mostly by people who happen to be touring right now, but more surprisingly include the Sex Pistols at 24):

• “X” by Ed Sheeran is at number 1 for the third week.
• “Futurology” by the Manic Street Preachers enters at 2.  The group have remarkably bad luck in timing their releases; this is their fourth number 2 album.  Only “This is My Truth Tell Me Yours” got to number 1.  Single: “Walk Me To The Bridge”.
• “Live Life Living” by Example at 8.  Current single “One More Day” is hanging on in the top 20.
• “1000 Forms of Fear” by Sia at 11.  “Chandelier” is still in the top 10.
• “Homecoming” by Nicola Benedetti at 19.  Scottish classical violinist who won BBC Young Musician of the Year back in 2004.  Her previous album “The Silver Violin” got to 32.
• “The Morning” by Lewis Watson at 28.  Singer-songwriter, debut album.  Single: “Holding On”.
• “Sadnecessary” by Milky Chance at 36.  If you hated the band name, you’ll really loathe the album title!  The single “Stolen Dance” climbs to 26 this week.