Five weeks.  Some of them very quiet.

2 October 2015: Sam Smith, “Writing’s On The Wall”

This is, of course, the theme tune from the upcoming Bond film Spectre.  It’s Smith’s fifth number one in a little over two years – the others are “La La La”, “Money on my Mind”, “Stay With Me”, and the charity single “Lay me Down”.  But it’s the first Bond theme to make number one, a piece of minor trivia that gets some people unaccountably excited, even though most Bond themes make little impact on the chart.  There have been exceptions, and a couple of previous themes got to number 2 – Adele’s “Skyfall” in 2012, and Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill” in 1985.

The general consensus is that it’s pretty middling – a largely forgettable song with some John Barry-isms nailed on.  Oddly, it has a production credit for Disclosure, who are way out of their wheelhouse with this.  It makes number 1 in part through lack of competition, and it dropped to in its second week out.  By comparison, “Skyfall” peaked in its second week behind Swedish House Mafia’s farewell single (its first week chart position was hurt by a midweek release), and “View to a Kill” would undoubtedly have been a number 1 hit if hadn’t run into the zeitgeist juggernaut of Paul Hardcastle’s “19”.

Also that week:

• Rudimental featuring Ed Sheeran, “Lay It All On Me” at 16.  Rudimental and Sheeran previously collaborated on the single mix of his song “Bloodstream”, which got to number 2 last year.  This is more of a trailer for Rudimental’s next album, with no video, which might explain why it comes in so much further down.  Unusually, it’s hovered in the teens for five weeks now.
• Nick Brewer featuring Bibi Bourelly, “Talk to Me” at 19.  Chart debut for both.  Brewer is a rapper from Essex.  Bourelly has a co-writing credit on “Bitch Better Have My Money”.  The hook is from Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman”, a number 2 hit from 1991.  It’s one of the most recognisable dance records of its era, but its era was nearly a quarter century ago now, so it’s fair game for sampling. The track dropped out of the top 40 after three weeks.
• Little Mix, “Love Me Like You” at 21.  This is also available as an instant grat track from pre-ordering the album, which might have split the sales.  Either that or it’s a flop.  It’s a 60s girl group pastiche, but the production is a bit half-hearted about it.  It dropped to 30 in its second week out and it’s been hovering around that point ever since.
• Sia, “Alive” at 30.  This is the lead single from Sia’s next album, but it didn’t have a video at the time of release, so I assume they’re doing a soft launch.  It dropped straight out of the top 40 after one week, so that went well.  There’s a “lyric video” now, though it’s bordering on a full scale affair.  The song was written with Adele for her upcoming album, but didn’t make the cut.  Rihanna didn’t want it either.  So Sia’s putting it out herself.

9 October 2015: Justin Bieber, “What Do You Mean”.

This is very unexpected.  The Vamps were number 1 in the midweeks, but they turn out to be even more of a fanbase act than people already thought they were, so their sales tanked after the start of the week.  So Justin Bieber returns to number 1 for a third run, and a fourth week in total.  Returning to number 1 is unusual; doing it twice in one run is almost unknown.  Three previous records have done it – “Happy” by Pharrell Williams (in 2014), “I Believe” by Frankie Laine (which was number 1 for a total of 18 weeks in 1953), and “Singing the Blues” by Guy Mitchell (in 1956, but with an asterisk, because its third run was a tie with “The Garden of Eden” by Frankie Vaughan).

More important, though, is the fact that Bieber is number 1 on the strength of streaming, and in a big way.  In pure sales terms, he wouldn’t even have been in the top 5.  Admittedly, the top end of the chart was unusually tight, but even so, this looks a lot like a tipping point in the shift from sales to streams.

So.  The highest new entry this week was Philip George & Anton Powers, “Alone No More”, at 4.

That’s the follow-up to “Wish You Were Mine”, which made number 2 for George in January.  Powers is another producer; no idea who the singer is.  It’s an unlikely cover version of “Be Alone No More”, which reached number 6 in 1998 for the boy band Another Level.  The single remix featuring a guest verse by Jay-Z, back when he wasn’t a megastar, and still had a hyphen.  (It’s at about two minutes in, and you can practically hear him glancing at his watch and thinking about lunch.)

Also that week:

• The Vamps, “Wake Up” at 12.   The lead single from their second album. The first had five top ten hits.  This was number 1 in the midweeks.  But the shift to streaming has not been kind to acts whose appeal is limited to a devoted fanbase.  A big chunk of its sales, unusually, comes from a CD single expressly promoted as a fan collectible.  It dropped straight out of the top 40 in its second week.
• Natalie La Rose featuring Fetty Wap, “Around The World” at 14.  Follow up to “Somebody”, which reached number 2 in June.  Dropped to 40 the second week, so it’s a misfire.  Third hit this year for Fetty Wap, though.
• MNEK & Zara Larsson, “Never Forget You” at 32.  This is pretty good, actually.  It’s a slow-burner which had been floating outside the top 40 for three weeks, and has since climbed glacially to 11.  MNEK guested on Gorgon City’s “Ready for Your Love” (number 4 in 2014) but hasn’t had a significant follow-up until now.  Larsson is a star in Sweden, where this was her third number one.  She also won Sweden’s Got Talent (well, Taleng Sverige) back in 2008, but that was a few years before she started having hits.
• Jamie Lawson, “Wasn’t Expecting That” at 40.  Lawson is a singer-songwriter from Plymouth, now on his fourth album, but newly endorsed by Ed Sheeran, who he sounds an awful lot like.  This song is actually back catalogue material, which already got to number 3 in Ireland four years ago.  It vaulted into the top ten in its second week, and remains there.

16 October 2015: Justin Bieber remains number 1 (still on streams).  The highest new entry – just, because Lawson leapfrogged from 40 to 6 – is “Kiss Me” by Olly Murs, way down at 16.

This is the bonus track single for the “special edition” of his last album.   Derivative mid-paced 80s schlock.  Taio Cruz has a co-writing credit on it, which is pretty much the most interesting thing to be said about it, for a generous definition of “interesting”.

• The 1975, “Love Me” at 20 is the week’s only other new entry.  Lead single from their upcoming second album – deep breath – “I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It”.  Their second-highest chart position (after “Chocolate”, which got to 19 in 2013 and hung around for ten weeks).  The 1975 are a rare example these days of an indie band that actually registers on the singles chart.

23 October 2015: KDA featuring Tinie Tempah & Katy B, “Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)”

Bit of a one-week wonder, this – it dropped to 6 in its second week.  KDA is a DJ from London, and this is his first chart appearance.  The brackets in the title are a clue – this is another of those instrumental dance tracks that’s been reissued with a vocal track to get it on pop radio.  It’s a pretty good fit, though, since the original hook was always a stone’s throw from Calvin Harris.

This is Tinie Tempah’s fourth straight number 1, following his guest appearances on “Tsunami” and “Crazy Stupid Love” in 2014, and his own “Not Letting Go” earlier this year.  In total, it’s his seventh number 1.  Katy B gets her first number 1, but she’s been having top 5 hits regularly since her debut in 2010.

Also that week:

• One Direction, “Perfect” at 2.  A lyrically improbable attempt to portray themselves as bad boys.  The second single from their current album is a surprise runner-up to the dance record, but its own appeal seems limited, since it dropped to 9 the next week.  The international performance has been similar – lots of high chart placings, but according to Wikipedia it’s only made number 1 in Ireland and Slovakia.
• Sleepy Tom & Diplo, “Be Right There” at 8.  Oddly, not available on YouTube in this country, so that’s a Spotify link.  Dropped to 15 the second week.  Sleepy Tom is a Canadian DJ making his first chart appearance.  Diplo is ubiquitous, with his previous hit (“Lean On”, as a member of Major Lazer) still hovering around the 20s.  The sample is from “Don’t Walk Away” a number 7 hit in 1993 for the R&B trio Jade.
• Ben Haenow featuring Kelly Clarkson, “Second Hand Heart” at 21.  This is the guy who won X Factor last year.  It’s his first release since his coronation single “Something I Need” last year, and… yeah, well, 21.  Huh.  It’s climbing to 11 in the midweeks after he performed it on X Factor, but still.  Not promising.
• Taylor Swift, “Wildest Dreams” at 40.  Officially the fifth single from 1989, this has been floating around the forties for weeks now and is finally edging its way into the chart.  They are a long way into the promotional cycle for the album, and less-promoted Taylor Swift tracks can sometimes get lost in the shuffle – “Welcome to New York” got to 39.

30 October 2015: Adele, “Hello”

The first single from her upcoming third album.  It’s been four years since the last one, with the only new material in that time being “Skyfall” – which was three years ago.  No reinventing the wheel here – it’s a big dramatic ballad, and it showcases her voice.  But then Adele does have the knack of making a song sound like a classic.  Looks like it’s going to hang around at the top for a while.

Also that week:

• Justin Bieber, “Sorry” at 2.  That gives him two concurrent top 10 hits, with “What Do You Mean” still in there after nine weeks.  It’s a Skrillex production, but he’s really mellowed from his bro-step days.