With England out of the World Cup, it’s a safe bet that the football singles will be clearing the chart in the not too distant future.  Actually, most of them were on their way out anyway.  But perhaps it’s fortunate that Dizzee Rascal and James Corden’s “Shout” single didn’t hang on for a third week.  It would have been announced only an hour or so after England lost.  That would have rubbed salt into the wound.

As it happens, the single was never going to manage a third week.  It’s current at number three, behind the all-purpose World Cup single “Wavin’ Flag” by K’Naan.

He, on the other hand, has reason to feel aggrieved, because he was on course for a number one single until Virgin rush-released this…

(YouTube version here.)

“California Gurls” by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg wasn’t due out just yet.  It’s another case of the record company panicking when a cheap cover version showed up on the iTunes chart, and rushing the official single out.  And once again, as it turns out, the single didn’t need the weeks of extra promotion to reach number 1.

This is the lead single from Perry’s second album “Teenage Dream”.  It’s her seventh UK hit and and her second number 1, following 2008’s less-than-subtle debut “I Kissed A Girl”.  To be honest, I always preferred the follow-up “Hot N Cold”.

The lyrical theme this time is that the ladies of California are hot.  It’s decidedly Europop, and unashamedly lightweight.  But it’s quite catchy, and after all, nobody seriously pretends that Katy Perry is aiming for artistic immortality.  She’s claimed in interviews that it’s an answer song to “Empire State of Mind”, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she’s joking.

Implausible as it seems, the mis-spelled title is neither an error nor a random stab at coolness, but an intentional reference to “September Gurls” by Big Star.  Supposedly her manager is a big fan, and persuaded her to change the spelling after the death of Big Star’s songwriter Alex Chilton in March.  Big Star sound nothing like Katy Perry.  They’re the sort of band that Teenage Fanclub used to cite as influence.  Here’s “September Gurls”, a single from 1974.

The single also gives Snoop Dogg his first UK number 1 in a chart history that stretches back to “What’s My Name” in 1993.  This isn’t for want of trying – it’s his 26th chart credit, and six of those made the top 10.  Until now, his biggest hit was “Signs”, which reached number 2 in 2005.  If you’re struggling to place it, that’s probably because you mistook it for a Justin Timberlake single.

He hasn’t actually made the charts, even as a guest star, since 2008’s vocoder-drenched “Sensual Seduction” (when, to be fair, the gimmick wasn’t quite so beaten into the ground), and even that only made number 24.  Like many rappers of his generation, his UK chart record is remarkably variable – a core audience who’ll send him to the lower reaches of the top 30, but enough exposure to cross over to a wider audience when he’s got a suitably commercial single.  And they don’t get much more commercial than “California Gurls”, evidently.

Other records that made the top 40 over the last couple of weeks:-

• “Kickstarts” by Example, peaking at number 3 – the third and biggest hit for the English rapper who’s repositioning himself as an electropop act.
• “All the Lovers” by Kylie Minogue, peaking at number 4.  This is the lead single from her new album.  It’s her 43rd hit, the first being the number 1 hit “I Should Be So Lucky” way back in 1988, at which point she was a soap actress releasing cash-in singles, and most people wouldn’t have bet on her lasting the year.  It’s also her biggest hit since “2 Hearts”, which reached number 4 in 2007.  Surprisingly mid-tempo for a lead single, but it’s a grower, and the video’s fantastic.

• “Love The Way You Lie” by Eminem featuring Rihanna at number 7.  This is an album track from “Recovery”, which is due to be the second single in a few weeks time.  But it’s selling already, which might prompt a rethink about the schedule there.  Eminem’s 23rd hit, Rihanna’s 19th.
• “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn, peaking at number 8.  Decent but not spectacular mid-tempo electropop, which gives her a ninth hit.  Her biggest UK hit is of course the 2007 number 1 “With Every Heartbeat”, but this is the joint runner up, equalling the number 8 peak of her 1998 single “Show Me Love”.  Her UK chart record is interrupted by a nine-year stretch when she was only releasing records in her native Sweden.  In one of the stranger choices of single in history, she chose for her UK comeback this track, “Konichiwa Bitches”, which is cute, baffling, and sold absolutely sod all.

• “Fire With Fire” by the Scissor Sisters at number 11.  The lead single from their new album, and their first hit since 2007 (giving them a total of 9).  Interesting choice of lead single – are they trying to reinvent themselves as a soft rock act?
• “Commander” by Kelly Rowland featuring David Guetta at number 13.  Her tenth hit as a solo act, Guetta’s 8th, and their second in collaboration (the other being last year’s number 1 “When Love Takes Over”).  It’s one of those “you will all get on the dancefloor now and enjoy yourselves at gunpoint” dance records.
• “Hello Good Morning” by Diddy – Dirty Money at number 22.  Dirty Money is Diddy’s new band, although he’s hedging his bets by giving himself a solo credit as well.  It’s his 26th UK hit, and as the lead single from this album, he might have expected it to do more.
• “Over the Rainbow”, “Any Way You Want It/Lovin’ Touchin’ Squealin'” and “Don’t Stop Believin'” by the Glee Cast, peaking at 30, 32 and 33 respectively.  This is the second version of “Over the Rainbow” to chart inside a month, following the Danielle Hope version.  “Don’t Stop Believin'” is back because they did it again in a later episode, and “Any Way…” is a couple of other Journey songs, both unfamiliar to UK audiences (where Journey never made any impact).  This brings their total to 17 hits (not counting the re-entry of “Don’t Stop…”).
• “Tenderoni” by Kele, peaking at 31.  The debut solo single from the lead singer of Bloc Party.  The production reminds me of something Bodyrox might do, but with better lyrics and a weaker chorus.  Bloc Party had a total of 13 hits, the biggest being “The Prayer” (no 4 in 2007), which is great.

• “Shutterbugg” by Big Boi, at number 31.  He’s the one from Outkast who isn’t Andre 3000.  Officially it’s his first single as a solo act, though some of the Outkast singles are basically solo tracks.  He’s cropped up as a featured artist twice before, though, on “ADIDAS” by Killer Mike (no 22 in 2003) and “Girlfight” by Brooke Valentine (no 35 in 2005).