Charts analysis: Joel Corry & MNEK pull clear at singles summit

Now undisputedly one of the smash hit singles of the summer, Head & Heart by Joel Corry and MNEK this week takes its market domination to a brand new level. Spending a third week at the top of the charts the track stretches its legs still further, a 3.8% increase in sales taking its weekly total to 79,313 (72,876 of them via digital streaming). That's the fourth-highest weekly sale achieved by any single so far in 2020 The only single to make even an attempt at matching that total is Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo's Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat), which gamely holds steady at No.2 albeit with its sales sliding once more to 55,642. Its debut last week meant it felt like future No.1, but for the moment the numbers of Lighter by Nathan Dawe and KSI wobble slightly, the track slipping to 35,970. Despite this, it is still a climber, moving up a rung to No.3. The success of Lighter has had a curious knock-on effect on the streams of its immediate predecessor, Dawe's reworking of Flowers enjoying a notable turnaround to spring back to No.19 with 18,735 sales. The Top 5 is rounded off by Watermelon Sugar from Harry Styles, which rebounds to a new peak of No.4 (35,088 sales), and West Ten by AJ Tracey and Mabel which also enjoys a new peak, leaping four places to sit at No.5 (35,052 sales). It isn't the instantaneous chart-topper that her Bond theme No Time To Die was at the start of the year, but a brand new recording from Billie Eilish was always going to be the biggest deal of the week. My Future is the highest new entry of the week at No.7 (26,543 sales) to become the teenager's fifth Top 10 single in the last 18 months, the song another glowing example of her ability to wrestle with both melancholy and euphoria and deliver both simultaneously. Three other singles refresh the Top 10 line-up this week although two of them are rebounds. Secrets by Regard & Raye charges to No.6 (29,331) to reach a brand new peak in what is now its 15th chart week. Greece by DJ Khaled and Drake is back to No.9 (25,832 sales) but after a fortnight at No.14 Go Crazy by Chris Brown and Young Thug is mobile again and climbs to No.10 (25,576 sales). It is Brown's 18th Top 10 hit single, his first in over a year, and the third for Young Thug. Exiting the Top 10 are perhaps inevitably the trio of Taylor Swift cuts: Cardigan at No.14, Exile at No.21 and The 1 at No.31. There's also a plunge for former No.1 single Rockstar, DaBaby and Roddy Rich crash 3-13 as the ACR axes finally swings. Some weeks can go by when few of the Top 40 singles move anywhere, so it is good to note those occasions when several tracks are on the move in a positive direction. Originally a No.23 hit when it landed as a cut from Pop Smoke's album, Mood Swings has over the last couple of weeks taken on a TikTok-inspired life of its own and with a 55% jump in consumption to 20,620 the single now reaches a new peak of No16. Also pointing in the right direction and up to new peaks are Looking For Me by Paul Woodford, Diplo and Lomax (No.35, 12,836 sales) and Take You Dancing by Jason Derulo (No.46, 10,277 sales). Returning to the pile marked "intriguing" we find My Oasis, the third single of the release from Sam Smith, following up the Demi Lovato duet I'm Ready which topped out at No.20 back in May. The new single adds a vocal contribution from Burna Boy to the mix but for the moment makes an understated bow at No.43 (11,014 sales). It is Smith's 22nd hit and a sixth for Burna Boy, every single one of them so far as a featured appearance. Choirmaster and arranger Gareth Malone has been responsible for three No.1 singles in the last decade but takes a frustrating swing and a miss with his latest project. Perhaps bringing up the rear as far as lockdown projects are concerned, Gareth Malone's Great British Home Chorus is an assemblage of both amateur and professional singers, all recruited via online auditions, and whose performance of You Are My Sunshine lands this week at No.57 (7,796 sales). Dating from 1939, the song can lay claim to being one of the most recorded compositions of all time but this is extraordinarily the first ever version to become a British chart single. There are also three further new entries this week. Tee for Jay 1 featuring Loski is No.65 with 70,47 sales, the seventh chart hit for the former. B Young and Tion Wayne collaboration Last Night enters at No.68 (6,832 sales) with Rari from Octavian featuring Future new at No.73 (6,319 sales). Singles sales continue their summertime plateau, down just 0.16% week on week to 21,174,129 to sit above the 21 million mark for the fourth week in a row. Paid sales are down 3.88% to 477,646, hovering below half a million also for the fourth week on the bounce. Click here for this week’s charts.

Rising Star: Meet Kiss DJ and Armada Music label manager Ben Malone

How did you get into DJing“I grew up in a small town, so the first real experience of nightclubs I had was at university. I’d always liked loud music, but I remember being amazed by sound and lights in my first few weeks of uni. I bought decks with my student loan and taught myself to DJ instead of doing my degree...” How much opportunity is there in radio these days?“More than ever. With technology as it is, there are new radio stations popping up constantly and you can even do live shows from your bedroom. You really can make a radio show with your phone, some free software and a few YouTube tutorials, so I’d recommend anyone who has an interest to have a go. I started out on student and then community radio and learned most of what I do from there. Once you have your sound and style, it’s about putting in the hours and being patient. Some of the most talented DJs I know are still waiting for their big opportunity, it’s certainly true you need a bit of luck on your side too.” What’s your career highlight?“I’m lucky to have had some amazing experiences, but doing my first show on Kiss is probably the highlight. As a specialist DJ, you dream of being able to play the music and artists you love on national radio – it’s an honour and a privilege that doesn’t get old! I love finding and playing artists that have never had national radio play before, even when streaming is so important, you can’t beat the look on someone’s face when they hear their music on the radio for the first time.” I love finding and playing artists that have never had national radio play before Tell us a dance music secret...“Trance music is slowly taking over again! In the UK, ‘trance’ is almost a dirty word, but in the last year or so, as DJs and audiences are tiring of tech house, many of the biggest underground artists are taking influence from trance – with new aliases, labels and sounds emerging and releasing heavily trance-influenced music. It’s a touchy subject, but there are resounding similarities between what we’re labelling melodic or progressive and a lot of trance.” How would you change the biz?“Dance music has a diversity problem for sure. The stereotype that the industry is dominated by white men is depressingly accurate and although it’s getting better, we have a long way to go. Looking at festival line-ups or even dance charts, you’d easily forget the founding role that black and LGBTQ+ society played in making dance music what it is today.” BEN’S RECOMMENDED TRACK:

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