Just a handful of pieces here, the final 'independent' Chart Wach UK columns before James joined Music Week as their official chart analyst. But don't give up hope, the archives will be added to again one day.
It is the official rubberband chart. The Christmas songs vanish and TWANG everything else pings back into place as if the last few weeks were nothing more than a bad dream. It means the path is finally clear for Stormzy to land his third Number One single in the past 12 months. And only serves to make Ed Sheeran even more famous than he already was. Plus some unexpected rule changes and some rather startling albums chart removals.
With perhaps just a little help from some timely discounting Stormzy manages the chart double at long last and can now investigate breeding possibilities between his two Official Chart awards. Elsewhere Justin Bieber has the first big new hit of the year, but the rest of the singles chart is clogged up with many older hits enjoying a mysterious return to chart form. All is explained inside.
Stormzy remains top but gets another hit single by putting his former mentor on blast. But the week belongs to Future, landing himself something he has never before achieved in his long and storied career. A major British hit single.
Going forward generations that follow will come to know this moment as Eminem week. He tops the albums chart for the tenth time in a row and has his tenth Number One single by the second smallest margin in history. Basically the whole thing is about him this week. Apart from the end. But that's worth waiting for.
The picture library must be overflowing with "Lewis Capaldi looking secretly quite chuffed" shots by now. But here is another, as after an epic 11 week wait he finally tops the charts with Before You Go. And to think we all thought it would happen at Christmas.
O Canada. You gift us another Number One artist. This one has been a long time coming however, The Weeknd charting for the first time way back in 2012. We dismissed it as just a track from a TV ad, but the spirit of the 80s has infected us all. Blinding Lights is the brand new Number One. But for just how long?
We are becalmed up top but disturbingly busy down the bottom. An all-static Top 5 makes Jack a dull boy, but Justin is new and exciting. Even if he still can't quite beat out his existing hit.
The name's Eilish. Billie Eilish (although she's actually Billie O'Connell but let's not get bogged down with that right now). Invited to record the theme to the new James Bond film, she has done what only one other artist in chart history has managed. And in the process landed an unassailable chart first of her own.
It is out with the old, and in with the slightly older as we do a Ctrl-Z at the top of the singles chart. Meanwhile, in the world of albums, BTS are justifiably huge. But why on earth can they not buy a hit single?
There's no Music Week to publish a column in this week, so as a festive bonus here is a brief wrap of the 2002 Christmas chart, with details of just how many singles this chap managed to shift for Christmas. Again.
What, back again? The headline story about the weird new year chart has already been written, but once more in lieu of a full analysis in Music Week, here are some background facts on this weirdest of chart countdowns.
