Ring the alarm! One of our beloved Young Divas is back in the game and this time she’s unapologetically scorching up the speakers and screens. Let me present now, the redefinition of Paulini Curuenavuli.

This new dance-inflected single – ‘Fireman’ – finally sees Paulini stepping out and delivering some much needed ferocity. I don’t know about y’guys but when I hit play and clocked her stepping out in that curve-embracing vinyl dress, my jaws just dropped and I thought, “dayum, woman! You finally reached into the back of that closet and pulled out your freakum dress.”

Everything about the ‘Fireman’ era, from the more commercial pop direction and sexier visual presentation, is shaping up to be a bold step forward for the terribly underrated Aussie singer.

“Baby, I’m calling for you!”

Paulini‘s loyal gay fan base has been hungry for years, desperate for the girl to render them stellar vocals to some club-ready cuts. I know we all wished she had launched her comeback last year with Wildboyz‘s ‘Touching A Stranger’ - a stunning vocal house track Paulini co-wrote and sang on that was released as a single without any “feature” credit to her – but ‘Fireman’ is pretty acceptable too.

I kind of approach this song in the guilty manner I take Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Down For Whatever’. It’s predictable dance/pop beats with a bit of sass and heat we’ve all heard before – but it’s just so wildly engaging, you can’t help but want to drop your bag of groceries and strut to it?

‘Fireman’ brings on some devastating Eurodance beats, a vocal performance that gives moments in every section, and a positively jumping hook – and that, kings and queens, is all you need to consider.

“There’s so much body going on.”

I don’t even know why y’all bothered reading all of the above when you’re really here to watch our girl get wet and grind with her entourage of topless, hunky firemen.

This is the first video where I feel like Paulini‘s actually making an effort to step out of her comfort zone and break free from the sweet, maxi dress-wearing image she’s left us with since the Superwoman era. She’s not only serving more skin, but there’s also a proper attempt at choreography and some video vixenry in front of the wind machine.

Just like it was with her former bandmate Ricki-Lee‘s ‘Raining Diamonds’ extravaganza, ‘Fireman’ brings us a promise of a more energetic, more visually stimulating new era in Paulini‘s music and performance style.

Watch the video for Paulini‘s sizzling new single ‘Fireman’ Update: so it seems like the Vimeo clip of ‘Fireman’ has been removed after Paulini herself retweeted a fan blog post with it. Donna is not impressed.

I suppose we’ll all twiddle our thumbs until the girl puts up something on her official YouTube account or website.

Footnotes:

Paulini will release ‘Fireman’ sometime in February and her long-awaited third solo album is expected to drop this year. Stay tuned.

Homegrown indie pop princess Sia is starting to clock some real hits now as a feature creature. Her collabo with Flo Rida ‘Wild Ones’ goes #1 in Australia, making this her first ever chart topper. Meanwhile over in the UK, her collabo with David Guetta – ‘Titanium’ – breaks into the Top 3.

Elsewhere, Adele continues to sell over 100,000 copies a week in America while the arse end of the US Top 10 gives us the lowest weekly sales since 1991. Plus, UK X Factor siren Rebecca Ferguson delays her second single, which now puts her in direct competition with 2011 series runner up Marcus Collins‘ debut. What’s the tea there?

Find out more in this week’s Chart Feed:

 
Flo Rida and Sia‘s ‘Wild Ones’ creeps its way to the #1 spot in Australia this week, dethroning Foster The People‘s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ after just one week on the top. ‘Wild Ones’ is Flo‘s third #1 single in Australia and Aussie indie song bird Sia‘s first ever.

Looking on the Australian airplay chart from 12 to 18 January, ‘Wild Ones’ was the biggest gainer – leaping from #34 to #11. The take over, it seems, is fast and very swift.

Foster The People‘s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ plummets from #1 to #7 in Australia this week. The twee track about going on a killing spree is #9 on our national airplay charts. Over in the US, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ falls to #35 while the band’s next single over there ‘Don’t Stop (Color On The Walls)’ shows up at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Australia’s Got Talent star Timomatic is coming damn close to securing a #1 single of his own. The dancer/singer’s debut effort ‘Set It Off’ ascends to #2 on our ARIA singles chart this week.

Watch Timomatic‘s sick’ning moves in the ‘Set It Off’ video:

 
David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj‘s ‘Turn Me On’ flies from #14 to #3 this week on our ARIA singles chart, making this the highest charting position of any tracks launched from his Nothing But The Beats album. I am, of course, not counting ‘Wet’/'Sweat’ by Snoop Dogg vs David Guetta which was included on NBTB but was foremost a Snoop single.

This is also incidentally Nicki Minaj‘s highest charting position ever – be it as a lead artist or feature creature. Her most widely recognised hit to date – ‘Super Bass’ – only managed to place itself at #6, but hey January’s a quiet period for sales.

Speaking of Onika Maraj, check out the music video for her new promo single ‘Stupid Hoes’. This song just redefined “vile”. I’d rather soak my face in Ke$ha‘s alcopop-flavoured urine than play this mess:

 
Simple Plan steps into the Aussie Top 10 this week with ‘Summer Paradise’ rising to a new peak of #6. Another fast rising single I don’t particularly care for is Laurent Wery featuring SwiftKid‘s ‘Hey Hey Hey’ – leaping from #23 to #10.

Drake finds himself in our Aussie Top 20 for the first time as a lead artist. The hunky Canadian rapper/singer’s hit ‘Take Care’ (featuring Rihanna) rises to #18 this week. Funnily enough, the last time we had Drake in our Top 20 was when he tagged along on Rihanna‘s ‘What’s My Name?’.

Watch Drake‘s VEVO News interview:

 
Professor Green and Emeli Sande‘s ‘Read All About It’ finally cracks the ARIA Top 50 this week at #46. The last time the British rapper was up in our Top 50 was two years ago with ‘Just Be Good To Green’ (featuring Lily Allen) at #49.

Meanwhile over in the UK, Emeli Sande‘s ‘Next To Me’ flies from #65 to #12 on the airplay charts, already faring better than the Scottish soul singer’s last release ‘Daddy’. Fingers crossed her solo stuff takes off Down Under too.

Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die’ single leaps to #50 in Australia this week. Obviously her lukewarm Saturday Night Live performance did nothing to quash the Aussies’ interest in her music. Lana‘s first single ‘Video Games’ also elevates, going from #68 to #52.

Over in the US, her self-titled EP (which is only released in the States) debuts at #20 on the Billboard 200 this week. The four-track EP features her two singles ‘Video Games’ and ‘Born To Die’, as well as ‘Blue Jeans’ and ‘Off To The Races’. The full album will still arrive by the end of the month.

Listen to a snippet of ‘This Is What Makes Us Girls’ – a track on her forthcoming album:

 
Jessie J and David Guetta‘s ‘Laserlight’ shoots from #70 to #57 on our ARIA Top 100. Her album Who You Are is now certified platinum for shipments of over 70,000 copies in Australia. Meanwhile in the UK, ‘Domino’ clocks its second week at #1.

Jason Mraz‘s sappy new single ‘I Won’t Give Up’ continues to climb the Aussie charts, going from its debut placement of #88 to #61 this week. Over in the States, ‘I Won’t Give Up’ falls from #1 to #9 on the digital track chart – registering a 44% drop in sales. If you check on the overall Billboard Hot 100, it looks even worst. ‘I Won’t Give Up’ tumbles from #8 to #22 in its second week.

Will.i.Am featuring Jennifer Lopez and Mick Jagger‘s ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ returns to our ARIA Top 100 this week at #80. There’s now a remix launched and billed as Will.i.Am featuring Mick Jagger and Wolfgang Gartnet ‘Go Home’ – take a listen:

 
Rihanna‘s ‘Talk That Talk’ (featuring Jay-Z) returns to our Top 100 at #91 this week, after its confirmation as the album’s newest single. The urban track is the seventh most added new song to Aussie radios this week.

In other news, the ARIA Top 100 singles chart is now officially a Havana Brown-free zone. Both ‘We Run The Night’ and ‘Get It’ have finally retired which strangely got me thinking, I wonder if she’ll hit back harder with a feature rapper on her third single.

Sneaky Sound System‘s newest single ‘Really Want To See You Again’ has yet to crack the ARIA charts but its chances just got better. The stylish pop track is the sixth most added new song to Aussie radios. Wonder if it’ll do as well on the ARIA club charts as its predecessors ‘We Love’ and ‘Big’.

Listen to the radio mix of ‘Really Want To See You Again’:

 
Adele‘s 21 celebrates one year on our charts with a stronghold at #1 on our ARIA Top 100 albums this week. It has clocked 26 weeks on top of our Aussie charts.

Meanwhile in the UK, Adele now matches Queen and Oasis‘s record as artists who have spent 21 weeks on top of the album charts. The only difference is, Adele accrued this many weeks at #1 with just two albums while the two mega-selling bands had eight and nine albums respectively.

Over in the States, this week 21 becomes the first album by a British artist to spend 16 weeks at #1. 21 now ties with the Titanic soundtrack for spending 16 weeks on top of the US Billboard 200. 21 managed to sell 104,000 copies in that particular week, making it the 33rd week of 100,000-plus sales in America. So Adele should now be able to fucking blink and buy over Burger King?

You can’t help but gawk a little at how 21 is devastating the US album charts. Here she is selling over 100,000 copies in a week when, for the first time since 1991, America suffers its lowest sales totals for any Top 10 album. Coldplay‘s Mylo Xyloto did 20,000 copies to chart at #8, Nickelback‘s Here and Now managed 19,000 copies to make #9 and the Now 40 hits compilation pulled 17,000 copies to chart at #10. How bleak.

Over at the singles bar, Adele‘s ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ is now the most downloaded song in America – matching the #1 digital chart success of its predecessors ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’.

Watch Adele serving fucking great hair and cackles on The Jonathan Ross show last September:

 
M83‘s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming rises to #81 on our ARIA albums charts this week. The  French indie electro artist’s new single ‘Midnight City’ leaps to #35 in the UK this week after it was featured in BBC’s London 2012 Olympic Games promo. The track is also used as the theme song of reality show Made in Chelsea.

Listen to the rather electronic shoegaze ‘Midnight City’ – complete with a surprisingly good sax line:

 
David Guetta and Sia‘s ‘Titanium’ bullets to #3 on the UK charts this week. Looking on the airplay charts, the track has made a tremendous pick up from #79 to #14. ‘Titanium’ now matches the #3 peak of Nothing But The Beat‘s first single ‘Where Them Girls At’ (featuring Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj). I say it’s about time the world experienced some club-ready Sia.

Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ climbs to #21 on the UK charts. Fuck, that didn’t take long. It’s also picking up strong radio support, rising from #83 to #34 on the UK airplay charts. Over in the States, ‘Somebody’ leaps to #58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gotye‘s album Making Mirrors flies from #133 to #60 in its second week on the US Billboard 200.

Watch the now-viral cover of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ by five-piece Walk Off The Earth:

 
Cher Lloyd‘s petulant ‘Want U Back’ whizzes to #26 on the UK charts this week. If this is how in demand the song before TV promo and radio rotation properly kicks in then y’all better brace yourselves when this child goes to work.

Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Lay It On Me’ shoots up to a new peak of #90 on the UK charts. It’s not quite bank-lining success but it’s nonetheless a promising placement for another solo Kelendria smash – and one that isn’t a pandering dance/pop number too.

Rebecca Ferguson‘s ‘Too Good To Lose’ has been pushed back to a 5 March release date in the UK, now putting it directly in line with fellow Liverpool X Factor sweetheart Marcus Collins‘ debut single. Is there going to be some sort of double bill promo tour action? I think it would be good value. They’re both lovable Liverpool folk with a penchant for soul and they honestly look like they could be BFFs in real life. Rebecca would be the dullest fag hag fo’ sho but every gay needs someone to curl up on a couch and watch The Holiday with.

Marcus, who also came runner-up in the hit talent competition, will release a pop cover of The White Stripes‘ ‘Seven Nation Army’ as his first single. Marcus’ debut album will come out the following week in the UK. His mentor, Gary Barlow, serves as executive producer on the album.

Let’s reminisce on Marcus’ extremely on-point cover of ‘Another One Bites The Dust’:

 
Mary Byrne, affectionately known as Tesco Mary, will release her second album With Love (see cover art) on 5 March in the UK. The album was first launched in her home country Ireland last November and managed to peak at #10 on the Irish charts.

Meanwhile, great news for Rebecca Ferguson fans in Australia - the soul siren’s first single ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’ is now released digitally Down Under and the album Heaven has just been given the green light for a local release – due 10 February.

Listen to Rebecca‘s live performance of ‘Glitter & Gold’ – fingers crossed, she’ll do a quick promo show in Australia:

 
Pixie Lott‘s Young Foolish Happy album gets a boost up the charts from #86 to #52 this week, thanks in no small part to her current hit single ‘Kiss The Stars’. The uneventful track climbs to #8 on the UK charts after just three weeks. The girl also currently has two songs in the UK Airplay Top 20 – the aforementioned single and her long-lasting #1 hit ‘All About Tonight’.

Rihanna‘s ‘We Found Love’ clocks a milestone 10 weeks on top of the US Billboard Hot 100, making this her longest staying #1 yet. This 10-week achievement puts her at an equal to Ashanti‘s ‘Foolish’, Beyoncé‘s ‘Irreplaceable’ (our Lord Beysus‘ longest staying solo #1 in America) and Olivia Newton-John‘s classic ‘Physical’.

Watch RiRi howling like a wounded seal pup performing ‘We Found Love’ live at the Jingle Bell Ball:

 
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ rockets to #21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 this week. The fierce set of remixes debut at #40 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart. ‘Stronger’ also finally impacts American radio at #71 on the airplay charts. Meanwhile, back in Australia ‘Stronger’ registers the biggest drop on our airplay chart in the last week – sinking to #34. Why are y’all quitting on this already?

The Wanted‘s ‘Glad You Came’ penetrates the US Billboard Hot 100 this week at #85, thanks to their very successful appearance on Ellen.

Steve Aoki‘s debut artist album Wonderland enters at #59 on the US Billboard 200 this week.  I’m not sure if his new single with mah gurl Wynter Gordon‘s really doing the trick for me. ‘Ladi Dadi’ really doesn’t compare when you’ve got absolute instant smashes like ‘Livin’ My Love’ (featuring LMFAO and NERVO) on board. That track earns my full endorsement even though I’m categorically opposed to anything LMFAO.

Listen to the future hit ‘Livin’ My Love’:

 
Aretha Franklin‘s 2011 single ‘How Long I’ve Been Waiting’ debuts at #93 on the US R&B/Hip Hop songs chart. It’s the furthest thing from a glittery comeback but that’s the deal with memaw these days – she will always sell records but probably not on a mainstream level no more.

Watch Aretha flog ‘How Long I’ve Been Waiting’ live – complete with a dutiful Walmart plug at the start and end:

 
Deborah Cox scores a brand new US Dance/Club play #1 with ‘If It Wasn’t For Love’. I love that the club charts still has place for big vocal dance music. Meanwhile, as predicted, Gloria Estefan‘s flawless ‘Hotel Nacional’ edges up to #3 while Rihanna‘s ‘You Da One’ remixes climbs up to #8.

The gorgeous Melbourne-born girl first caught our attention a few years back when – at the sweet age of 16 – she broke out with her debut single ‘Sweet About Me’. The song went #1 in Australia and became the third-biggest selling single in the country of 2008.

After a flawless, but albeit momentary, foray into disco pop on her sophomore album Ten, the 20-year old has now reverted to a more organic and rootsy style.

‘Vicious Love’ is the first taste of Gabi‘s forthcoming third, yet-untitled studio album. Take a look at the low-key music video she has uploaded for it:

Stylistically, ‘Vicious Love’ sounds dreamier than anything you’ve heard the girl do before. It’s a nice closer track for an acoustic set one might perform at a cafeteria, I suppose? You can definitely hear greater strength and control in Gabi’s voice too when she’s singing in the higher register.

Personally, I preferred it when Ms Cilmi took a risk with her disco pop album. I know on paper making straight up pop may seem like an easy way out for an artist of her standing, but really y’all need to study the quality she was serving on Ten.

The lush intergalactic 80s ballads ‘Robots’ and ‘Love Me Cos You Want To’ (which was co-written by Ellie Goulding) are simply timeless. There was nothing easy or sell out-ish about servicing disco beats and Bee Gees-style falsettos on tracks like ‘Hearts Don’t Lie’ or doing a bit of Donna Summer for the present century in ‘Superhot’. I feel like most of Ten was more inspired and captured a greater deal of imagination than something like ‘Vicious Love’.

I don’t wish to look back on Gabriella Cilmi‘s discography in five years time and find that Ten was her one and only foray into intelligent, fun pop. Basically, Ten cannot end up like the 0304 of Jewel‘s career – brief moment of colourful, quality pop followed by slabs of beige until the end of time.

Footnotes:

Stay tuned for more from Gabriella Cilmi in 2012 as she readies her third studio album.

It’ll be interesting to see if ‘Vicious Love’ does end up becoming her first single or if it’s just unleashed as a buzz track. My money’s on the latter.

Emeli Sandé has every reason to act like she’s dat bitch. The Scottish soul/R&B songwriter is off to a rather promising start with her solo career. Yes, she’s foremost known for featuring on Roll Deep‘s ‘Never Be Your Woman’ and Professor Green‘s ‘Read All About It’, the UK #1 hit that’s currently rising up the Australian ARIA Top 100 – but unlike most rent-a-vocalists, Ms Sandé‘s own material is solid enough to build a bankable career on.

‘Next To Me’ is possibly her most accessible release to date and given how close we are to the album drop date, putting out the more straightforward radio-ready track now might not be such a bad idea. Even though Sandé‘s last two singles – ‘Heaven’ and ‘Daddy’ – were great staples of modern soul, they’re nowhere near catchy or straightforward enough to be proper radio hits.

I’m not advocating for folks to dumb down their music – especially not when they’re as effective a songwriter as Emeli Sandé. All I’m saying is that, ‘Next To Me’ has the potential to reach further and appeal to a wider range of listeners than her more introspective first two singles.

‘Next To Me’ hears the Scottish chanteuse sing of a good man who’s faithful and who’s always there to support her. You know, it’s uplifting and inviting enough as it is without considering the lovely, driving soul music. Production wise, ‘Next To Me’ is a capable contemporary mix of Motown, urban and even a touch of gospel.

Enough about that. What about the video?

Ms Emeli is thankfully not testing our gag reflexes with saccharine depictions of a lovely couple enjoying a cosy night in on the couch.

‘Next To Me’ is a drastically low-key compared to her first two videos which were all flavoured with a bit of drama, grit and street realness. The completely in-studio production featuring a scene in a warehouse with two spotlights over a drummer and Emeli on piano really drives home the song’s simple message of companionship.

Colouration becomes a big deal in this video because there’s really nothing much on set to distract you. You’ll notice the contrasting switch from warm, earthy tones in Emeli‘s wardrobe in the scene with her male drummer to the glossy, V Magazine-ready bright colours of her solo shot. That to me symbolises the grounded, natural and homely state she’s in whenever she’s “next to” her man – a world that’s just the two of them and the beautiful music they’re making – as opposed to the glamorous editorialised version of Emeli Sandé, the chart-tearing pop singer.

Watch the music video for ‘Next To Me’:

Footnotes:

Emeli Sandé will release ‘Next To Me’ in the UK on 13 February, the same day her album arrives.

At this stage, there’s been no word on whether Aussies will get the single. But hey, Emeli‘s debut album Our Version of Events is confirmed to drop Down Under on 10 February.

‘Two Way Street’ – produced by Francois Tetaz, the man behind Gotye’s records – has been announced as the fourth single from Kimbra‘s flawless album Vows. In true Kimbra style, this single is once again on a whole different wave length from its predecessors, showcasing a different side to the budding artiste’s music.

‘Two Way Street’ is definitely one of the more subtle highlights on the album. Fans of her diverse-sounding singles ‘Settle Down’, ‘Cameo Lover’ and ‘Good Intent’ would appreciate the more graceful and cinematic air this song brings to the mix.

While her smash with Gotye - ’Somebody That I Used To Know’ – start making waves in the US and UK charts, those looking ahead can enjoy a sensible follow up in ‘Two Way Street’, complete with two free killer remixes.

Listen to ‘Two Way Streeet (PatrickReza Dubstep Remix):

 
Listen to ‘Two Way Street (Beni Remix):

 
Read my interview with Kimbra where she talks about working with Gotye on that surprise hit and producer Francois Tetaz, who helped her achieve the lush, cinematic sound on tracks like ‘Two Way Street’.

Footnotes:

Grab your free download of ‘Two Way Street’ – PatrickReza Dubstep Remix and Beni Remix.

Hat tip to my friend Matt at SameSame for the heads up.

This week’s Chart Feed sees Foster The People earn their first national #1 hit after spending an exhausting 39 weeks in our Top 100. We also have a new entry by Beyoncé, clock Jessie J‘s triumphant cross-Atlantic success with ‘Domino’, and toast to Jason Mraz‘s comeback. The man somehow managed to come away with the most downloaded song in America. Plus, Gotye and Kimbra‘s massive homegrown hit ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ cracks the US and UK charts.

Fasten your bibs and get ready for this week’s Chart Feed:

 
Foster The People‘s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ (see above) claims the #1 spot in Australia this week, making this the American band’s first ever chart topper in any country. The single was actually released in the States back in September 2010, so major cheers and beers to the beer commercial that helped Australia realise this jam. ’Pumped Up Kicks’ clocks 21 weeks on our ARIA Top 50 (39 weeks in the Top 100) this week, making it one of the longest rises to #1 in history.

Stocks also went up for the band’s album Torches, blazing its way to a new peak of #5 here this week. Will these guys be a one hit wonder Down Under or can they repeat the success with their next single ‘Call It What You Want’. The track is currently “bubbling under” at #62 on our ARIA singles Top 100.

Flo Rida and Sia‘s ‘Wild Ones’ shoots from #24 to #2 on our ARIA charts in its second week – giving the popular rapper two simultaneous hits in our Top 10 right now. Flo‘s previous single ‘Good Feeling’ is perched at #9 this week. This new one with Sia is the second most added song to Aussie radios this week.

Guy Sebastian‘s feel good single ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ is still placed firmly in the Aussie Top 10 this week at #7. It has now ticked over to double platinum certification for 140,000 copies sold. Watch Guy perform ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ acoustic style at Sydney’s iconic QVB shopping mall:

 
David Guetta‘s newest single ‘Turn Me On’ (featuring Nicki Minaj jacked up on helium) reaches a new peak of #14 on our ARIA charts this week. The ubiquitous French DJ currently has three singles in our Top 50 – more than what the UK and US markets would deign him with. ‘Titanium’ featuring our gurl Sia sits at #36 while his last official international single ‘Without You’ (featuring Usher) falls 10 places to #41.

Over in the UK, Guetta and Sia‘s ‘Titatium’ bullets from #61 to #8 this week, purely off album track downloads alone. The actual single’s not set to arrive there until 6 February. This exciting Top 10 entry is actually our girl Sia‘s first UK chart appearance since ‘Soon You’ll Be Found’ made #94 back in 2008. Sia‘s biggest solo hit in the UK is still her debut single ‘Taken For Granted’ which made #10 there 12 years ago.

Watch Sia performing ‘Titanium’ live with her band:

 
Skrillex has the biggest new single on the ARIA charts this week with ‘Bangarang’ entering at #44. The EP of the same name has been selling super well to register a 30 place jump to #14 on our album charts this week. Australia was one of the first countries to embrace the electronica/dubstep producer’s music on a mainstream level – his last effort Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites peaked at #28 on our ARIA charts in 2011.

Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé‘s ‘Read All About it’ flies to #54 on our ARIA charts this week. All signs are definitely pointing to a favourable crossover for Emeli, who will drop her eagerly anticipated debut album Our Version of Events in Australia on 10 February – three days before the UK crowd cops it.

Watch Emeli perform her beautiful forthcoming single ‘Next To Me’ on Graham Norton‘s show last week:

 
Andy Grammer‘s ‘Keep Your Head Up’ is the second-highest selling new single on our Aussie charts this week. The hunky singer/songwriter launched this single in the States last February and it’s only starting to make waves in Australia now.

Lana Del Rey‘s cinematic new single ‘Born To Die’ debuts at #71 on our ARIA Top 100 this week. It’s been a rough weekend for the upcoming American songbird after that awkward and widely-panned Saturday Night Live performance. I see a few very quiet Lana Del Rey ticket holders sitting their asses down now, hoping against hope that her two Aussie shows (Sydney on 28 February and Melbourne on 3 March) don’t turn out to be a stinker.

Say what you will of her nervous showing on SNL but Lana‘s Video Games EP quickly soared to #2 on the US iTunes chart, so things can’t possibly be that bleak. Her Born To Die album is still going to be one of the most splendid debuts to come out of 2012, I reckon.

Over in the UK, ‘Video Games’ finally gets some decent radio spins – leaping to #24 on the British airplay charts, which helped the single back up the overall UK Top 100 to #16 this week.

Watch Lana Del Rey‘s infamous SNL performance of her breakthrough single ‘Video Games’:

 
Beyoncé‘s career-defining new single ‘I Was Here’ enters at #87 on our ARIA Top 100 this week. The massive Diane Warren-penned ballad may seem like an odd choice for a single, especially when the rest of the world’s getting prepped for ‘End of Time’ but, really, no one should be denied the pleasure of hearing this defining song. Future staple for funerals.

Adelegend‘s 21 clocks its 25th non-consecutive week at #1 on our ARIA charts, equalling John Farnham‘s defining run with Whispering Jack. Next week, 21 celebrates its one-year anniversary on the shelves and I have no doubt that it’ll still be firmly placed on top of the charts.

Over in the States, 21 spends its 15th week at #1 on the Billboard 200 – managing to sell 124,000 copies in the last week. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the only album to sell over 100,000 copies in the States that week. The nation’s #2 album Take Care by Drake only did 42,000 copies. Gag.

Adele‘s ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ is the third most downloaded song in America, registering 203,000 sales in the last week. It’s currently sitting at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 – could it potentially go #1 just like its mega selling predecessors ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’?

Listen to the Thomas Gold remix of ‘Set Fire To The Rain’:

 
360‘s album Falling and Flying soars to #11 on the Aussie charts this week, now certifying gold sales for 35,000 copies shipped. Over at the singles bar, the Melbourne rapper’s awesome ‘Boys Like You’ (featuring Gossling) swings to a new peak of #35. Winning.

Kimbra‘s Vows surprisingly returns to the Top 20 this week at #19. The Kiwi indie songbird is poised for an American takeover this year with some gigs lined up over there and new material on the way. Judging by her Twitter timeline, Kimbra has steady networking with some key artists over there like Sia and Alex Da Kid (producer behind Eminem and Skylar Grey‘s ‘Love The Way You Lie’). Get ‘em girl.

Stan Walker and Jessica Mauboy have started their joint shows around Australia. Will this help lift their respective album sales? We’ll see. Stan‘s new one Let The Music Play sinks from #74 to #90 this week while J Mally‘s repackaged Get ‘Em Girls album sits one rank above at #89. The pair’s duet ‘Galaxy’ drops to #27 on the ARIA singles chart after 11 weeks. I’m genuinely surprised that people give a shit about this filler especially when there are so many fiercer tracks on their albums.

Watch the video for ‘Galaxy’:

 
Jessie J claims her second UK #1 hit this week with ‘Domino’, thanks to hype surrounding her three Brit Awards nominations. Sales are purely off album track downloads alone, by the way, as the actual single’s not scheduled to come out in the UK and Ireland until 27 February. The chart-topping placement looked certain by the midweeks when ‘Domino’ was already leading 6,500 copies ahead of Flo Rida‘s ‘Good Feeling’. ‘Domino’ also rocketed up the UK Airplay charts to become the third most played song in the country.

Over in the US, ‘Domino’ finally cracks the Top 20 at #17 after almost five months on the digital shelves. Jessie‘s album Who You Are is still a bit of a non-event at #186 on the Billboard 200.

Meanwhile here in Australia, Jessie‘s new single ‘Laserlight’ (featuring David Guetta) debuts at #70 on our ARIA Top 100. ‘Laserlight’ is the fourth most added new song to Australian radios this week. We are so ahead of the game.

Pixie Lott‘s new single ‘Kiss The Stars’ shoots from #81 to #14 in the UK this week, thanks to some proper radio support. The single flies from #66 to #23 on the British airplay charts.

I don’t get the appeal with ‘Kiss The Stars’. Girl, what kind of fuckery is this? This sounds like an abandoned Vengaboys demo from 2001! I actually preferred her last flop ‘What Do You Take Me For’ over this and the redundant #1 hit ‘All About Tonight’.

Watch the video for Pixie‘s ‘Kiss The Stars’, if you must:

 
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ flies 50 places up to #21 in the UK this week, thanks to some favourable radio additions. The defining anthem is the most added new song to British radios this week, debuting at #31 on the airplay chart.

Over in the States, ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ skips back into the Billboard Hot 100 at #58. Obviously thanks in no small to her heavily publicised Ron Paul endorsement. Check out this frank interview podcast Kelly did with NPR where she talks about the endorsement, being herself in the industry and why she sleeps with a gun.

Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ cracks the UK Top 40 this week at #36 and impressively debuts at #91 on the US Billboard Hot 100. There’s a real buzz about this hit Aussie single now that’ll no doubt put both artists on the world map. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ had already gone #1 in New Zealand, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Gotye‘s smash album Making Mirrors is now set to arrive in the UK on 13 February.

The Wanted may be busy hustling in the States now but back home, their newest single ‘Warzone’ has hit danger zone, plummeting from #29 to #52. The album Battleground isn’t exactly working wonders either, sinking to #50 without the fellas at home to rep for it. The British boy band made their debut US TV appearance on The Ellen Show last week to launch ‘Glad You Came’ – complete with a slick new single artwork. The uptempo song was already a minor hit on the US Billboard Dance/Club play chart late last year.

Watch them do their thing on Ellen with a fair bit of pitch correction:

 
Cher Lloyd‘s smashing new single ‘Want U Back’ returns to the UK Top 100 this week at #56, thanks to buzz surrounding the video. The last time the track charted was at #194 on the week her album Sticks + Stones came out. ‘Want U Back’ – the single version featuring Astro – will hit UK stores on 12 February. If I were you, children, I’d just download the track now and fuck waiting for that pointless Astro remix.

Speaking of forthcoming X Factor alumni releases: Rachel Adedeji‘s set to drop a new single ‘Club Lights’ on 20 February, following her last uptempo effort ‘Follow the DJ‘. Matt Cardle will launch his third single ‘Amazing’ on the same day, while Alexandra Burke‘s penciled in 12 March for her club-centric comeback single ‘Elephant’ (featuring Eric Morillo).

Listen to a radio rip of Alexandra Burke‘s ‘Elephant’:

 
Jennifer Lopez‘s ‘Papi’ enjoys a resurrection on the UK charts this week, flying up to #88. I’m gonna put this down to the Fiat commercial she’s appearing in, which was done in conjunction with the actual ‘Papi’ music video. However, what’s interesting is that she’s also done a bunch of new Fiat commercials with another Love? album track ‘Until It Beats No More’.

Bruno Mars returns to the top of the UK charts almost a year after it first went #1 in the country. Doo-Wops & Hooligans has been lingering at #2 for the past fortnight, behind the unstoppable Adelegend. DW&H was the third biggest-selling album in the UK last year, managing a whopping 1.2 million copies.

The Vaccines‘ What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? soars to #6 on the UK charts this week after receiving a Brit Awards nomination. The young rockers are up against Jessie J, Emeli Sandé, Ed Sheeran and Anna Calvi in the Best Breakthrough Act category. Check out the full list of nominees – the Awards will happen on 21 February.

Watch The Vaccines‘ video for ‘Tiger Blood’:

 
Jason Mraz‘s ‘I Won’t Give Up’ made a surprisingly leap to #1 on the US Billboard Digital Song chart – selling 229,000 first week downloads. This is Mr Mraz‘s second biggest sales week to date in America. His personal best was when ‘I’m Yours’ moved 233,000 copies over Christmas week circa 2008.

Needless to say, ‘I Won’t Give Up’ is the biggest new single in America this week – entering at #8 on the overall Hot 100. Meanwhile here in Australia, ’I Won’t Give Up’ starts charting at #88 on our ARIA Top 100.

Lady Gaga‘s ‘Marry The Night’ has finally done something right in some small way. The fifth Born This Way single managed to climb to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts in the last week, despite failing to impact anywhere else. Golf claps.

Taio Cruz and Flo Rida‘s ‘Hangover’ moves up to #2 on the US Billboard Dance/Club Play charts while Deborah Cox‘s comeback ‘If It Wasn’t For Love’ makes #3.

Zedd – the German electrohouse producer – debuts on the US dance/club chart with ‘Shave It’ entering at #39. The man is probably best known for the slamming remixes of Gaga‘s ‘Marry The Night’ (which was included on the Special Edition of the Born This Way album) and Skrillex‘s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’.

Check out Zedd‘s ‘Shave It’ music video:

The British wonder boy band is set to become one of the world’s biggest pop groups by the end of the year, having already cracked the Australian and New Zealand market without even really trying. One Direction fever is going viral and I simply can’t wait to see them take over the American market. Lock up your daughters.

The boys’ debut album Up All Night was the fastest-selling debut album on the UK charts last year and their infectious first single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ gave a decent indication of the kind of boyish fun and immediate pop melodies we can expect. ’One Thing’ takes us back to that point with summery guitar-riffs and punchy hooks, complete with a video that’s completely on message.

They’re serving modern cool Britannica, irresistible boy-ish charms and the perfect “one day with One Direction itinerary” any fan could dream of. Sans the romantic dinner bit, of course. That’s private, between me and Harry Styles.

Check out a few highlights of One Direction‘s fantastic new video:

They have never looked sexier.

My god, am I even allowed to say that about these embryos? The girls and gays will be swooning to no end over every detail from their smile down to the article of clothing. Listen - the immaculate, grown-up styling with the fitted jacket, cardigans, shirts and slacks is driving me wild. I won’t even mention the bulge, which Zayn is clearly clocking on Louis in the above shot.

But on a fashion note, I fucking want it all.

One Direction‘s good clean image and slick presentation is what sets them apart from other boy bands in the game with a penchant for tank tops and urban fashion. I appreciate the idea of taking classic, grown men looks and re-styling it for a younger generation. I think they’re definitely on the forefront of men’s fashion, signaling a new era where smart and sharp is the way to go. As a budding brand, these boys can’t afford to be on the reactionary side of trends – they need to be setting the pace and they need to be consistent. That’s precisely what’s happening and why One Direction‘s image and styling is just fucking winning every single time we see them step in front of the camera.

Boys will be boys.

I love seeing these guys just running amok and having fun. I love the chemistry between them. To me, being an almost-quarter centurion, this video really takes me back to the Spice Girls‘ ‘Wannabe’ video and the youthful spirit they were serving.

One Direction‘s boy-ish charms and cheekiness is what makes the girls go weak. It’s that fine line between cute and criminally sexy that’s incredibly alluring.

Speaking of this fantasy, I think it also helps that there’s never too much camera time of just the boys exclusively with one girl. I think that would be a rather alienating experience for their hopeful, starry-eyed female fans watching on YouTube. The spirit of the ‘One Thing’ video isn’t about one girl, it’s about One Directioners. Period.

One day with One Direction.

This video brings the fantasy of spending an entire day with the boys a little closer to life. We’re taken on this journey from sun up to dusk – playing in the park, to a ride on their very own double decker bus to be closer to the fans.

We’ve seen the boys frolic on a beach in L.A. in ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, we’ve seen them travel to the countryside in ‘Gotta Be You’ – it’s about time they brought it back to London and give us a city-centric feel. After all, with the Olympics happening this year, all eyes will be on London and hopefully with any luck: One Direction.

Watch One Direction’s amazingly fun new video ‘One Thing’:

Footnotes:

One Direction will release ‘One Thing’ on 13 February in the UK. Just in time for some swoonfest Valentine’s Day promo. Shall we pencil this in for another Top 3 entry?

American electro house producer Steve Aoki certainly knows how to make a scene. This brand new video of his – ‘Ladi Dadi’ – is a king hit of some proper Mr & Mrs Smith-style violence.

I suppose the aggressive, ass-whooping concept is refreshing given that it’s pretty much the antithesis of the song’s flirtatious intent. But, really, the only thing standing between this plot and something well-executed is a bit of context.

I know when you’re up in the gym working on your fitness and ‘Ladi Dadi’ comes on, nobody’s gonna slow  down on the treadmill and think, ‘Well, I know she’s upset but – fuck – bitch, what is yo’ problem?’. The thrill of seeing Wynter smashing Steve against a wall and kicking him off a balcony is just too bloody gratifying. We’re all animals, you see.

Watch the video for Steve Aoki and Wynter Gordon‘s ‘Ladi Dadi’:

Sonically, ‘Ladi Dadi’ gives the best of both kinds of mainstream dance right now – serving throbbing house beats in the verses with Wynter‘s smooth vocals before tearing the chorus with an acidic dubstep wash down.

This song, it seems, has been waiting in the wings for some time now. I remember hearing Wynter talk about the collabo almost a year ago and we were all hoping that it would drop last year in the height of her With The Music I Die movement but it’s all been strategically lined up to coincide with Steve‘s own album now.

Wonderland is Steve‘s debut full length artist album and ‘Ladi Dadi’ is the third single lifted from it. This guy has worked with some major names in the game like LMFAO, Nervo, Laidback Luke, Afrojack and even Will.i.Am, who appears under his alter ego [[[zuper blahq]]].

Footnotes:

Steve Aoki will release his debut album Wonderland in Australia on 3 February. You can listen to the whole thing now via his Soundcloud.

I’m optimistic that this new chapter in Rebecca‘s career’s going to be a revelation for a few of us. First up, ‘Too Good To Lose’ – being the album closer – didn’t even cross my mind as a single potential but I quickly warmed to it after a few spins, appreciating the vaguely 90s chic soul/pop productions.

Now comes two mind-blowing remixes that are serving the best of both house and urban/dubstep persuasions. How can you deal?

Seamus Haji – popular remixer who has spun ballads by Utada Hikaru and Mariah Carey into huge club tracks – brought the glitter and strobes out of ‘Too Good To Lose’. This actually works as a stomping, commercial floor filler fit for your resident gay clubs.

The Dukebox Remix oddly pitches Rebecca in a darker, more aggressive dubstep direction – complete with a few rap verses. Not a completely daft idea if you consider how ubiquitous dubstep music is now.

Listen to Rebecca Ferguson‘s ‘Too Good To Lose’ remixes:

Footnotes:

Rebecca will launch ‘Too Good To Lose’ in the UK on 27 February.

On this week’s Chart Feed, the festive season’s definitely been canned now with Michael Bublé‘s career-defining Christmas album freefalling out of the Top 20 everywhere. We all knew it would come to this. Meanwhile, Empress Adele returns to top the US and UK album charts and comes closer to breaking more records, Kelly Clarkson discounts her way back up the charts, and I have a fit over the new Will Young, The Saturdays and Rebecca Ferguson single choices.

Foster The People‘s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ pumped all the way up to a new peak of #2 on our ARIA singles chart this week, as predicted. I hear the song’s placement in a beer commercial is what’s turning them fortunes around.

The song has been in our Top 100 for 20 weeks now so if ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ does make #1 next week, it would have to be one of the longest rises to the top in ARIA chart history. The record is reportedly Ratcat‘s ‘Tingles’ EP, which spent 27 weeks in the Top 100 before going #1.

Despite ‘PUK’ consistently topping our iTunes chart, LMFAO‘s ‘Sexy And I Know It’ still has a hold on the ARIA #1 spot. ‘Sexy And I Know It’ is the second most played song on Australian radios, while ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ slumps to #22 on the Aussie Airplay Top 100. Does that explain the overall chart win?

Meanwhile in the US, Foster The People‘s album Torches leaps from #35 to #14 with 32,000 copies sold, thanks to some iTunes promotions. The album notched a 94% increase in download sales.

Watch Foster The People do ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ live and acoustic:

 
Lloyd featuring André 3000 and Lil Wayne‘s ‘Dedication To My Ex (Miss That)’ (see above) is now the #1 song on our Aussie Airplay chart. It is also Papa Lim‘s favourite song of the moment, which means I cannot publicly approve of it.

Jason DeRulo‘s luck is getting severely raped. Not only has he had to cancel his Aussie tour due to a neck fracture but his single ‘Breathing’ has also tumbled 10 places down to #20 on our ARIA charts this week. The album Future History leaves the ARIA Top 30 this week.

Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ is on the verge of Top 20 smashdom. The stunning new single’s currently sitting at #21 on our ARIA charts after spending six weeks in our Top 50. Over in the UK, ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ starts charting at #71 based on album track downloads alone – the actual single’s not set to drop until 6 February.

Over in the US, Clarkson‘s album Stronger sails from #39 to #17 on the Billboard 200, thanks to an iTunes discount and prominent placement on the US store home page. Stronger racked up 25,000 sales overall with a 232% hike in downloads. Elsewhere, Kelly‘s iTunes Session EP debuts at #85 on the Billboard 200.

Watch Ms Clarkson slay ‘Stronger’ and ‘Mr Know It All’ on SNL:

 
360 and Gossling‘s ‘Boys Like You’ leaps to #56 on the ARIA Top 100 this week, while the parent album Falling & Flying elevates to #22. This is the Melbourne rapper’s fourth single from his awesome debut album. ‘Boys Like You’ had previously peaked at #47 to become 360‘s only Top 50 single to date.

Lana Del Rey‘s ‘Video Games’ flies from #88 to #60 on our ARIA Top 100, thanks to a prominent placement on the Apple Store home page. The sultry siren’s new single ‘Born To Die’ has yet to appear on our ARIA Top 100 but is currently slumped at #77 on our Aussie iTunes Top Songs chart.

Jessie J‘s next single ‘Laserlight’ (featuring David Guetta) is on the verge of cracking the Aussie Airplay Top 100. Can you believe this heffa’s now coming for Sia‘s ‘Titanium’ with this Xerox copy? Sit your ass down.

Listen to ‘Laserlight’:

 
The Potbelleez‘s latest single ‘Feed Off Me’ cracks the ARIA Airplay Top 100 at #63 this week. Mind you, it was probably serviced to media in early December some time and the single has yet to even make the ARIA Singles Top 100. It’s the fifth effort from their sketchy Destination Now era. So far, they’ve managed to secure two Top 20 hits from this album: ‘Hello’ and ‘From The Music’.

Adam Lambert‘s new single ‘Better Than I Know Myself’ debuted at #92 on our Aussie Airplay Top 100 this week. Not exactly the reigning comeback he was searching for. The track is currently lodged at #117 on our Australian iTunes Top Songs chart.

Jason Mraz‘s new single ‘I Won’t Give Up’ is currently placed at #103 on the Aussie iTunes Top Songs chart. The spunky singer/songwriter told Billboard last month that the new album’s “finished” and that we can expect a collection of mostly mid-tempo tunes that’s “personal”, “melodic” and “mellow”. Just the way I like it.

Watch the lyric video for Jason Mraz‘s new single ‘I Won’t Give Up’:

 
Rihanna‘s singles are sliding down our Aussie Airplay charts quicker than the amount of crotch grabs the bitch can manage per minute. The almighty ‘We Found Love’ fell from #3 to #14 while its successor ‘You Da One’ falls from #16 to #33. RiRi’s album Talk That Talk is clinging to #19 on our ARIA charts this week.

Looks like the album’s next single’s going to be the obvious hit target: ‘Talk That Talk’ (featuring Jay-Z). The track has tentatively appeared on the UK singles release schedule, despite my very many desperate pleas for ‘Where Have You Been’ to be unleashed.

Michael Bublé‘s Christmas is definitely last season’s news now. The top-selling Yuletide album fell from #1 to #29 on our ARIA charts this week. The change in tide also dragged down similar stocking fillers like Susan Boyle‘s Someone To Watch Over Me (#6 to #15) and Tony Bennett‘s Duets II (#9 to #21) as well.

Out in the US, Bublé‘s Christmas sinks from #1 to #24 on the Billboard 200 – registering a 96% sales drop. Over in the UK, Michael‘s Christmas falls from #15 to #94 this week.

For those desperate to recapture the festive cheer with the crooner, here’s part one of his ITV special Michael Bublé: Home For Christmas – featuring Kelly Rowland, Gary Barlow and Dawn French.

 
Pink mania is sweeping Australia again with her Greatest Hits… So Far!!! re-entering our Top 100 at #28 this week and the woeful new ballad ‘Bridge of Light’ bounding back from #64 to #51. The song was probably supported by the accompanying release of Happy Feet 2 soundtrack, which debuts at #70 on our album charts this week.

Speaking of re-entries, these comeback kids have all leapt back into the ARIA Top 100 this week thanks to some generous sales: Grouplove‘s Never Trust A Happy Song (#56), Aloe Blacc‘s Good Things (#69), Arctic Monkeys‘ Suck It and See (#79) and Amy Winehouse‘s Back To Black (#86).

Watch the video for Aloe Blacc‘s ‘Green Lights’. This should be good “education” for those who are only aware of ‘I Need A Dollar’:

 
Alvin and The Chipmunks‘ Chipwrecked soundtrack is the biggest new album on our ARIA albums chart this week, debuting at #42. This is pretty much a Glee compilation set on high pitch. There are Chipmunk covers of everything from LMFAO‘s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ to Lady Gaga‘s ‘Bad Romance’ and even a parody of Willow Smith‘s viral smash ‘Whip My Hair Tail’.

Skrillex‘s Bangarang EP is the next biggest new entry, debuting at #44 on our ARIA albums chart. It is currently the second most downloaded album on Aussie iTunes, behind Adele‘s almighty 21. Skrillex‘s new eight-track EP features collabos with Ellie Goulding, Wolfgang Gartner and strangely enough a sample of The Doors. The American dubstep DJ’s first album Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites also re-enters at #50 this week.

Bangarang EP debuts at #19 on the US Billboard 200 to be the biggest new entry of the week. This is also Skrillex‘s biggest placement to date on the Billboard chart. In the UK, Bangarang EP debuts at #36 on the album charts – making this his first ever appearance in the Top 100 there.

Listen to Skrillex feat. Ellie Goulding ‘Summit’:

 
Flo Rida‘s ‘Good Feeling’ flies up to #1 on the UK charts this week, with only 50,000 sales in the past week. This is the American rapper’s third UK chart topper as a lead artist – his last two trophies being ‘Right Round’ (feat. Ke$ha) in 2009 and ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ (feat. David Guetta) in 2010. His only other UK #1 placement was as feature creature on Alexandra Burke‘s ‘Bad Boys’.

Coldplay‘s ‘Paradise’ sinks to #2 on the UK charts this week after a short-lived stay on top. Meanwhile here in Australia, ‘Paradise’ leaps to a new peak of #3 on our ARIA singles chart this week after some 15 weeks in attendance. Better late than never. The band’s next single ‘Charlie Brown’ will impact the UK on 5 March.

Taio Cruz‘s ‘Troublemaker’ is the biggest new single on the UK charts this week, debuting at #3 with 36,208 opening week sales. It was literally only 280 copies shy of equaling Coldplay‘s ‘Paradise’. Gag!

Watch the music video for Taio Cruz‘s new single ‘Troublemaker’:

 
JLS‘ new single ‘Do You Feel What I Feel’ climbs from #46 to #16 on the UK charts this week. This is the X Factor wonder boy band’s ninth consecutive Top 20 entry – mind you, every single they’ve dropped has gone Top 10. Can they go a bit further with this one?

Alesha Dixon‘s feel good new single ‘Do It Our Way (Play)’ debuts at #53 in the UK this week. This song’s been flogged on Weight Watchers‘ New Years ad campaign – whatever pays the bills, miss thang. After last year’s deal-breaking flop The Entertainer, Alesha‘s gained some leverage as the new judge of Britain’s Got Talent and with that can only come promise of new – and hopefully great – material.

Watch the video for Alesha‘s ‘Do It Our Way (Play)’ featuring “real members of Weight Watchers” – how authentic.

 
Nicola Roberts‘ flawless new single ‘Yo-Yo’ has officially hit UK stores and it’s not looking likely to better the disappointing chart placements of its predecessor ‘Lucky Day’ (#40) – much less ‘Beat of My Drum’ (#27). This fucking breaks my heart, y’guys. Why is life so unkind?

It seems like Team Ginge is going as hard as they can with the single pre-orders (the bait this time was an unreleased demo of Nicola doing Girls Aloud‘s most famous b-side ‘Memory of You’). But still, without radio support, ‘Yo-Yo’ can’t possibly give fans the vindication they need.

Watch Nicola‘s recent Album Chart Show special featuring an interview plus performances of ‘Yo-Yo’, ‘Sticks + Stones’ and ‘Beat of My Drum’:

 
Rebecca Ferguson has drafted ‘Too Good To Lose’ to be her second single, due for release on 27 February. The album Heaven‘s still doing well to keep in the UK Top 10 so technically, it don’t really matter what she does in the singles department – am I right? No, I can’t sit and watch her do this when stronger choices like ‘Glitter & Gold’ and ‘Teach Me How To Be Loved’ are all waiting to be realised.

Will Young‘s cover of Kish Mauve‘s ‘Come On’ never did improve on its peak of #83, which is a sore disappointment given how epic ‘Jealousy’ was (and still is on the UK charts). However, y’all can expect more disappointment as single number three’s been revealed to be the mildly acceptable ‘Losing Myself’, due 19 March. Who the fuck is this meant for? And why are we locking up mega potentials like ‘I Just Want A Lover’, ‘Runaway’ and ‘Good Thing’?

Watch Will Young perform ‘Losing Myself’ live on tour:

 
The Saturdays are set to drop ‘The Way You Watch Me’ (feat. Travie McCoy) as the fourth single from their superflop On Your Radar. Bitch, the whole reason why this tripe was on nobody’s radar was because of non-events like this. What about the energetic ‘Get Ready, Get Set’? I might develop cancer from all this pent up anger with these “forthcoming new singles”.

Scissor Sisters‘ fierce comeback single ‘Shady Love’ (featuring Krystal Pepsy) is slated to drop in the UK on 13 February. Just enough time for it to grow on those who held up a crucifix to YouTube and cursed it out as an abomination. Trust me, you won’t get it in the first listen.

Watch the video for Scissor Sisters‘ ‘Shady Love’ – it’s child’s play!

 
Adele‘s 21 returns to the top of the UK charts for its 19th non-consecutive stint at #1, making this the lengthiest chart topper since Simon & Garfunkel‘s Bridge Over Troubled Water, which copped 33 weeks at #1 over eight different runs between 1970 to 1971. I wanna say Adele would never be able to make 33 non-consecutive weeks at #1 but shit, you know this bitch is just rewriting history’s pages every single week.

Over in the US, 21 also returns to the top of the Billboard 200 for its 14th non-consecutive week – racking up 144,000 sales that time. It is now the album with the most weeks at #1 since the Titanic soundtrack clocked 16 weeks back in 1998. This is also the longest #1 album run by a female artist since Whitney‘s The Bodyguard soundtrack did 20 weeks on top circa 1992 to 1993.

In the last calendar year, Adele‘s 21 sold over 5.8 million copies. The last British artist to sell as many copies in the States in one calendar year was the Spice Girls circa 1997 when Spice cancelled the industry with 5.3 million copies. Who run this motha? Adelephants.

Watch Adele perform album track ‘I’ll Be Waiting’, in which she urges “this is a rare fast one so if you wanna move, now is the time to do it!”:

 
Florence + The Machine‘s Ceremonials got a good kick up the Billboard 200 from #20 to #6, selling 47,000 copies in the last week – thanks to some US iTunes discount and front-of-store placement. Flo should just be grateful because this is only the second week Ceremonials has sat in the US Top 10. Further down, her last smash album Lungs leaps to #75 on the Billboard 200.

Erika Jayne – American dance music siren extraordinaire – has notched up her sixth US Billboard Dance/Club Play #1 with ‘Party People (Ignite The World)’. Check out her video for ‘Party People’ – mo’ class and even mo’ arse:

 
Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Hotel Nacional’ debuts on top of the US Billboard Latin Songs chart this week. Like, duh. What a no-brainer. This should also be reigning on top of every club play chart in the galaxy. ‘Hotel Nacional’ rockets to #8 on the US Billboard Dance/Club Play chart this week.

Havana Brown‘s ‘We Run The Night’ (featuring Pitbull) climbs to #35 on the US Dance/Club Play charts. We’ve also got first time solo entries by two DJs you’ve probably seen remixing hits for a few of your faves. Chuckie (the Dutch man behind brain-damaging club cuts for David Guetta, The Saturdays and Marina & The Diamonds) debuts at #49 with ‘Who Is Ready To Jump’ and Penguin Prison (the New York producer who has remixed for Temper Trap, Kimbra and Darren Hayes) shows up at #50 with ‘Don’t Fuck With My Money’.

Watch the video for Penguin Prison‘s ‘Don’t Fuck With My Money’: