09/01/2011 - Rihanna does the double and equals Elvis record
Grammy award winning Rihanna scores the fifth UK number one single of her career as What’s My Name featuring Canadian rap artist Drake climbs from last week’s number two to take pole position in the new Official Singles Chart released today, the Official Charts Company reports.
This feat makes Rihanna the first female solo artist in chart history to achieve five number one singles in consecutive years with What’s My Name following Only Girl (In The World) (2010), Run This Town (2009), Take A Bow (2008) and Umbrella (2007). The only other solo artist to equal this achievement was Elvis Presley in the 1950s.
Rihanna’s album Loud also holds on to its number one slot in the Official Albums Chart this week giving the Barbadian born, US based artist the second UK chart double of her career, after her 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad and single Umbrella topped the Official Albums and Official Singles Charts simultaneously.
Loud beat off stiff competition from Plan B’s The Defamation of Strickland Banks which had been ahead in the race for pole position in last Wednesday’s Official Chart Update. Loud has now spent eight weeks in the Official Albums Chart Top 5 (two of those weeks at number one) and sold some 890,000 copies since its release in November last year. Rihanna has sold over 25 million records worldwide.
There are no less than two other records bearing Rihanna’s name in this week’s Official Singles Chart Top 10; her previous number one Only Girl (In The World) is at number nine and David Guetta’s Who’s That Chick featuring RIhanna is a re-entry at number ten (up from 13 last week) having previously peaked at number nine in December last year.
Elsewhere in the Official Singles Chart Top 10, the BBC’s Sound Of 2011 winner, Jessie J, climbs to number five from last week’s 18 with Do It Like A Dude and Katy B’s Lights On featuring Ms Dynamite is a re-entry at number four up from last week’s number 11 having entered the charts two weeks ago, also at number four.
In the Official Albums Chart Top 10 there are two re-entries: Cee Lo Green’s The Lady Killer climbs to its highest chart position yet at number four (up from last week’s 13) having entered the chart at number ten last November while Rumer’s Seasons Of My Soul climbs to number six (up from last week’s 21) having entered the chart at number three last November.
Source: OCC
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Singles
It is another excellent week for Rihanna, with her latest album, Loud, holding off a challenge from Plan B to remain at the top of the albums chart, while second offcut, What’s My Name, arrives at the singles summit.
It is the second time Rihanna has done the double – her Good Girl Gone Bad album and Umbrella single were simultaneous chart-toppers in 2007.
Rihanna’s fifth number one single, What’s My Name – which also features rapper Drake – emulates Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z), Take A Bow, Run This Town (Jay-Z feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) and Only Girl (In The World), the first single from Loud. They topped the chart in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.
What’s My Name’s move into pole position is nevertheless attended by a 46% dip in sales to 53,018 copies. It brings to an end its three-week stint at number two, cooling its heels behind X Factor duet partner Matt Cardle’s When We Collide, which slips to number two (46,115 sales).
I’m pretty sure there is no OCC regulation stating that acts with Nero in their name are only allowed to chart in years ending in a 1 – but that’s the way it is. In 1961, Nero & The Gladiators sneaked in two hits (Entry Of The Gladiator and In The Hall Of The Mountain King) before their time was up, and 30 years later, in 1991, it was the turn of Frances Nero to enjoy her one and only hit, Footsteps Following Me, which contained the baffling lyric “love should be two words, just like sunshine”.
Fast forward another 20 years and it’s the turn of dubstep/drum ‘n’ bass trio Nero, who are signed to Chase & Status’ MTA label, and make their debut this week with Me And You (number 15, 18,990 sales). The band was among 15 nominees for the BBC’s influential Sound Of 2011 poll although they failed to make the final five. James Blake, reached number 47 with his debut hit Limit To Your Love in November but that track has seen a major renewal of interest since he was named as runner-up in the poll last week, and rebounds 129-39 (8,444 sales).
He was defeated by Jessie J, whose debut single Do It Like A Dude has recovered from a shaky start and – helped both by sustained support from Radio 1 and coverage of her win -reaches a new peak for the third week in a row. The single has moved 25-30-29-34-21-18-5, and has sold 127,196 copies, including 33,890 last week.
In another quiet week, it is the only new entry to the Top 10, though there are re-entries for Katy B’s Lights On (feat. Ms. Dynamite) rebounding 11-4 (34,275 sales), a fortnight after debuting at number four; and Who’s That Chick, by David Guetta feat. Rihanna, which advances 13-10 (25,912 sales) having reached number nine four weeks ago
A number one hit 13 weeks ago, Forget You by Cee Lo Green dipped out of the Top 20 in December but has climbed for four weeks in a row, improving 21-16-13-12-11. Sales of 25,434 copies last week lift its career tally to 610,377.
Green’s new single, It’s OK, also advances for the fourth straight week (311-74-60-44-24) on sales of 14,009 copies, and his album The Lady Killer – home to both hits – does likewise. Finally eclipsing the number 10 position in which it debuted eight weeks ago, The Lady Killer has improved 46-37-34-13-4 and has sold 160,708 copies, including 24,498 last week.
It slipped 26-30 a week ago but Cheryl Cole’s The Flood resumes its upwards progress, advancing to number 18 (17,863 sales). Surprisingly, its charge still hasn’t halted the slide of parent album Messy Little Raindrops, which ebbs 26-31 (8,023 sales), its ninth straight week in decline since debuting at number one. If you are wondering where Cole’s first solo album, 3 Words has vanished to, its price has been reduced making it ineligible for the main chart. It debuted atop the budget album chart at number one last week, and still holds that position, with sales of 4,712 last week lifting its career tally to 942,398
A number one hit in The USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Bruno Mars’ Grenade remains unissued here, presumably to prevent cannibalising sales of his album, Doo-Wop And Hooligans, which drops here in a fortnight (23 January). But, with media exposure growing (it climbs 32-29 on this week’s radio airplay chart) opportunist covers in Mars’ style by Trackstarz and #1 Bruno Mars Tribute Band both enter the Top 200.
Trackstarz’s cover attracted 5,929 sales last week and debuts at number 56, while #1 Bruno Mars Tribute Band’s version of the song is number 172 after selling 1,658 copies. On its 16th week in the Top 20, Mars’ debut single Just The Way You Are (Amazing) dips 14-17 (18,120 sales).
Gerry Rafferty’s death, at the age of 63, generated a great deal of TV and radio coverage, with most reports illustrated by portions of his classic single Baker Street. A number three hit in 1978, it responds to the exposure by re-entering the chart at number 55, with sales of 5,939 copies lifting its digital era tally to 91,048 in a little over six years.
After hitting an all-time high a fortnight ago, singles sales fell 30.82% to 3,291,284 last week but were still 0.16% above same week 2010 sales of 3,286,033.
1 Rihanna/Drake 53,018
2 Matt Cardle 46,116
3 Black Eyed Peas 36,106
4 Katy B/Ms Dynamite 34,274
5 Jessie J 33,890 (127,196)
6 Ellie Gouldling 30,585
7 Katy Perry 28,874
8 Far East Movement 28,530
9 Rihanna [OG] 28,268
10 David Guetta/Rihanna 25,912
11 Cee Lo Green 25,434 (610,377)
14 Take That 19,718
15 Nero 18,990
18 Cheryl Cole 17,863
24 Cee Lo Green 14,009
39 James Blake 8,444
46 Rihanna [S&M] 7,314
55 Gerry Fafferty 5,939 (digital tally 91,048)
56 Trackstarz 5,929
104 Rihanna [RB] 2,991
134 Rihanna [Unfaithful] 2,108
172 Bruno Mars Tribute Band 1,658
182 Rihanna [Fading] 1,579
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Albums
Still the subject of major discounting – it is £3 instore at Morrison’s, £4.93 at Amazon, £4.95 at Zavvi and £4.99 at HMV and Play – Plan B’s The Defamation Of Strickland Banks climbs for the seventh week in a row – but despite leading the midweek sales flashes eventually ends up at number two, behind Rihanna’s Loud.
Debuting at number one 38 weeks ago, the Plan B album returned to pole position a fortnight later, and has moved 34-31-27-25-22-21-3-2 in its bid to lead the list for a third time. Sales last week of 48,026 copies lift its career tally to 874,404. Loud topped that tally on Friday (January 7), selling 50,095 copies in the week as a whole to lift its 55-day sales to 889,702.
Less dramatic discounting nevertheless shoots Rumer’s Seasons Of The Sun (21-6, 21m132 sales) and Eliza Doolittle’s self-titled debut album (25-11, 16,947 sales) into higher orbit, as the January sales continue to distort the chart.
While there are no new entries, seven albums re-enter the Top 75. The UK’s all-time biggest seller is not among them. In catalogue for nearly 30 years with EMI, Queen’s Greatest Hits has amassed sales of nearly 5.8m but the band’s recent transfer to Universal also covered their back catalogue. Cue an EMI deletion and the release last Monday of newly remastered editions of Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits II. Surprisingly, it’s an event which attracted only modest sales, with Greatest Hits debuting at number 148 (1,722 sales) and Greatest Hits II falling short, with first week sales of 1,164 copies.
Now That’s What I Call Music! 77 extends its stay atop the compilation chart to eight weeks, selling a further 27,620 copies to raise its career tally to 1,222,864. Exercise-themed albums provide its closest competition: The Workout Mix 2011 strides 8-2 (14,976 sales), while Running Trax 2 sprints 11-3 (12,459 sales).
Album sales dip 21.92% week-on-week to 2,337,707. While that is their lowest level for eight weeks it is an encouraging start to the 2011 sales year, beating same week 2010 sales of 1,999,585 by 16.90%.
1 Rihanna 50,094 (890,000)
2 Plan B 48,026
3 Take That 28,831
4 Cee Lo Green 24,497 (160,708)
5 Mumford & Sons 23,124
6 Rumer 21,132
7 Tinie Tempah 20,221
8 Ellie Goulding 19,553
9 Katy Perry 18,331
10 Kings Of Leon 18,205
11 Eliza Doolittle 16,947
31 Cheryl Cole 8,023
40 Rihanna [Rated R] 5,936
118 Madonna 2,306
148 Queen [Greatest Hits] 1,722
To Date Albums
Cheryl Cole - 3 Words 942,398
GaGa slaying
WMN finally #1 after all those weeks, it has real longevity. And the Flood is top 20 so it might scrape the lower end of the top 10 to save Cheryl from a flop. Sales also aren't that bad considering WMN has been available to buy for a good few weeks and it's a January 50k after 8 weeks on the chart isn't exactly a disaster...
Radio Airplay Top 50
