In his first monthly chart update of 2014, PRS for Music’s Russell Iliffe takes a look at the biggest movers and shakers in the pop charts both sides of the Atlantic.
Ellie Goulding may have kicked of 2014 by topping the UK albums chart with Halcyon, but the British singer-songwriter’s second album certainly took the long route to the top spot.
Originally released in October 2012 - when it peaked at number two - the album recently reached pole position in its 65th week on the chart.
The track Burn, which was added to the set during a re-issue in August, gave Goulding her first UK number one single last year. The song is now working its magic in the States where it’s currently inside the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Meanwhile, several other British acts are also enjoying top 40 hits on the iconic American singles chart at the moment. Singer-songwriter Passenger, aka Mike Rosenberg, shifted over a million copies of his smash Let Her Go in the UK last year. He is now securing his highest US peak to date of number seven having sold over two million copies of the track across the pond.
Also hot are Bastille with introductory hit Pompeii moving into the top 20 while the omnipresent One Direction dip out of the top ten with Story of My Life.
Incidentally, The X Factor alumni 1D had yet another great 12 months claiming the UK’s fastest and biggest-selling album of 2013 with Midnight Memories. The Official Charts Company confirmed that it had shifted 685,000 copies by the end of the year despite having only been released in late November.
However, while the boy band appear unbeatable at the moment, the TV show that discovered them had a lacklustre year with sliding ratings. Winner Sam Bailey scored the Christmas number one with Skyscraper but lasted just one week at the summit and has already exited the top 20.
There has also been bad news on the chart front for newly resident Vegas performer Britney Spears, who recently released her eighth studio album Britney Jean. It became her lowest charting studio set to date in the UK, disappearing off the radar at number 34 and performing disappointingly worldwide.
Elsewhere, Beyonce surprised everyone before Christmas when her new self-titled album appeared unexpectedly on iTunes with no prior promotion. Selling in excess of 617,000 digital copies stateside in its first three days, it gave the Texan diva her fifth consecutive solo US chart-topper.
After appearing on the two biggest tunes of 2013, is Pharrell Williams looking to dominate the charts this year as well? After collaborating with Robin Thicke on Blurred Lines and Daft Punk on Get Lucky, Pharrell is now top of the UK singles chart on his own with Happy, from the soundtrack of the movie Despicable Me 2.
Finally, rising British star Sam Smith has done the double and won both the BBC Sound of 2014 poll and this year’s BRITs Critics’ Choice Award. Sam looks likely to feature heavily in the charts over the coming year, but is no stranger to the top 10 having appeared on Disclosure’s 2012 hit Latch and Naughty Boy’s massive La La La which topped the chart last year.
Ellie Goulding may have kicked of 2014 by topping the UK albums chart with Halcyon, but the British singer-songwriter’s second album certainly took the long route to the top spot.
Originally released in October 2012 - when it peaked at number two - the album recently reached pole position in its 65th week on the chart.
The track Burn, which was added to the set during a re-issue in August, gave Goulding her first UK number one single last year. The song is now working its magic in the States where it’s currently inside the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Meanwhile, several other British acts are also enjoying top 40 hits on the iconic American singles chart at the moment. Singer-songwriter Passenger, aka Mike Rosenberg, shifted over a million copies of his smash Let Her Go in the UK last year. He is now securing his highest US peak to date of number seven having sold over two million copies of the track across the pond.
Also hot are Bastille with introductory hit Pompeii moving into the top 20 while the omnipresent One Direction dip out of the top ten with Story of My Life.
Incidentally, The X Factor alumni 1D had yet another great 12 months claiming the UK’s fastest and biggest-selling album of 2013 with Midnight Memories. The Official Charts Company confirmed that it had shifted 685,000 copies by the end of the year despite having only been released in late November.
However, while the boy band appear unbeatable at the moment, the TV show that discovered them had a lacklustre year with sliding ratings. Winner Sam Bailey scored the Christmas number one with Skyscraper but lasted just one week at the summit and has already exited the top 20.
There has also been bad news on the chart front for newly resident Vegas performer Britney Spears, who recently released her eighth studio album Britney Jean. It became her lowest charting studio set to date in the UK, disappearing off the radar at number 34 and performing disappointingly worldwide.
Elsewhere, Beyonce surprised everyone before Christmas when her new self-titled album appeared unexpectedly on iTunes with no prior promotion. Selling in excess of 617,000 digital copies stateside in its first three days, it gave the Texan diva her fifth consecutive solo US chart-topper.
After appearing on the two biggest tunes of 2013, is Pharrell Williams looking to dominate the charts this year as well? After collaborating with Robin Thicke on Blurred Lines and Daft Punk on Get Lucky, Pharrell is now top of the UK singles chart on his own with Happy, from the soundtrack of the movie Despicable Me 2.
Finally, rising British star Sam Smith has done the double and won both the BBC Sound of 2014 poll and this year’s BRITs Critics’ Choice Award. Sam looks likely to feature heavily in the charts over the coming year, but is no stranger to the top 10 having appeared on Disclosure’s 2012 hit Latch and Naughty Boy’s massive La La La which topped the chart last year.
