Solo male artists storm the album chart

CHART ANALYSIS: Pop watcher Russell Iliffe assesses the current crop of British solo males storming the album charts and takes a look over the pond to discover the girls who are riding high on the Billboard Hot 100.

Anita Awbi
  • By Anita Awbi
  • 13 Oct 2014
  • min read
George Ezra (left) has proved to be one of this year’s big breakthrough artists, helped in no small part to his highflying debut album Wanted on Voyage which tops the charts for the first time this week.

The set definitely benefitted from the huge success of his two big singles Budapest and Blame It on Me, which were both monster airplay hits and have kept him in the public eye for most of the summer.

Maintaining pole position this week, Ezra is joined by Ed Sheeran’s X and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour in the top three, continuing a purple patch for young British male soloists.

Meanwhile, Jamie T started October by racking up his third UK top five album when Carry on the Grudge debuted at number four. The singer songwriter made his chart debut back in 2006 when his single Sheila peaked at number 15.

Elsewhere, British indie darlings alt-J recently made a big splash on both sides of the Atlantic with their second album, This Is All Yours.

The sophomore release not only improved upon the number 13 peak of their 2012 Mercury Prize-winning debut An Awesome Wave at home, but also rocketed onto the American chart at number four.

The US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, on the other hand, is currently experiencing a record-breaking case of girl power.

Male artists have found themselves locked out of the top five for the fifth consecutive week, setting a new record in the chart’s 56-year history.

Top of the pile is Meghan Trainor with global smash All About That Bass, reigning supreme for a fourth week.

The 20-year-old from Massachusetts is managing to stop Taylor Swift from regaining pole position with her equally catchy super-hit Shake It Off.

The Official Charts Company also recently confirmed Meghan as the owner of the first single to reach the UK top 40 on streaming data alone.

All About That Bass entered the chart at number 33 before jumping to the summit on its full release, where it stays for a second week.

It was in fact a veritable battle of booty-shaking anthems this week, with rap superstar Nicki Minaj out to snare her first solo UK chart-topper with Anaconda.

However, while Minaj ended up in third place, she has a strong presence in the top three at the moment as Bang Bang, her recent number one hit with Jessie J and Ariana Grande, holds the runner-up spot.

Finally with the return of The X Factor live shows this weekend, it is a good time to check up on a couple of successful acts from previous series.

Ella Henderson, who finished sixth in the 2012 series, scores a second UK top ten hit this week with Glow, following up her chart-topper Ghosts.

Meanwhile, the still unstoppable force that is One Direction, crash on to the US Hot 100 with Steal My Girl. Going straight in at number 13, it is the highest new entry on the chart this week and bodes well for the release of their latest album Four released next month.