12 June 2014
A moment of chart history: when ‘Ghost’ by Ella Henderson re-took the Irish top spot on 10 July 2014 it became our first number one under new IRMA rules that include streaming figures as well as sales and downloads. So, a chart-topping single in Ireland could now swell an artist’s coffers by an additional 0.0000001 cent, approximately: happy days!
The current IRMA Irish Singles Chart Rules are that one download sale is equivalent to 100 streams of a new release, changing to 200 streams when the track has had three weeks of a decline in sales. The latter is what applies to old tracks that re-enter the charts. In due course we’ll encounter some other unintended consequences of streaming on our singles charts: Christmas classics; Ed Sheeran; ‘Mr Brightside’.
Less concerned with mere streams, here Ella Henderson is going to the river. As an obvious big-budget push to break her as a major star and powerhouse vocal talent, down to its glossy video and co-writing credit for Ryan Tedder, ‘Ghost’ has a lot in common with Leona Lewis’s statement hit ‘Bleeding Love’. That mahoosive gospel-tinged chorus is impressive. However, perhaps because of its cliched lyrics about rivers, praying and demons, it comes across more as rote melodrama. Added to that, the surrounding blues-pop verses make for a disjointed combination. If ‘Ghost’ doesn’t quite hit the mark as a star-making breakthrough, it’s still a decent showing from Henderson – not quite Umbrella-ella-Ella, but certainly no Aon Focal Ella.
