10 May 2019 Lewis Capaldi's second chart-topping single within two months, and with another to follow by the end of the year, means he dominates the Irish number one spot in 2019 the way Ed Sheeran did in 2017. That's the only direct comparison I'll make between the two; Capaldi's more robust songs and style … Continue reading Lewis Capaldi – ‘Hold Me While You Wait’ →

12 April 2019 For chart stat purposes, the 'Old Town Road' that went to number one in Ireland is the solo Lil Nas X one. The well-known version with Billy Ray Cyrus, video and all, may have helped drive the song's popularity and topped the US charts, but in Ireland is considered a remix that … Continue reading Lil Nas X – ‘Old Town Road’ →

1 March 2019 I have a bit of time for Lewis Capaldi. He clearly has a sense of humour; the video for his 2022 single 'Forget Me' is an unlikely shot-for-shot recreation of the video for Wham!'s 'Club Tropicana'. He's had to deal with a crushing public episode of mental health difficulties while onstage at … Continue reading Lewis Capaldi – ‘Someone You Loved’ →

15 February 2019 The word 'bored' in the title of Ariana Grande's third chart-topping track in three months is an open goal, and I'm not one to turn down a tap-in. ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored’ also follows the Taylor Swift playbook of leaning into Ari's public private life, with flavours of bad-girl … Continue reading Ariana Grande – ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored’ →

25 January 2019 When Tattoos Go Wrong is always great entertainment for the schadenfreude in our hearts. To tie in with the release of her hip-hop track '7 Rings' and its Japanese-themed video, Ariana Grande got herself a tattoo of the song's title in Japanese characters. However, it turned out that the phrase in Japanese … Continue reading Ariana Grande – ‘7 Rings’ →

9 November 2018 Much as how a Justin Bieber hat-trick dominated the top of our charts in late-2015 and early-2016, here's the first of three number ones in quick succession from Ariana Grande. We can also draw parallels between Bieber and Grande as teen idols whose personal lives have been played out in public—though Ari … Continue reading Ariana Grande – ‘Thank U, Next’ →

12 October 2018 Presenting an unexpectedly different face, figuratively speaking, Bradley Cooper here becomes the first Hollywood A-lister to have a one-off chart-topping foray into music in quite a while - since Kate Winslet with 'What If' at Christmas 2001, in fact, if we discount the sustained pop career of J-Lo and 2011's 'On The … Continue reading Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – ‘Shallow’ →

7 September 2018 Calvin Harris, with eight in total, is joint-fifth on the list of acts with the most number ones in Ireland, alongside icons like Elvis, Madonna, Britney and Dickie Rock. 'Promises' is the seventh of those eight and, after 'One Kiss' with Dua Lipa, the second for Harris in 2018 alone. What accounts … Continue reading Calvin Harris and Sam Smith – ‘Promises’ →

31 August 2018 If you wanted a hit single in 2017-18, clearly you first had to sound somewhat sad-to-morose, then steer a course between the dreary folk-pop of Ed Sheeran and the dreary trap-hop of Drake. George Ezra's groaning 'Shotgun' hugged the Sheeran shoreline; Post Malone's dumb 'Rockstar' dredged the Drakean shallows. Here, 'Eastside' still … Continue reading Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid – ‘Eastside’ →

29 June 2018 Are you a fan of Glór Tíre, Opry an Iúir and the rest of TG4's round-the-clock coverage of the country & Irish scene? Then you'll find the post-chorus part of 2018 chart-topper 'Shotgun' by George Ezra to be similar to the chorus of 2014 single 'Flowers In Your Hair' by Carlow country … Continue reading George Ezra – ‘Shotgun’ →