23 October 2015 A few months earlier in 2015 we saw Ireland's last number one from an Irish boyband, HomeTown's 'Cry For Help'. Now here's Ireland's last number one from any boyband. We'll still have a chart-topping single from a girl group, though, plus solo number ones from former band-boys including two of 1D. But … Continue reading One Direction – ‘Perfect’ →

4 September 2015 I had just got undressed when I looked out the window and saw Justin Bieber right outside. His visit to Bushy Park in Dublin to shoot some hoops in June 2017 was one of Ireland's more unexpected celeb-sighting stories. The basketball court in Bushy Park happens to be just beside the men's … Continue reading Justin Bieber – ‘What Do You Mean?’ →

21 August 2015 So, what do we think 'Can't Feel My Face' is about? Perhaps I don't need to be so coy - The Weeknd himself certainly wasn't, going by the lyrics of his subsequent track 'Reminder': "I just won a new award for a kids show / Talking 'bout a face numbing off a … Continue reading The Weeknd – ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ →

14 August 2015 It only scraped to no. 21 in its home of America, so how come 'Marvin Gaye' by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor got to number one in the UK and in Ireland? I put it down to our shared taste for top, top banter - the Brits when it involves mild sauciness, … Continue reading Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor – ‘Marvin Gaye’ →

7 August 2015 It was the fate of most boy bands and girl groups to have one member leave. In the case of One Direction, we probably all thought it would be high-profile Harry who'd be first to do a Robbie-style bolt for solo success. Instead, Zayn left for personal reasons. 'Drag Me Down' was … Continue reading One Direction – ‘Drag Me Down’ →

10 July 2015 Country-core fashion and country-adjacent pop have been huge in 2024-25. The countrifyin' of chart pop goes back a lot further, though. In particular, the colossal success of Avicii's 'Wake Me Up' in 2013 helped make country vocal-hook choruses a cheap, easy and popular option for shoehorning a bit of basic-bait sentimentality into … Continue reading Lost Frequencies – ‘Are You With Me’ →

12 June 2015 Diplo, one part of Major Lazer, has most recently been in the news due to various sexual assault allegations, which he denies and which in one instance has been settled out of court. The video for 'Lean On' is someone doing their big shop in the Bollywood aisle of Cultural Appropriation. Singer … Continue reading Major Lazer and DJ Snake ft. MØ – ‘Lean On’ →

17 April 2015 Paul Walker's death in a car crash in November 2013 was the motivator for this rap-pop ballad from the movie he was making at the time, the seventh instalment of the Fast & Furious series. From its use on the film's elegiac coda, the sentiment behind it was clearly heartfelt, plus I … Continue reading Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – ‘See You Again’ →

10 April 2015 Even if you don't recognise the artist's name—and Omi won't be gracing the Irish charts again—or the song title, you'll surely remember the distinctive trumpet hook that heralds this global one-hit wonder. What we get here at the top of planet Earth's 2015 charts is actually a deep house remix by a … Continue reading Omi – ‘Cheerleader’ →

3 April 2015 Here's our final number one from an Irish boyband. I'd never have envisaged it back in the '90s and '00s when Boyzone and Westlife roamed the top of our charts like buffalo, and sounded like buffalo too. But it's true: as I write this in 2025 Ireland's number one spot has been … Continue reading HomeTown – ‘Cry For Help’ →