3 July 2014 In June 2014 Iggy Azalea, a white Australian who rapped in an American accent, was at number one and two on the US charts with her first two singles to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, the first time this had happened for any act since The Beatles hit America in 1964. … Continue reading Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – ‘Problem’ →

19 June 2014 I recall 5 Seconds Of Summer having a fandom, but even at the time their chart hits didn't make an impression on me. I couldn't name any of the four band members either. All credit to them for their success, but the vibe of McBusted-for-1D-fans is hard to dispel. 'Don't Stop' combines … Continue reading 5 Seconds Of Summer – ‘Don’t Stop’ →

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 … Continue reading Ella Henderson – ‘Ghost’ →

22 May 2014 The last time we had a high-profile copyright claim at number one in Ireland, with 'Blurred Lines', the song was problematic and the ruling was controversial. Thankfully, 'Stay With Me' as a song is an improvement in terms of quality and taste, while the inadvertent similarity of its chorus hook to that … Continue reading Sam Smith – ‘Stay With Me’ →

1 May 2014 No featured vocalist this time around: 'Summer' is the only one of Calvin Harris's eight Irish number one singles on which he's solo. This is also true of his first and best hit, 'Acceptable In The '80s', so I'm cool with this. The problem with 'Summer' isn't the lack of a guest … Continue reading Calvin Harris – ‘Summer’ →

15 May 2014 Though not credited on 'Sing' as an artist, Pharrell's prominence in its audio and video for its sole week at number one in May 2014 effectively gives him a total of 22 weeks at the top of the Irish singles chart on four different tracks in little over a year, seemingly unscathed … Continue reading Ed Sheeran – ‘Sing’ →

24 April 2014 It's been a good few years since I was at a wedding - not that I'm complaining. After all, if I want to spent hours sitting on a wooden bench watching some unlucky sap in a cheap suit stand at the top of the room and wait nervously for a weird old … Continue reading John Legend – ‘All Of Me’ →

27 March 2014 The reference to American Apparel underwear in the chorus of 'She Looks So Perfect' hasn't aged well. Many fans of 5 Seconds Of Summer have surely grown out of them too. (The band, I mean, not the underwear.) Still, 5SOS continue to release new music, and back in 2014 they found considerable … Continue reading 5 Seconds Of Summer – ‘She Looks So Perfect’ →

20 March 2014 Our previous 2014 number one, 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit, included a feature credit for then-unknown guest vocalist Jess Glynne that effectively launched her career. However, the vocalist on DJ-producer Duke Dumont's 'I Got U', Kelli-Leigh, doesn't get a feature credit - that goes to the other DJ-producer here, Jax Jones. Now, … Continue reading Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones – ‘I Got U’ →

20 February 2014 On the basis of 'Rather Be' and most of their subsequent singles, Clean Bandit's artistic vision seems to be: what if every uplifting dancefloor pop hit aspired to the state of the University Challenge theme tune? This is an understandable worldview, I grant you, when your group was formed at Jesus College, … Continue reading Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – ‘Rather Be’ →