B.O.T.A. by @ElizaRosemuzik and @intergalacticz is Number 1

See the Top 100 https://t.co/kIQcwhKbwC pic.twitter.com/ioJK0JdWhM

— Official Charts (@officialcharts) September 3, 2022

After six weeks on the chart, “B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)” has climbed up the UK singles charts to become Rose’s debut number one. During an interview with Dazed magazine earlier this month, Rose spoke on her career’s origins and early musical influences. During the interview, Rose speaks of her first introduction to DJing and cites her initial foray to a work placement at London record shop Flashback when she was 15 years old.

Within the interview Rose stated, “I was really into Amy Winehouse at the time,  and through her I started getting into soul, jazz and disco. When I realised that all of this was Black culture, and I was able to hold this physical thing in my hand that represented black culture, that’s when I started getting into records.” Speaking with Official Charts, Rose has given the following statement, “I just want to say thank you to everyone who listened, streamed and downloaded. This is The People’s Rhythm and I feel like everyone came together to get this to Number 1. I never expected it in a million years. Thank you. It’s fabulous!”

Due to its popularity throughout this year’s festival season, the track has also been named this week’s most streamed song. Throughout the week, “B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)” has acquired over 4.8 million streams in the UK. The track was initially released on 15th June 2022 via Rose’s independent label Rosebud Recordings; due to the immense attention received, the track was picked up by major label Warner Music UK, who proceeded to release the radio edit on 12th August 2022. Much like the UK’s former number one single “Afraid To Feel” by LF System, the single also utilises the creative and production technique of sampling. Keen listeners can hear a sample of the classic Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam hit “Let The Beat ‘Em“, Rose and Interplanetary Criminal can be heard using the LL w/ Love RC mix of the 1991 song.

Following The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Cascada, @ElizaRosemuzik‘s B.O.T.A is an Official Chart milestone https://t.co/HDXp6Yidu0 — Official Charts (@officialcharts) September 3, 2022

With the Official Charts’ 70th anniversary fast approaching, this week’s top-selling track has become the UK’s 1,400th number one single. The music-orientated ranking system was established in 1952; the first song named the UK’s number one single was “Here In My Heart” by Al Martino. Other tracks to secure landmark chart positions include “Do You Mind?” by Anthony Newley, which became the UK’s 100th number one single. British legends The Beatles became the UK’s 200th number one single with their single “Help!“, seven years ago the UK’s last landmark position of 1,300 was given to Rachel Platten for “Fight Song“.

The single’s current high placement within the charts means that “Afraid To Feel” has secured LF System chart success; the track’s chart reign marks the second longest run thus far in 2022. The track overtook “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” to obtain the second place. The beloved musical number was released from the popular Disney film Encanto; the track spent seven consecutive weeks at the top of the UK singles chart. The current record of the longest-running number-one of all history belongs to Frankie Laine; the crooner’s track “I Believe” was released in 1953 and has spent 18 weeks as the UK’s number one single.

.@LFSYSTEMMUSIC lead the Official Singles Chart for an eighth consecutive week https://t.co/wdfNlqDGL9 pic.twitter.com/qdpUjlK4ym

— Official Charts (@officialcharts) August 27, 2022

Due to LF System’s recent chart win, “Afraid To Feel” has been named the longest-running number-one dance single of the decade so far. With over 4.6 million streams accumulated this week, the single has also been named UK’s most streamed track. The Scottish-formed duo dropped the chart-topping track on 2nd May 2022 via Warner Music UK. Upon its initial release, the track cracked the UK top 20 and soon began to jump multiple chart spaces, “Afraid To Feel” was confirmed as the UK’s number single at the start of July.

“Afraid To Feel” first gained popularity via the social media app TikTok where it has been used as a sound in countless videos and posts. The track has become a favourite this summer due to its breezy appeal and catchy melodies. Along with an amended pace in the vocals, the hugely popular single also utilises a heavy sample of the Silk 1979 track “I Can’t Stop (Turning You On“.

Elsewhere within this week’s U.K. singles chart, Elza Rose and Interplanetary collaboration “B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)” has remained at number two. Placing at number three this week is “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra, its peak position after spending 18 weeks on the charts. The track was released on 22nd April 2022 by the British singer-songwriter and is the second single to be taken from Ezra’s third studio album Gold Rush Kid. At number four is “Break My Soul” by Beyonce; this week sees the single drop one position after placing at three last week. Charting at number five is “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic; this week, the theme from Top Gun: Maverick crack into the top 5 for the first time since its release.

Also included within this week’s top 10 is “My G”, the new collaboration between English rapper Aitch and Ed Sheeran. The new song debuted on the singles chart this week and is the third single to be released from Aitch’s debut studio album Close To Home. The track makes its first entry at number 6, marking Aitch’s eighth track to crack the top 10 and Sheeran’s 39th top 10 charting single.

.@LFSYSTEMMUSIC spend a fourth consecutive week at Number 1

Congratulations boys (and their new good pal @LewisCapaldi)

Official Singles Chart: https://t.co/93fxecyjMZ pic.twitter.com/av22kocGEF

— Official Charts (@officialcharts) July 29, 2022

Before jetting off to Spain for a set on 7th August 2022, LF System are scheduled to play in Glasgow tonight. The duo are then billed to play a set in Ireland on 13th August 2022 at Monroe’s with support from Conall Haugh and Origin DJs. On 19th August 2022, the group are to perform at the East London venue Night Tales. The band’s series of Summer concerts are set to conclude on 20th August 2022 with a performance in Cardiff.

The hitmakers’ tour schedule includes various dates within September including a set at Edinburg’s Fly Open Air outdoor event on 16th September 2022. The upcoming festival is set to take place on 16th-18th September and will be held at the historic Edinburgh Castle. Also set to take the stage are a roster full of acts including Palms Trax, Big Miz and Ben Hemsley plus many more acts to be announced. After three more appearances, LF System will perform at Manchester’s Warehouse project on 29th October 2022.

Elsewhere within this week’s singles charts, Central Cee’s new single “ Doja” has debuted at number two. The track has been named this week’s highest new entry and its chart success marks the singer’s highest placing single in the UK. The artist last cracked the top 5 in 2021 with the single “Obsessed With You”, upon release the single charted at number 4. Released on 21st July 2022, “Doja” includes heavy sampling of the 2001 track “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” by Eve featuring Gwen Stefani. Due to its catchy hooks and lyrical content, the song instantly went viral on the popular app TikTok.

Also making an impression within the UK singles charts is “Snap” by Armenian Eurovision contender Rosa Linn. The Eurovision entry has placed within the UK top 40 for the very first time and has a position at number 26. After the track’s appearance in the contest, The Armenian singer-songwriter’s track has become a worldwide viral success on social media. Due to the single’s popularity, “Snap” has been named Eurovision’s second highest charting song on 2022, placing just behind Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” which placed at number two on the UK charts.

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The duo’s Summer smash sees the band utilise a sample from the 1975 song “I Can’t Stop (Turning You On)” by Silk, the single’s accompanying music video echoes the track’s disco influence with beautifully shot dancefloor scenes. The track first gained traction within social media and became a viral hit within the popular app TikTok, the song’s popularity then transferred into chart sales, accumulating over 5.5 million streams this week.

Speaking on their chart win to OfficialCharts.com, LF System gave the following statement, “We’re absolutely over the moon. Thank you to everybody for buying it, streaming it and showing all of the love in the world towards it. We just want to say a massive thank you!”

Elsewhere within the charts, “As It Was” by Harry Styles proves its staying power and places at number two. Last week’s number one and record-breaking single “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush has charted as this week’s number three. Placing at number four within this week’s UK singles chart is Beyonce’s latest single “Break My Soul”, the track is the lead single from her upcoming seventh studio album Renaissance. Closing this week’s UK top 5 singles chart is ”Green Green Grass” by George Ezra, taken from the Brit award-winning singer’s third studio album Gold Rush Kid.

Similar to the meteoric comeback of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, “Master Of Puppets” by Metallica has re-entered the UK charts due to its use within the successful Netflix TV show Stranger Things. Since its release over 36 years ago, the song has become a celebrated heavy metal track and is widely regarded as a vital part of the genre’s canon. Due to its use within an emotional scene, the track has also enjoyed a resurgence of popularity and has placed at number 47 within this week’s UK singles charts.

Music fans are predicting the track to climb even more places to chart higher in next week’s singles charts, if the influential song was to place within the top 40 it would mark the band’s first Uk top 40 single in 14 years. The metal icons last appeared within the UK Official Singles Chart Top 40 in 2008 with the single “The Day That Never Comes”, the track was taken from the album Death Magnetic which reached the top of the UK album charts.

This week’s chart saw a close fight to the number one spot, Adele’s new single went head-to-head with “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran. The pair had deuced it out in the charts previously, this week the sales margin was particularly close with only 2,000 chart sales in-between the singles. Sheeran’s single landed at number two within the UK Official Singles charts, the singer also has two other singles chart within the top 10. The singer’s new album’s lead single, “Bad Habits”, landed at number three and “Overpass Graffiti” charted at number six.

In other news, Adele’s show-stopping special, Adele One Night Only, aired today at 8:30 pm ET. The concert was recorded at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The event was attended by a star-studded audience including James Corden and Lizzo. The two-hour concert was aired on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+. The spectacular evening saw the global superstar sing a collection of her hits, the singer was also interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. The singer spoke with Winfrey about her life and the inspiration behind the music which made her a star.

The singer took to Instagram to post a clip from the show.

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A post shared by Adele (@adele)

The 33-year-old singer opened up to the host concerning motherhood, Adele discussed work demands and her son through her track “Hold On”. Within the interview, the singer spoke about the song’s inspiration which was based on advice provided by her friends. When prompted to discuss the song’s message, Adele replied, “My friends always would say, ‘Hold on’ when I would feel like the lyrics in the verse. But it was just exhausting trying to keep going with it. It’s a process. You know, the process of a divorce, the process of being a single parent. The process of not seeing your child every single day wasn’t really a plan that I had when I became a mum, The process of arriving for yourself every day, turning up for yourself every single day and still running a home, running a business.”

Elsewhere within the singles chart, “Cold Heart” by Sir Elton John and Dua lipa lands at number four. The single was released on 13th August 2021 and was the lead single to be released from Sir John’s new album The Lockdown Sessions. In October the single enjoyed a week at number one before being outsold by Adele’s single “Easy On Me”. At number five this week is “Flowers (Say My Name)” by Arrdee, the single is also this week’s highest new entry. The 19-year-old British rapper’s chart position marks his third top ten single in six months as well as the rapper’s highest entry within the Official UK Singles Chart.

An array of football anthems found themselves in the Top 100 this week due to the EURO 2020 games, further escalated by the final on Sunday. But amid the anthems, Ed Sheeran’s 2021 single ‘Bad Habits’ has extended its top billing.

This week marks the second week at number one for the ‘Shape of You’ singer, ‘Bad Habits’ was teased on popular app TikTok in late June of this year where the singer debuted the single’s horror-esque look. Within the video, the artist also gave fans a glimpse into the aesthetic of the new single’s video. The single, released on 25th June 2021 through Asylum Records is the lead single off the 30-year-old singer’s upcoming fifth album. The track also marks the artist’s first solo release from a studio album in four years.

The artist took to his Instagram page to post an acoustic version of the hit single.

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A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

The single has racked up an impressive sales count and has outsold its opening week, selling 103,000 chart sales including 10.9 million streams. The release outsold the six football anthems which entered the chart this week. Out of the newly introduced anthems, it is no surprise that ‘3 Lions’ by David Baddiel, The Lightning Seeds and Frank Skinner is the forerunner, climbing 18 spots to reach number 4.  Another popular football song that entered the charts this week, ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les came in at number 36, its highest position since 2010. The track was originally released in 1998 and was co-written by Alex James, bassist for Blur. Much like any other anthem, the track had a purpose, it was written and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The charts appeared to follow a theme this week as the pub classic ‘Sweet Caroline’ re-entered the charts at number 48, originally released in 1971 by Neil Diamond, the song has been adopted in recent years as an English classic.

Sheeran’s newest single also outsold Olivia Rodrigo’s hugely popular release ‘Good 4 U’ this week, which remains at number 2. Stealing the bronze this week is ‘Heartbreak Anthem’ by Swedish DJ Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix. The collaboration is Little Mix’s first release since the single ‘Confetti’ on 30th April 2021, the newly made trio took part in this year’s record store day with a release of 2021 album ‘Confetti’ on Vinyl with a new decorated cover. Just below ‘3 Lions’ at number five is ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ by Maneskin, the Italian band famously won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Zitti e Buoni’.

Unlike the 1990s a specific football anthem has not been written for this year’s games, although we have seen plenty of old-school favourites get their second chance in the charts. Perhaps ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran is the unofficial anthem for the EURO game. However, this weekend’s game may provide a different answer, depending on the result we may see an anthem at number one next week.

Announcing the release on Instagram, Paul Weller’s official account wrote: “We’re incredibly excited to announce that Shades of Blue, the lead single from Paul’s upcoming album, FAT POP is out now! You can listen to the track here: http://PaulWeller.lnk.to/ShadesOfBlueSo and stay tuned… We have a video coming very soon!”

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In February, The Jam frontman also released the single ‘Cosmic Fringes’ from his upcoming LP. He started recording vocals, guitar and piano for ‘Fat Pop (Volume 1)’ during isolation and sent on the material to his core band members: Ben Gordelier (drummer), Steve Cradock (guitarist) and Andy Crofts (bassist). When the UK’s lockdown restrictions were eased, Weller and his band met up to complete the album at his Surrey Studio, Black Barn. 

The track is co-written by Weller’s daughter Leah, who also features as a vocalist on the track. Leah Weller wrote and released her debut single ‘Change’ in April last year; she revealed to NME that she has been writing non-stop during lockdown. 

Speaking about the Modfather’s upcoming LP on Matt Morgan’s podcast, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher said: “I know [Weller’s] recorded another album since lockdown started, he had one that came out in lockdown and about two weeks later he’d finished another one. He’s a got a great studio.”

‘Fat Pop (Volume 1)’ is set to be released less than a year after Weller’s chart-topping LP ‘On Sunset’, which was released last June. The album made him the third artist in UK music history to have a number one album across five consecutive decades. Others who hold such an accolade are Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon. 

On the LP’s title, Weller said: “I thought of that title straight away… FAT POP… nice and chunky and grooving… just a celebration of music really, how it’s affected us and changed our lives.”

After The Jam disbanded in 1982, Weller formed a new group called The Style Council with keyboardist Mick Talbot in 1983. Paul then embarked on a solo career in 1990 and has picked up several notable awards and accolades along the way, including a Brit Award in 2009 for Best Male Solo Artist. 

Weller’s album is due to be released on 14 May 2021, and it will be his 16th solo album. Following the LP’s release, he will go on tour in the UK this autumn, followed by rescheduled shows in spring 2022. The 62-year-old was scheduled to head out on tour in March 2020; however, the coronavirus pandemic halted the shows. 

You can listen to Paul Weller’s latest single ‘Shades of Blue’ now on Youtube.