Nick Kingswell is a new name to get to know for fans of folk-influenced rock that is more accessible than, say, the music of Bon Iver. Nick hails from Australia but relocated to London, England. “Homesick” is the song that documents his move, but the result is an anthem of sorts that anyone can identify with. What’s impressive about this are the rock guitar elements, which plays into what James Bay offered on his Electric Light album, to get away from worldly rock troubadour status. Then there’s an unexpected string arrangement that’s just the kind of icing that a diverse song like this needs. All in all, “Homesick” is an engaging, satisfying song that will appeal to fans of the aforementioned plus perhaps those of James Blunt, Hozier, and Vance Joy too.
This chart marks the week where I close the door on my career in education in human resources. It’s a bittersweet feeling, especially during these strange times where you can’t say goodbye to people in person, though that will happen later.
This also opens the door for me to spend more time with music and working on music projects. I’m looking to help individuals or businesses fill a gap with whatever knowledge and skills I can bring to table. If you’re interested in talking with me more about it, you can drop a line to me in one of the following three places: On Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Getting back to the new chart, the Top 2 hold steady, but there’s a lot of movement, and for the first time in quite some time, there are 6 new entries. Songs are going up and down the chart faster than ever because of the volume of great new music out there.
Locked in at the top though is Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande’s “Rain On Me” (above), now in its 4th appearance at #1. It’s the first song to obtain 4 appearances (8 weeks) at the top since “Push” by Kazaky last Fall. Also staying put at #2 is “Never Let Me Down” by VIZE and Tom Gregory (below), which is starting to break out on dance music radio in the US.
Victor Perry’s lovely and sad “What I Deserve” (above) glides up to #3, to tie with “Sail” (with Levi) as his highest charting song to date. Now it’s in a battle with the top two when they start to weaken a bit. A new release featuring Victor’s vocal is “Ma Cherie” (below) by Swedish producer Behmer, who was also involved in the recent cover of Modern Talking’s “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”, which also featured Victor’s vocal. This is a delightful slice of Eurodisco that sounds very little like our Victor, with his vocal pitched down, though you can certainly recognize his phrasing and some of his vocal qualities amid the production.
Another one to keep your eyes on is “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK, still at the top of the UK charts, as it climbs 10-6. It’s actually a perfect compliment to the top two songs so we’ll see what happens.
Rufus Wainwright has his first Top 10 hit on this chart since 2007 as the whimsical “You Ain’t Big” (above) rises 13-9. Right behind it is Canadian pop/R&B singer/songwriter Tafari Anthony with the cutting lyrics of “Centerfold” (below), which moves up 12-10.
My discussions are limited for the songs on the rise, but the Fastest Riser on the chart belongs to two gents who are no stranger to the chart, but had never worked together until now. UK producer Jonas Blue and US singer MAX make a formidable pair as “Naked” soars 21-12. A bit of behind the scenes trivia: One of its songwriters is the much-praised Ed Drewett, who has been a co-writer on huge hits by One Direction (“Best Song Ever”), The Wanted (“Glad You Came”), Little Mix (“Black Magic”), and even more Jonas Blue (“Rise”).
Two recent debuts also make promising moves. “Wanna Go Dancin'” by Australian dance producer Fisher (above) climbs 25-18, while UK indie singer/songwriter Jazz Mino rises 28-20 with her lyrical gem “Like A Drunk Girl” (below).
The Highest Debut on the chart, like “Rain On Me” and “Head & Heart” is one of the ‘bangers’ of 2020. It’s “Undo My Heart” by British dance singer Karen Harding in collaboration with co-songwriter and co-producer Digital Farm Animals (aka Nick Gale). “Undo” arrives on the chart at #23. It’s Karen’s first appearance, but the second for Digital Farm Animals, who got to #11 with Alan Walker and Noah Cyrus on “All Falls Down” two years ago.
L.A. based trio Giiants return to the chart for the first time in over two years with the insanely catchy “Waiting For You” at #24. Their earworm “Small Talk” previously reached #3, and in another incarnation, members Cam and Adam (as DATABOY) topped this chart three times in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively with “Just Once”, “Dreams Are Gold”, and “Memorize Me” (with Rune RK).
The title song from Jessie Ware’s elegant electronic dance/disco album “What’s Your Pleasure” arrives at #25 to join “Save A Kiss”, which peaked at #3 two weeks ago.
UK singer/songwriter Benedict Cork, who has written for Adam Lambert and others, returns to the chart with his engaging ballad “One Last Song” at #26. Benedict’s “Breaking Hearts” reached #3 last Fall.
If you couldn’t get enough of The Brothers Macklovitch’s remix of Raphael Saadiq’s “So Ready” like me – it peaked at #4 here a while back – then you will equally enjoy the first official single from les bros Canadiens (who are A-Trak and Dave from Chromeo) which is a soulful slice of house music called “Give Love To Get Some” (featuring vocal by Leven Kali) at #28.
After going viral during the past few years with the now-club staple “U Got That”, Atlanta duo Halogen return to the chart for the first time in almost three years with “The Reason”, featuring vocalist and songwriter Kelli-Leigh, at #29. Halogen’s “Can’t Resist” previously peaked at #14.
A reminder that the music from my chart and blog are featured regularly on the new online radio station Radio GTA. You can hear their Big 20 on Wednesday evenings with ‘The Musicman’ James Rogers and listen for songs from the chart too 🙂 Scroll down the station’s main page to listen to lots of variety from across the decades! I’m the new music consultant for the station so you can expect even more in 2020 🙂 You can start by joining Radio GTA’s new interactiveFacebook group too!!
View the full BILLCS Top 30 right here! Click on the hyperlink on the song titles to hear the songs or watch the videos!
Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify: BILLCS Top 30 Songs
Want to see what I’ve been listening to and charting for the past 22 years? Rummage through theBILLCS Top 30 Archive (where you can click on the link within) when you have a chance!!
One of the big surprises in UK singer/songwriter Sean Smith’s album called Solo is the presence of a few cover versions. I’m not big on covers as regular readers of this blog know well. But Sean’s vocal is so suited for “Hazard” that his rendition ends up being a rather faithful version, even if the arrangement is missing some of the mystique and intrigue of the original. Like with Richard Marx’s original, Sean’s gentle and convincing vocal is in stark contrast to the creepy subject matter, which made “Hazard” one of the more fascinating hits of 1992. It’s definitely worth your attention, and do check out the other cover in Solo, which is of “Human” by The Killers.
It’s a good strategy for performers on the rise to combine forces and bring the best of everything they have to offer to the table, especially not being particularly known outside of their own country. Tia Gostelow won Australia radio station Triple J’s Album of the Year last year, and the duo of Holy Holy have placed a few songs in the upper reaches of the ARIA charts. Combined together they have millions and millions of streams to their credit, and the original “Always” is a winner. The vocals by Tia and Holy Holy singer Timothy Carroll are affecting enough together to drive the song home, and an acoustic rendition would be a welcome alternate take on it. However the production here also accentuates lush synths which are an electronic blanket for the longing in the lyrics. “Always” would certainly sound great next to Dua Lipa and Harry Styles on the radio.
There’s definitely a lot of gritty truth in the lyrics in “scared of the dark” by L.A. pop/rock trio Fames (who are Ian, Wesley and Blair). It’s about all of those sleepless nights that we incur when relationships end, as often the same thoughts roll around over and over again in our heads. So Fames score big points in directly-worded empathy for us all, but they’ve also built the lyrics around a moderately rocking anthemic sound which helps make the song quite memorable. 2020 saw them off to a great start with a sold out show in L.A. and a few hundred thousand streams for their previous single “what do i call u? (ex sounds wrong)”. “scared of the dark” signals a lot of potential for Fames so watch for more from them this year as they work towards an album release.
“House Is Happiness” is everything that its title embodies. It’s a sexy, fun instrumental where the saxophone rules, since it’s brought to you by German producer Stan Sax, aka ZEROBADDAYS, aka one half of the duo Saxity. It’s a song in which jazz can do its happy dance with house music. “House Is Happiness” comes on strong with Stan’s saxophone hook right out of the gate, and carefully steps back at around the 1:10 mark to offer us some repose before it cranks back up its whirlwind pace again 30 seconds later. By the end you’re breathless, and “House Is Happiness” gets better each time you play it. Bravo to you, Mr. Sax!
The word for “Vertigo” by Philadelphia trio Time For Three in these busy days of music is Refreshing! It’s not often that classical music intersects with pop and folk, but when it’s made right, it works oh so well. TF3 is Charles and Nick (they’re the violinists) and Ranaan (he’s the string bass player), and they have a great project to keep growing with stunning harmonies – they all sing – that are actually front and centre in “Vertigo” more than the classical instruments. “Vertigo” is a fine song brought resoundingly to life by three talented guys who are presented to you by the same team as YEBBA, and that should speak volumes in itself. Watch the socially-distanced video for “Vertigo” recorded back in the Spring, above, or listen to it on Spotify below.
Part of making a great song that is suitable for the electronic dance music crowd is to write lyrics that will immediately bring everyone together. American singer/songwriter/ actress (and occasionally, wrestling announcer!) Lauren Mayhew has done just that with the touching and uplifting “We Are Home”. This one brings all of the feels home and makes you really miss being in a club or festival, second homes for many of us music lovers. Bring in Moroccan teen producer Mariline (with support from Alex Parker) and he adds some slick, punchy synths and a memorable drop that kickstarts the melodic chorus. Before it’s over, “We Are Home” is already a singalong that will keep you humming while we look forward to better days ahead for dance music in clubs/festivals.
French producer Mercer often makes some sublime choices when creating his records. A few years back, he drew from France’s disco music in one of its year’s best releases with his record “Satisfy” (featuring house legend Ron Carroll on vocals), using the insistent melody line from Don Ray’s classic “Got To Have Lovin'”. I’m not sure why he’s given this release the title of “Lemonade” (which comes from his Neo Disco 3 EP) because it sure doesn’t have anything to do with the song whose chorus he has cleverly borrowed and disguised as its centerpiece – Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent”. Like with “Satisfy”, “Lemonade” has an irresistibly percolating rhythm that makes it a summertime treat.
“Lighthouse” starts off as an acoustic pop song that is impressively guided into soulful, bluesy territory as brought to you by London-based singer/songwriter Andreas Liberos. The lyrics offer kindness and hope in these days where sometimes there is nothing or no one to turn to and help make it all feel better for you. Andreas has a commanding vocal presence and it transforms what could be a simple pop song into a convincing and meaningful statement. If the name is familiar, this singer of Greek heritage appeared in the cover of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” by Jevanni Letford that was played at the Royal Wedding two years ago and saw major label release. He also was featured a few years back in a solid deep house release I wrote about by Australia’s Latchmere called “Limits”, which also appeared on my personal chart. But his voice was pitched down considerably for effect, and is unrecognizable next to this fine performance on “Lighthouse”.
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