What is it with nearly every huge European hit this year stalling between 21-40 in the UK charts this year? Sure they usually hang around for a while but I can't fathom why the UK is the only country where a lot of songs completely fail to properly catch on, when the rest of the continent are absolutely loving them. Aside from Yolanda Be Cool, who are Australian anyway, just with a typical Eurohit sound and legacy, only really Inna and Edward Maya have done brilliantly well in the UK charts this year, though the latter's Stereo Love only spent a month in the top twenty before spending an eternity in the bottom half of the chart where it remains even now. But what of Stromae's Alors On Danse (#27), Lena's Satellite (#30), Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) (#21), Keri Hilson's I Like (#34) and Hurts' Wonderful Life (#21). The latter are even from the UK! Granted they've scored themselves a top five debut album here but the song has absolutely blown up in the rest of Europe, yet their home country can't even put it top twenty!!!
It's been a strange year chartwise in the UK. Most of the biggest sellers have failed to top the charts - in fact it looks as if Eminem and Rihanna's #2 hit Love The Way You Lie will be topping the year to date chart soon!!! A lot of No.1 singles have been flash in the pan year 2000 type in one week and out of the top five the next (or at least down to the bottom of the top five). But the real confusion, for me, lies in this strange quirk of having all of the biggest European hits of the year doing so badly here. All I can chalk it up to is that they are not getting enough support here for whatever reason. Maybe the radio and TV bosses deem these songs to be less relevant to the UK than the rest of Europe. Maybe the UK follows and copies the US music scene more closely than anyone else.
Alors On Danse and Wonderful Life managed to get onto the Radio 1 playlist, somewhat surprisingly for the former, but it's received little support from elsewhere and hence isn't likely to go much higher than it already has. Waka Waka, I Like and Satellite meanwhile, all huge No.1 hits in Europe's other biggest market, Germany, haven't received any Radio 1 support whatsoever, let alone commercial radio support. It's sad to see that we seem completely out of touch with the rest of Europe with our charts, but hopefully these songs will go down as classic singles regardless of their peak - they all certainly deserve to. Whilst the UK enjoy disposable cod-reggae/carnival songs from X Factor alumni at the top of our charts, at least the rest of Europe are enjoying quality, decent music which is the real sound of 2010!!!
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