Poor Maroon 5 and the curse of Rihanna, similar to The Saturdays' curse of Flo Rida, destined never to get a UK #1 because the same face keeps popping up in the way. The US group have scored a slightly unexpected huge worldwide hit with their Christina Aguilera collaboration Moves Like Jagger. Considering these two acts are the cream of pop circa 2002-2004, it's strange to see them collaborating approximately 7 or 8 years after this would have been a momentous occasion and getting such a big smash out of it. The collaboration came about of course after Christina and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine worked together on the US version of talent show The Voice. The single made an instant splash in the US although is now doing better than ever before and has had a few weeks at #1, bringing the band right back to the peak of commercial success after a few years where it felt like their star was fading.
Moves Like Jagger has also topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Korea and Sweden to date but in a few major territories it's stalled at #2. The mighty Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye and Kimbra has kept it at bay for months in Australia whilst Marlon Roudette's ballad New Age has prevented it from topping the German chart so far. In the UK something quite extraordinary has happened - it's spent the last five weeks static at No.2, each week behind a completely different song. On two occasions it's come close to topping the chart, just a couple of hundred sales prevented it from seeing off Example's Stay Away whilst only a couple of thousand separated it in the most recent chart from Sak Noel's Loca People.
With no major releases seemingly slated for this week, and holding up better than everything else as usual it seemed as if it would finally go to #1 this week, on its eighth week inside the top three. But wait...fate plays its cruel hand and Rihanna and Calvin Harris' new single and impending blockbuster smash, We Found Love, was released at midnight and is already #3 on iTunes UK and almost certain to deny Maroon 5 of the top spot on what was to be their final chance, what with major releases due next week from Matt Cardle and Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine himself. This is exactly the same scenario as in 2007 when Makes Me Wonder was a midweek #1 before a late in the week release of Rihanna's soon to be record breaking #1 Umbrella which edged it out to debut at the top by Sunday. They obviously quickly forgave her as a collaboration between the two acts - If I Never See Your Face Again - was released as a single before the year was out.
One thing's for sure - Moves Like Jagger will wind up as one of the all time great #2 singles, coming so close on so many occasions yet destined to miss out on each one. And it will almost certainly outsell every song that prevented it from going to #1 in the long run, just as Eminem and Rihanna's Love The Way You Lie did last year before winding up as the UK's biggest selling single of the year. Rihanna gets her chart revenge then, it's just a shame that it always has to be at the expense of Maroon 5. As for Christina, it looks as if she'll have to wait a while longer for her fifth UK chart topper, almost 8 years and counting. Looking set to be beaten by six different songs, Moves Like Jagger can count itself one of the unluckiest #2 singles of all time!
