2. Ellie Goulding - Still Falling For You
3. Natalia Nykiel - Error
4. Lauren Aquilina - Thinking About
5. Kosmonova - Danse Avec Moi!
6. Chloe Rose - For Me
7. The Chainsmokers feat Halsey - Closer
8. NEIKED - Sexual
9. Craig David & Sigala - Ain't Giving Up
10. Britney Spears - Do You Wanna Come Over?
11. Lushington - You Got Me Baby
12. TIEKS feat Dan Harkna - Sunshine
13. Carly Rae Jepsen - Higher
14. Ward Thomas - Boomerang
15. Mark Sixma & Emma Hewitt - Restless Hearts (Ben Nicky Remix)
16. Eiffel 65 - Critical
17. Britney Spears - Man On The Moon
18. Celine Dion - Les Yeux Au Ciel
19. Offaiah - Trouble
20. Birdy - Wild Horses
A fantastic emerging talent from New Zealand tops the chart this month. Theia's Roam is like a brilliant fusion of the best bits from Lorde and Dua Lipa with a thoroughly 2016-friendly production running underneath an earworm of a chorus and a post-chorus hook that's just as catchy. Definitely one to watch for the future I feel.
Ellie Goulding returns with another big movie ballad, and while Still Falling For You doesn't *quite* hit the incredible heights of last year's Love Me Like You Do, it comes surprisingly close. It is much more subtle than that track though, with a gorgeous bassline and tender vocals from Ellie. Something very different is a recent Polish chart topper, Error by Natalia Nykiel, which has confident and hard hitting pop production that sounds like something The Saturdays might have come out with if they were still around now - and that language barrier is no barrier at all when something is this standout.
Lots of other good pop out at the moment, namely Chloe Rose's For Me, an infectious Mike Stock creation that updates the Steps/Scooch vibe to sound more like Carly Rae Jepsen Jr, Swedish producer NEIKED's raunchy but fantastic Sexual, and Carly Rae Jepsen herself with Higher, the highlight from the Canadian star's new album, Emotion Side B. Other good pop comes from Britney's brilliant new album Glory; namely the highlights Man On The Moon and Do You Wanna Come Over, which is perhaps the most fun she's had on record since 2004's In The Zone album.
Dance gems this month include the current UK No.1 single, and perhaps one of the best chart toppers of the year to date, Closer by US duo The Chainsmokers and emerging talent Halsey. Quite a simple song and drop but its simplicity is almost part of its charm, and who knew either of The Chainsmokers could sing! Craig David continues his excellent comeback with another fantastic smash, Ain't Giving Up, a collaboration with UK producer Sigala. Something rather older, but one I've been hammering this month nonetheless, is the 2000 European hit Danse Avec Moi! by German DJ Kosmonova, which criminally never got a UK release but would have surely been huge if it had done, despite the few vocals being in French (it never stopped Sash!)
Other great dance comes from Lushington with the 90s-esque house banger You Got Me Baby, Mark Sixma & Emma Hewitt's emotional trance track Restless Hearts, the return of Italian legends Eiffel 65 with Critical and a couple of great songs currently making big waves in the UK charts; Sunshine by TIEKS feat Dan Harkna and Trouble by Offaiah.
Otherwise unmentioned are British singer-songwriter Lauren Aquilina's best song to date, the beautiful and timeless sounding piano ballad Thinking About, UK country duo Ward Thomas' catchy album highlight Boomerang, Birdy's recent single Wild Horses, which has returned to my affections after being used just before nearly every X Factor ad break, and the surprisingly good album track Les Yeux Au Ciel from Canadian legend Celine Dion's new French language album.
