A View From The Top #105

When I last wrote for this column the charts were a sight for sore eyes. A real Ed Sh**ran fest as his album absolutely dominated the top 10. So you can imagine my delight when I checked the charts weekend to find a varied listing with only two Sh**ran songs, and one only *features* him. A rare treat! But enough about him, he dominates this column far too much, and back to the matter at hand.

This week’s number one is a new entry and comes in the form of Drake’s latest single, God’s Plan. The song is currently enjoying high streaming success, becoming Apple Music’s most streamed song ever; sitting pretty at over 60 million listens as well as a fairly impressive 14 million plays globally in 24 hours. It’s also Drake’s third UK Number One  Whilst this song is perfectly fine, Drake really is not my cup of tea. There is just something about his voice that is incredibly grating to me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been subjected to it so much, either on repeat in Unit 1 in my second year or by my teenage brother playing it outloud through his phone as he wanders round the house. Either way, and whilst the song itself is perfectly inoffensive, it just really isn’t my thing and I just simply don’t have much to say about it. Having listened to this song earlier in the week in anticipation of it’s number one place, I then returned to listen to it this weekend and found that I couldn’t remember at all what it sounded like. Forgettable and nothing new. If you liked literally any of Drake’s previous songs, you’ll like this as, to me, they sound virtually the same.

Moving down the charts, in writing this column I listened to Eminem’s River for the first time, somehow having managed to successfully avoid it for the previous 6 weeks. Being a fan of neither Eminem or Ed, this was not a pleasant listening experience. Songs like this (and the huge careers of Eminem and Ed) make me question what’s happening out there in the general public that means this song can sit in the top ten for six weeks. On a more positive note, I am a big fan of the latest offering from Dua Lipa: IDGAF. This new kind of pop attitude being displayed by the likes of Dua Lipa, Charlie XCX and Zara Larsson provides a much needed break from the monotony of the rest of the charts. It’s refreshing to see women led, positive, girl-power type vibes coming back into the mainstream. On its 4th week in the charts and slowly crawling its way up, this is kind of song I’m happy to see doing well. Feel good, well-made pop bangers. Pop music as it should be. Similarly, Cardi B and Bruno Mars’ 90s inspired Finesse is an innovative single. Modern enough to fit comfortably into 2018’s charts but retro enough to tap into the “only 90’s kids remember” nostalgia market.