The Week in Number Ones: Calvin Harris, Morgan Wallen, and ‘We Are The World’
Welcome back to The Week in Number Ones, where all the biggest chart movers from the US and UK charts get condensed into one article. Last week, we checked out how BTS’ Jimin managed to become the first member of the group to score a solo number one. Then, we made peace with Ed Sheeran before looking back at David Bowie’s transformation from boundary-pushing artist to number one pop star on ‘Let’s Dance’.
Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle: Boygenius have a number one album. Two weeks ago, in this very column no less, I made a public declaration saying that I didn’t believe that the supergroup’s debut LP, The Record, would be featured here (i.e. I didn’t think it would go to number one). Pretty much everything I predict here is wrong, so maybe there was a bit of reverse psychology going on. Either way, it worked.
The Record isn’t just the first number one album for Boygenius; it’s also the first number one album for all three members. Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions and Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher were both top 50 albums in the US, and Lucy Dacus’ Home Video at least landed on the UK Album Chart (at number 85, but still). With those numbers, forgive me if I wasn’t all together confident in the album’s ability to top the charts.
Here we are: The Record landed at number one on the UK Album Chart. It even went up to number four on the Billboard 200, no small feat for an indie album (even one by a supergroup). Congratulations to the three women who made it happen, and here’s hoping that this is the incentive they need to make another album.
This week, we chart the twists and turns that make up Calvin Harris’ impressive career and are forced to acknowledge Morgan Wallen for, hopefully, the final time. After that, we take a trip back to A&M Recording Studios on January 28th, 1985, to join a bevvy of pop music superstars as they record one of the worst songs of all time, ‘We Are The World’. All that and more as we round up the best chart news of the modern-day and recent past.
Current UK Number One: ‘Miracle’ – Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
I don’t know who has the most top ten hits with featured artists and guest singers. Maybe as a professional chart watcher, that should be part of my job. The truth is that I’m scared to find out: what if it’s David Guetta? There’s no recovering from that. But if I had to venture a guess, I would say Calvin Harris at least has a decent shot.
This week, Harris’ collaboration with Ellie Goulding, ‘Miracle’, has risen all the way to number one in the UK. It’s Goulding’s fourth number one as a lead artist and sixth total – the two others are a version of Foo Fighters’ ‘Times Like These’ as a part of the Live Lounge Allstars and her participation in ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ for Band Aid 30. However, it’s Harris’ stats that are slightly more interesting.
Other than the two number ones on which he sang lead vocals, ‘I’m Not Alone’ and ‘Summer’, Harris has now notched nine different number one singles in the UK, all with different singers. Two of them had him as the featured artist (Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Dance Wiv Me’ and Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’), but the other seven were original songs by him with famous singers stepping in for the vocals.
That list is as follows: ‘Sweet Nothing’ with Florence Welch, ‘Under Control’ with Alesso and Hurts, ‘Blame’ with James Newman, ‘Feels’ with Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean, ‘One Kiss’ with Dua Lipa, ‘Promises’ with Sam Smith, and now ‘Miracle’ with Goulding. That doesn’t even count his number two songs with Kelis (‘Bounce’), Ne-Yo (‘Let’s Go’), Example (‘We’ll Be Coming Back’), Disciples (‘How Deep Is Your Love’), Rihanna again (‘This Is What You Cam For’), and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man (‘Giant’), plus his own solo number two hit ‘Feel So Close’. If anyone has dominated the UK Singles Chart over the last decade, it’s Calvin Harris.
UK Singles Top Ten (Week of April 12th, 2023):
- ‘Miracle’ – Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding
- ‘Flowers’ – Miley Cyrus
- ‘Eyes Closed’ – Ed Sheeran
- ‘People’ – Libianca
- ‘Calm Down’ – Rema
- ‘Ceilings’ – Lizzy McAlpine
- ‘As It Was’ – Harry Styles
- ‘Creepin’ – Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage
- ‘Boy’s a Liar’ – PinkPanthress
- ‘Us Against The World’ – Strandz
Current US Number One: ‘Last Night’ – Morgan Wallen
Another week, another inexplicable celebration on behalf of Morgan Wallen. I’m not going to include anything more here that I haven’t already written: which is already reaching worrisome levels. In fact, I made a promise to myself that I would never again write about America’s favourite pop-country bro-tastic red-state-loving superstar. But now I feel an obligation.
That’s because Wallen is currently topping three of the biggest American pop charts: The Hot 100, The Billboard 200, and The Artist 100. The first of those three should be familiar to you – it’s just Billboard’s branding for the pop singles chart, their flagship list across all genres of music. The 200 is the top album chart in the country. The Artist 100 attempts to distil the numerous disparate charts across all genres to find the most popular all-encompassing artist in America.
As you might have guessed, that artist is currently Morgan Wallen. ‘Last Night’, which already had one trip to number one, has now leapfrogged its way back to the top spot. Wallen’s third studio album, One Thing at a Time, has been at or around number one since it was released a few weeks ago, but now it’s firmly planted at number one. Those two factors, plus his dominance of the various country music charts, put Wallen in a position to top the Artist 100 as well.
That is to say: if someone asks you who the most popular musician in America is right now, you’re almost obligated to answer Morgan Wallen. If ever there was an illustration of just how big America is, look at the top three people on the Artist 100: Wallen, Melanie Martinez, and Taylor Swift, three acts with wildly disparate fanbases that rarely overlap. If you wonder how blowhard Republicans keep getting voted into positions of power, all you have to do is look at how Morgan Wallen keeps getting number ones. Hint – it’s probably the same demographic pushing both.
Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten (Week of April 15th, 2023):
- ‘Last Night’ – Morgan Wallen
- ‘Kill Bill’ – SZA
- ‘Flowers’ – Miley Cyrus
- ‘Creepin’ – Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage
- ‘Die For You’ – The Weeknd & Ariana Grande
- ‘Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2’ – PinkPanthress & Ice Spice
- ‘Calm Down’ – Rema & Selena Gomez
- ‘Anti-Hero’ – Taylor Swift
- ‘Players’ – Coi Leray
- ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ – Bailey Zimmerman
This Week in Number Ones: ‘We Are The World’ – USA for Africa (#1 on the Billboard Hot 100, April 13th, 1985)
I love the debate about what the worst number one song of all time is. There’s such a diverse list of candidates: Tony Orlando and Dawns’ ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree’, Paul Anka’s ‘(You’re) Having My Baby’, Eminem’s ‘Crack a Bottle’, and even recent additions like Drake’s ‘Way 2 Sexy’ get throw in the mix. But for my money, the biggest whiff of all time might very well be ‘We Are The World’, a rip-off of an already terrible song featuring some of the most legendary artists of all time embarrassing themselves in different and exciting ways.
This will mostly be a refresher course because everyone has at least heard ‘We Are The World’ once in their lives. And if you’ve heard the song, you know the story behind it. Basically, Harry Belafonte wanted an American version of Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. Never mind the fact that ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ blew chunks, but at least Belafonte had noble intentions. The single would promote funds that would go to African famine relief.
Instead of writing the song himself, Belafonte turned to two of the biggest names in 1980s pop music. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie agreed to write the song, with producer Quincy Jones coming on board to arrange and organise. Stevie Wonder was originally a part of the first call as well, but he had to back out of the writing process due to his commitments to The Woman in Red. Wonder would instead add spirited vocals to the final version.
Now, before we go any further, let me say that ‘We Are The World’ did end up being a significant positive influence on African famine. Over $60million dollars was raised, and unlike some “charity singles” and concerts, it appears as though almost all of the money has found its way to real, impactful causes. ‘We Are The World’ likely saved more lives than can be accounted for, and for that, I don’t have any problem with the process, intent, or execution of the charity single. What I do have a problem with is the song itself, which, to put it nicely, sucks ass.
With every schlocky 1980s trope jammed into one overwrought disaster of a song, ‘We Are The World’ is the sound of about 50 insanely rich people patting themselves on the back. It’s inane and boardline unlistenable as a composition, and the smugness comes blasting through the speakers. Nobody escaped ‘We Are The World’ without harm being done to them. It was a noble cause for sure, but for almost everyone involved, this would be the worst song that their name would ever appear on.
But what an insane time capsule it is. There are 21 different lead singers, almost all of whom are still massively famous (sorry, James Ingram). Behind them, there’s a whole chorus of other massively famous people who don’t even get to stand in the spotlight. Somehow, Smokey Robinson, Bette Midler, and Lindsey Buckingham all agreed to take part and none of them even get a solo. All the while, Jones wrangles the voices into an ungodly mess of tones.
In case you don’t have time to revisit the song’s video (which I highly recommend), here are some highlights: Paul Simon and Kenny Rogers standing next to each other while occupying two different ends of the height spectrum; Michael Jackson clearly recording his chorus contributions separately; Dionne Warwick and Willie Nelson harmonising together; Bruce Springsteen getting over his constipation in real time; Cyndi Lauper giving it her all like she’ll get the chance to stand in front of a microphone again; Dan Aykroyd inexplicably appearing at the top of the chorus riser; Bob Dylan getting one of the biggest vocal spots despite looking like he would rather be anywhere else; and Lindsey Buckingham getting half a second of close up just to show his aggressively 1980s haircut.
Just about everyone involved came straight from the 1985 American Music Awards, which was the only way to get that many famous people in one room. There were two famous rejections: Prince and Eddie Murphy. The legendarily mercurial Prince never gave a straight answer as to why he didn’t attend (he was slated for a lead vocal spot), but he did contribute the song ‘4 The Tears In Your Eyes’ to the subsequent USA for Africa album. Murphy was apparently recording his hit single ‘Party All the Time’ that night and later regretted skipping out on the session.
‘We Are The World’ would become one of the most commercially successful singles of all time, but that success had very little to do with the song itself. A haphazard and overstuffed mix of cheese, ‘We Are The World’ is incredibly easy to mock. The intentions behind it aren’t, but the actual final product certainly is. With the charity angle and the insane mix of stars involved, it was no wonder that ‘We Are The World’ sold more than 20 million copies.
In the years since its release, there have been a couple of other attempts to re-vamp ‘We Are The World’. The problem is that ‘We Are The World’ is such a terrible song that it doesn’t warrant another go-around. A 25th-anniversary version benefitting Haiti featured Janet Jackson duetting with her then-deceased brother Michael, Brian Wilson looking lost, and a new rap section headlined by Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. It’s worse than the original but also somehow more interesting as well.
The legacy of ‘We Are The World’ isn’t all that complicated: it was a bad song for a good cause. The lack of self-awareness in a line like “we’re saving our own lives” is all you need to sense just how eye-rolling ‘We Are The World’ is as a song. But as a project, it was one of the most successful humanitarian efforts in the history of popular music. That fact can’t be understated, even if no one wants to hear that mind-numbing chorus ever again.
Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten (Week of April 13th, 1985):
- ‘We Are The World’ – USA for Africa
- ‘One More Night’ – Phil Collins
- ‘Crazy For You’ – Madonna
- ‘Nightshift’ – Commodores
- ‘Material Girl’ – Madonna
- ‘I’m On Fire’ – Bruce Springsteen
- ‘Rhythm of the Night’ – Debarge
- ‘Lover Girl’ – Teena Marie
- ‘Obsession’ – Animotion
- ‘Missing You’ – Diana Ross
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