The Week in Number Ones: Stormzy, Lil Baby, and Art Garfunkel hit the charts
Welcome back to The Week in Number Ones, where all the biggest movers from the US and UK charts get condensed into one article. Last week, we made sure to break out our disco shoes for Beyoncé’s ‘Cuff It’, gave some respect to Glass Animals and their record-breaking single ‘Heat Waves’, and got into the Halloween spirit with the king of spooky season songs, ‘Monster Mash’.
Who’s the biggest rock band of the current moment? If you answered, “That band that features a bug as their bassist and that singer who really needs to shave his moustache”, then you are correct. Despite officially turning into their fourth decade together, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are as big as they’ve ever been right now.
The band’s most recent release, Return of the Dream Canteen, has landed at number one on the Billboard Top Sales Chart, making it their second number-one album on that chart this year after Unlimited Love. That makes the Chili Peppers the first rock band to land two number-one albums on the chart since System of a Down took their albums Mezmerize and Hypnotize to number one in 2005.
Currently, Return of the Dream Canteen sits at number three on the overall Billboard 200 album chart, but that’s still a mighty fine showing. It’s probably not going to rise to number one, especially considering how Taylor Swift’s Midnights will probably dominate next week, but it’s a sure sign that the Chili Peppers are still on top of the rock and roll mountain.
This week, we’re getting soft and jazzy with Stormzy’s new hit single and marvel at just how many songs Lil Baby threw onto the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Meanwhile, we make the ludicrous (and perhaps accurate) claim that Art Garfunkel was the more successful solo artist out of Simon & Garfunkel in the UK. All that and more as we round up all the best chart news of the modern-day and recent past.
Current UK Number One: ‘Unholy’ – Sam Smith and Kim Petras
It’s one of those weeks where not much has changed on the UK Singles Chart. The entire top five from last week remains unchanged, including Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’ sitting at the top spot. But other than big moves by the likes of Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz, there’s one new name to account for that should be intimately familiar to any regular chart watcher: Stormzy.
The UK grime rapper has already established himself as one of the biggest names in British music, and his upcoming third studio album, This Is What I Meant, is sure to be another massive smash. A few weeks back, we got our first taste of the new LP with the track ‘Hide and Seek’, and now the song has officially debuted at number seven on the singles chart.
‘Hide and Seek’ hits me right in my pleasure centre: a potent mix of R&B, jazz, quiet storm, and hip hop that breezes by with memorable hooks and a remarkably chill atmosphere. A featured performance from Nigerian singer Tems spreads the love across the track while Stormzy unleashes some of his most relaxed verses ever.
It’s a solid combination, one that doesn’t have enough noisy qualities that most number-one singles usually need to get to the top of the charts. I’m just happy to hear a song in the top ten that doesn’t sound like it was made exclusive to get a TikTok sound out of it. ‘Hide and Seek’, with the exception of possibly Beyoncé’s ‘Cuff It’, is definitely the best song in the top ten this week.
UK Singles Top Ten (Week of October 26th, 2022):
- ‘Unholy’ – Sam Smith & Kim Petras
- ‘I’m Good (Blue)’ – David Guetta ft. Bebe Rexha
- ‘Forget Me’ – Lewis Capaldi
- ‘I Ain’t Worried’ – OneRepublic
- ‘Cuff It’ – Beyoncé
- ‘Psycho’ – Anne-Marie & Aitch
- ‘Hide and Seek’ – Stormzy
- ‘Under the Influence’ – Chris Brown
- ‘Miss You’ – Oliver Tree & Robin Schulz
- ‘Super Freaky Girl’ – Nicki Minaj
Current US Number One: ‘Unholy’ – Sam Smith and Kim Petras
First things first, congratulations to Sam Smith and Kim Petras for being the first non-binary and first transgender artists, respectively, to land a number-one hit in the US. Representation still matters, and a major glass ceiling has now been broken. Maybe it could have been with a better song, but that’s neither here nor there.
Other than Smith and Petras, there’s a name that has completely taken over the Hot 100: Dominique Armani Jones. Yes, the rapper now and forever to be known as Lil Baby recently released his third studio album, It’s Only Me. Do I claim to be an expert on Lil Baby? Absolutely not – most of what I know of him boils down to the fact that he’s the least problematic of the two members of the Baby Brigade over Da Baby.
But even I can see that Lil Baby is having one of those ubiquitous chart moments this week. All told, 22 of the 23 songs from It’s Only Me have landed on the Hot 100, with 21 of them being new debuts. Nearly all 65 minutes of It’s Only Me have landed on the singles chart (I don’t know what people seem to have against ‘In a Minute’, but it’s the only track that didn’t crack the top 100).
Along with the previous-released single ‘Freestyle’, that gives Lil Baby 23 total songs on the chart this week. Just think about that for one second: almost 1/4th of the entire Billboard Hot 100 belongs to Lil Baby. That’s insane, and to my knowledge probably a new record for a single album charting that many hit singles. It’s the kind of album release/chart domination that’s usually reserved for Drake and only a few others in the modern day.
That’s the level of superstardom Lil Baby happens to be at right now. Will any of these songs stick around the chart next week? Probably not, seeing as how they’re all tied to the album’s massive release. But that doesn’t really matter, considering how seismic of an impact Lil Baby made this week. It’s really a remarkable feat, one that’s reserved for only the top tier of music’s biggest names. Now, that list officially includes Lil Baby.
US Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles (Week of October 29th, 2022):
- ‘Unholy’ – Sam Smith & Kim Petras
- ‘Bad Habit’ – Steve Lacy
- ‘As It Was’ – Harry Styles
- ‘California Breeze’ – Lil Baby
- ‘I Like You (A Happier Song)’ – Post Malone ft. Doja Cat
- ‘I Ain’t Worried’ – OneRepublic
- ‘You Proof’ – Morgan Wallen
- ‘Forever’ – Lil Baby ft. Fridayy
- ‘Super Freaky Girl’ – Nicki Minaj
- ‘Real Spill’ – Lil Baby
This Week in Number Ones: ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ – Art Garfunkel (#1 on the UK Singles Chart, October 25th, 1975)
Was Art Garfunkel more popular than Paul Simon in the UK? It might sound insane to make that claim, but it might not be inaccurate. Throughout the 1970s, at least when it came to the singles chart, Garfunkel was the superior talent to come out of Simon & Garfunkel, notching two number-one singles across the decade. You know how many number ones Simon had? None.
Of course, the singles chart doesn’t tell the whole story, so let’s rewind back a little bit. Simon & Garfunkel broke up in 1970 after the release of their monster LP Bridge Over Troubled Water. The duo were at the height of their fame on both sides of the Atlantic, with the album’s title track becoming the pair’s only number-one single in the UK.
Garfunkel was the lead vocalist on ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, and let’s not beat around the bush – he was the better singer of the two. While Simon has a solid voice and major songwriting talent, Garfunkel’s high tenor resonates more as a unique tone. While Simon would quickly outpace his former partner on the US charts, landing six top ten hits to Garfunkel’s two (including the number one smash ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’), it was Garfunkel who had the better showing on the UK Singles Charts.
To be fair, Simon had a bigger pull when it came to the album charts: he had four number-one LPs, while Garfunkel had zero. But Garfunkel’s voice was more ubiquitous, and the divide couldn’t have been made clearer than it was on ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’.
An old-school traditional pop ballad that has been recorded by everyone from Billie Holiday to Cliff Richard, ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ was probably best-known thanks to its doo-wop rendition recorded by The Flamingos in 1958. The UK was going through a major revival of classic soul and R&B, something that Garfunkel took advantage of by recording ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ with a new soft rock arrangement.
Not long after ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ hit number one, a strong divide across cultural lines was made between the former folk duo. The US decided they liked Simon’s singles better, throwing ’50 Ways to Leave Your Love’ up to number one in February of 1976. The UK stuck with Garfunkel, gifting him with the highest-selling single of 1979, ‘Bright Eyes’.
The mid-1970s was a time of peace in the notoriously rocky relationship between Simon & Garfunkel. Both had number-one hits, and the pair even renewed their collaboration on the single ‘My Little Town’ (a top ten hit in the US, but not in the UK).
Garfunkel even appeared with Simon on the second-ever episode of Saturday Night Live the same week that ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ reached number one. The goodwill would soon sour again, but there’s an argument to be made that Garfunkel had the upper hand at the time. He’s normally seen as a second banana, but in 1975, Art Garfunkel may very well have been the more popular singer to come out of Simon & Garfunkel.
UK Singles Top Ten (Week of October 25th, 1975)
- ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ – Art Garfunkel
- ‘Hold Me Close’ – David Essex
- ‘There Goes My First Love’ – The Drifters
- ‘Feelings’ – Morris Albert
- ‘It’s Time For Love’ – The Chi-Lites
- ‘SOS’ – ABBA
- ‘Space Oddity’ – David Bowie
- ‘Who Loves You’ – The Four Seasons
- ‘Scotch on the Rocks’ – Band of the Black Watch
- ‘Don’t Play Your Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me’ – Smokie
