Lopez Blogs

As you know this blog has been going for just over four years and I just realised I'd never done an Italian charts update. So what better time than now, as I prepare to head off to Pisa in a couple of days?

I decided to take a look at the Italian iTunes chart to see what was floating the boat of record buyers in Italia....apart from this summer's holiday-song-in-waiting "Mr Saxobeat" by Alexandra Stan at no.1, we have the usual suspects: Jennifer Lopez, Adele, the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jessie J, Lady Gaga etc etc (yawn) so let's focus on the Italian acts shall we!
It feels like Jovanotti's been around for ever, and this week he's the highest placed Italian artist with his piano ballad "Le Tasche Piene di Sassi". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wrbTYDZoxA

Old meets new with Bob Sinclar's remake of "Far L'Amore" with Raffaella Carra. Those of a certain age will remember an English version of this in the British charts in the 1970s - "Do It Do It Again". Unfortunately this song is now stuck in my brain and will need to be surgically removed. Formaggio overload at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6YWdDDpT4I

It would appear that Italian music fans continue to love gravelly-voiced old rocker Vasco Rossi who also remains very popular, with "Eh...Gia" in the top 10 and his latest album also doing very well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CydZtP_XlA He also co-wrote the next song...

Did a bit of research and found out that Noemi is a former X Factor contestant but we won't hold that against her - "Vuoto a Perdere" is her latest hit single and it's a rather good pop/rock song, and she's got the same hair colour as me so that's pretty cool :)) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyCwZNcAMb4

"Arriverà" by Modà featuring Emma is a good old fashioned Italian swaying ballad (and a 2011 San Remo song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1vveTJN8Do

I rather liked Zero Assoluto's slice of electropop on "Questa Estate Strana" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LpDCtqmb7Y

Over in the album chart, this year's Eurovision representative Raphael Gualazzi is doing rather well with "Reality and Fantasy". His left-field modern jazz style may not be to everyone's taste, but it'a distinctive and original and worth checking out if you are a jazz fan. Most of this album's in the English language, obviously with an eye to his international breakthrough.

Thought I'd do one of these as Germany will be in the spotlight over the next couple of weeks as Eurovision 2011 host country.

It's been a while since I did a German charts update (and I won't be posting any links, as the last time I did this I almost got my blog shut down and don't want to risk this again!!).

Anyway, the most significant thing is....where are all the German hits? As with many other European countries these days, the German chart has become so generic with the same international hits as everywhere else - J-Lo's "On The Floor" tops the singles chart, with Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Usher, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, Adele and Enrique Iglesias all taking up a space in the chart...and for some inexplicable reason, a revival of Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" which has been in the German chart for a few weeks.

So I'm going to ignore that and concentrate on some of the other German/European hits instead.



Starting with the Finnish band Sunrise Avenue who continue to be very popular in Germany. "Fairytale Gone Bad" was a massive hit there, and the band's latest track "Hollywood Hills" sticks to their familiar accessible pop/rock sound and has already spent 10 weeks in the German singles chart.



Another act from outside Germany who's doing very well over there is Milow; "You And Me (In My Pocket)" the first single from his current album "North and South" again doesn't stray too far from his trademark acoustic sound with a little touch of the Paul Simon style in there too.

So we've had a Finnish band and a Belgian singer....now we have a Dutch singer named Caro Emerald who's doing well in the top 10 with "A Night Like This". I think her retro style might appeal to fans of Paloma Faith and Eliza Doolittle.



Danish singer Mads Langer's very inspired reinterpretation of Olive's 90s dance hit "You're Not Alone" has also been in the German chart for a few weeks. Think Milow's "Ayo Technology" and you get the idea - I like this!

Where are all the German acts then? The highest placed German song this week is "Strobo Pop" by Die Atzen featuring Nena. Yes, that Nena! It's an of-the-moment electropop/rap number and is (IMHO) a bit annoying.

Then there's Jupiter Jones, whose "Still" is a melodic mid-tempo rock song making its way into the top 20.

I suppose the big question is: where is "Taken By A Stranger"? Well, after 9 weeks on the chart, Lena's 2011 Eurovision entry is languishing at no. 42 although expect it to briefly climb the chart again in a couple of weeks.

Another country where Gaga finds herself looking up from the no.2 position....but it's a very unusual no.1. "Over The Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole seems to be having a resurgence in some of the European charts at the moment. I'm not sure why it's no.1 in France as I've been out of the loop with the French music/TV scene for a while, but it's still a very sweet and touching version of the song, which IMHO is preferable to the Eva Cassidy version which dominated every TV talent show audition back in the day. But I digress.

Inevitably it's the same old story, international r'n'b conveyor belt hits all the way. Nice to see Shakira's "Loca" doing so well over in France. I can't understand why it flopped over here, particularly with Dizzee Rascal on guest rapping duties.

"Celui" by Colonel Reyel brings a welcome little reggaeton/zouk feel to its otherwise predictable and well-worn autotuned r'n'b style. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyXW64L-XZA&playnext=1&list=PLAA7FC48EE21CD35C

"Toi et Moi" by Guillaume Grand http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLNr3_YNeJc is an easy going acoustic number which takes a little bit of Gerald de Palmas, a little bit of Paolo Nutini and (worryingly) a little bit of James Blunt and mixes them up into something quite nice. The video is typically French :))

Could the next big musical trend be the Romanian dance-pop explosion? Inna took over the European charts last year with hits like "Hot" and "Amazing" which soundtracked many a 2010 summer holiday. She's back in the French charts with "Sun is Up" - but her fellow countrywoman Alexandra Stan has joined her in the top 10 with "Mr Saxobeat", which, if you can imagine, is like a cross between Inna and "We No Speak Americano". In other words: pan-European hit alert! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAhHNCfA7NI

Things have been a little stagnant over the last few weeks in the Swedish singles charts - but I have no complaints about the incredible run at no.1 by September's "Mikrofonkåt" which was finally ended by (inevitably) "Born This Way". Which in turn was knocked off the top this week by Bruno Mars' "Grenade". Yes, not even the Sverige Topplistan is immune to the over-played, over-rated and tedious international hits.

But reassuringly it won't be long till Melodifestivalen-madness takes over the singles chart. Strangely enough though, only Le Kid (no.31) and Dilba (no.20) have cracked the singles chart as yet. Maybe once all the songs are available, after all the semi-finals have been completed, then we'll get a better idea.

In a country with such a strong and varied musical presence, the international hits are dominant. Equalling the Norwegian chart, only 7 of the songs are by Swedish artists. One of these is making a welcome comeback: Veronica Maggio's "Jag Kommer" is an uptempo, catchy left-field pop number and is a more modern sound than the Oskar Linnros-produced retro style of her last album. This time she's musically collaborated with Christian Walz, who wrote and produced the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA9Ln4FuXKc

Apologies once again for the lack of posts on this blog so I'm going to try and make up for it with a little blog-bonanza this weekend (time permitting).


Kicking off with some singles charts updates and firstly we're off to Norway, with a very topical no.1 single - and no, I don't mean Lady Gaga's long-awaited (and disappointing IMHO) new song "Born This Way" which was simultaneously on air and on sale from last Friday. However, she's had to settle for no. 2 in Norway....behind none other than this year's Melodi Grand Prix winner, and this year's Norwegian representative at Eurovision. Yes, it's Stella Mwangi with "Haba Haba"! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7W-ko3Bbt8

The only other MGP song in the top 20 this week is the BlackSheeps "Dance Tonight" - I'm still quite surprised by the popularity of this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT0PLRMEP6g and I won't even talk about their grammatically incorrect spelling as there seems to have been a long-running debate about this over at YouTube.

The name Thom Hell sounds as if he could be a death-metal singer, but "Over You" is a sweet piano-driven adult pop number with a retro feel and an extremely clever video where a guy takes a journey through a series of iPhones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTEcBJDUS7g

Erik og Kriss are very big in Norway at the moment with their own Norwegian-language take on the urban/rap/r'n'b style which seems to be sweeping the planet at the moment (much to my annoyance). This is probably more bearable purely because it's in Norwegian, but that's all. "Ølbriller": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv4zX_T8LgA



Meanwhile Admiral P brings a little reggae-flavour to his urban-pop "Snakke Litt": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quE6rBVTHkQ - it's a very catchy song isn't it!

I'm particularly impressed with the diversity of music in the Norwegian language in this week's chart - rap, reggae and alternative rock. The latter being "Hjerteknuser" by Kaizers Orchestra, a band which has been around for a few years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZkFXnm-RNQ


Of course the majority of the singles chart is dominated by some familiar names - Enrique Iglesias, Rihanna, Adele, Taio Cruz, Usher, Bruno Mars. It's a little bit sad that more and more, the European charts appear to be losing their identity, with local acts being in the minority. For example, only 7 of the top 20 chart singles are by Norwegian acts. But, at least for one week, Norwegian music is reigning supreme with Stella more popular than Gaga. Well done!

It's been a while :) anyway I thought it was time to check out what was happening in the Sverige Topplistan singles chart, which is published every Friday at http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/.

If you needed any proof that the world had gone mad, then "Black Fender" by 50s-throwback Hans Edler was probably it. The song topped the Swedish singles charts for a couple of weeks recently. Why? Can any of my Swedish friends tell me the reason for this???

Anyway it's not at no.1 anymore - that honour goes to Shakira and her "Waka Waka" which is still very popular even though the World Cup seems so long ago now.

Shakira better watch out as the next song could knock her off the top. High climber this week is a song I wrote about recently. "Gubben i Lådan" by Daniel Adams-Ray is a real grower and sounds very good on the radio.

His former Snook bandmate Oskar Linnros has spent 22 weeks on the chart with "Från Och Med Du" and that song is down to no.7 this week, but it could climb yet again, thanks to the "Idol effect". Yes just as with our own (vastly inferior) X Factor, it only takes someone to sing a song in the show for the original version to re-enter or climb the chart. As "Från Och Med Du" was in this week's Idol, then expect to see Oskar in next week's top 5 once again. This also explains the entry of "Who Says" by John Mayer at no. 40, for example.

A few international hits in the chart this week, notably Cee-Lo Green who continues to climb the chart with "F**k You" (I was very disappointed that they played the "Forget You" version on Swedish radio the other night) anyway let's concentrate on the Swedish songs!

As predicted, Kent's next release from their excellent "En Plats i Solen" CD is the very electro-poppy "Ismael" which has entered the chart at no.13.

One of my all-time favourite Swedish pop stars Magnus Carlsson is back in the Swedish charts with "The Best In Me". I still haven't heard his new album yet, so I don't know if this is one of the better tracks on the album. Nevertheless it's a catchy retro-pop song (got a "Love In The First Degree" feel to it, don't you think?), maybe not a classic, but it's good to have him back again.

When was the last time you looked at a singles chart and your favourite song was at no.1?

Welcome to this week's Swedish Radio Digilistan singles chart, where "Keep On Walking" by Salem Al Fakir remains at the top of the chart and is the top-selling single in Sweden for yet another week. And deservedly so: I'm not just saying it for obvious reasons, but the quality of this song is just breathtaking - the musical arrangement is completely magical.

As you would expect at this time of year, Melodifestivalen songs are dominating the chart although it's maybe not the usual landslide, with Pauline, Alcazar, Pain of Salvation, Pernilla Wahlgren, Neo and Jessica Andersson taking up position in the lower reaches of the chart rather than dominating the top 20.

There are obviously a lot of people needing a cure for insomnia, which can only account for MF winner "This Is My Life" by Anna Bergendahl being at no.2 with the growing possibility that she will top the chart next week. And before you ask, I'm not going down the sour-grapes road any more, I'm just judging songs on their own merit rather than in the context of a song competition - I'm well over that one now.

Eric Saade's "Manboy" is at no.3. I knew this would do very well after the contest and it has become a huge radio hit too. It will be interesting to see how his career develops from here - of course there is always lots of room in the Swedish pop market for yet another male solo singer.

If only the same could be said for the British pop scene at the moment - the 'next big thing'-obsessed media is only fixated on female singers, and the only male artists getting attention are those in the urban/'grime' genre - the domination of that style of music in the British charts is becoming completely intolerable in my view! I know this has nothing to do with the Swedish charts but I thought it was worthy of a rant anyway !!

Another one which has done very well is Timoteij's "Kom" - no. 4 this week and I'm not surprised, it's just soooo catchy.

The other major radio hits to come out of MF - Ola's "Unstoppable" and Darin's "You're Out Of My Life" are still holding on to their places in the top 10.

European crossover dance hit of the moment "Stereo Love" by Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina is also doing very well in the Swedish top 10. It's got a very distinctive hookline, but (of course) it will be ignored in the UK, that's pretty obvious. Would like to be wrong though!

Very nice to see that Sweden has boarded the Adam Lambert bandwagon - "Whataya Want From Me" is getting lots of airplay and is one of the highest climbers this week, sitting at no. 14 and is surely set to climb higher.

Have we ever done a Dutch update before? Can't remember, but I should really do them more often.

A bit of Dutch-language summer-reggae at no. 1 in the Mega Top 50 this week. "Mi Rowsu" by Damaru & Jan Smit is a very pleasant laid-back little tune, which, apparently, is sung in a Volendam accent.

It's not the only Dutch-language song in the top 5, as there is also "Slaap Lekker" by Diggy Dex featuring Eva de Roovere. It's a more contemporary rap/r'n'b song but I think being sung/rapped in its native language makes it so much better. I quite liked this too.

There's also a German artist in the Dutch top 10: Peter Fox's "Haus Am See" has been in the chart for 10 weeks. The great thing about continental Europe is that they have no boundaries to music in another language, unlike here in the UK where not even a song with a couple of German words (Polarkreis 18's "Allein Allein") could get any airplay (Radio 2 excepted) and needless to say, failed to make our singles chart.

A summer dance tune next."La Mezcla" by Michel Cleis is climbing the charts. The Netherlands of course is a significant player in the European dance music scene - as you know, I like commercial dance music but this instrumental is repetitive to the point of deeply annoying.

At no.11, climbing from last week's no.30, is "Mr Light" by Bertolf. I don't know anything about him apart from he's a Dutch solo artist - I must investigate further. A nice mid-paced pop-rock tune, which is very pleasant indeed. Here's a link to the official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqVwpU_YN9c

Krezip is a band which has been going for the last 12 years but now they're going their separate ways. Their appropriately named "Sweet Goodbyes" has been in the charts for the last 26 weeks. It's a sweet little inoffensive acoustic number, quite nice. I've heard of them but never really heard any of their music so I don't have anything to compare it with.

Not had one of these for a while so here goes. I've been out of touch with the European singles charts of late so forgive me if some of these songs are a bit unfamiliar to me :)

Something a little bit different at number one. Not Michael Jackson or Lady GaGa, but "Jungle Drum" by Emiliana Torrini. Is there a particular reason for this, or is it just one of those songs that's gone big anyway?

At no.2 is a song which I immediately liked on first hearing whilst on hols in Dusseldorf: "Stadt" by Cassandra Steen, featuring the very distinctive voice of Adel Tawil. Nice mid-paced song which doesn't go down the boring r'n'b route.

Elsewhere, there aren't too many surprises with the usual suspects - Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas, Cascada, Beyonce blah blah blah. And yes of course lots of Michael Jackson, the Jacko tunes of choice for German record buyers would appear to be "They Don't Care About Us", "Thriller", "Earth Song" and "Heal The World" (whereas the UK's favourite seems to be "Man In The Mirror", a song which was never a favourite of mine).

The good old tradition that is the latin-flavoured European summer hit lives on in "I Know You Want Me" by rapper Pitbull, with it's "one two three four" hookline. This song had completely passed me by but it's all over the European charts (including the UK top 40) so I suppose people are hearing it on holiday and buying it on their return home?

Speaking of Latin-flavoured pop, with a German twist, inevitably brings me to an old favourite of this blog: Marquess, the German band who sing in Spanish. "Arriba" is more of their good-time summery pop, although I think it's getting to the diminishing-returns stage with them now as this is nowhere as great as "Vayamos Companeros" for example.

Another song that's been around the German chart for a while is "Foot Of The Mountain" by A-ha. Their new album has been quite well-received by the critics. This single is very Keane-influenced IMHO, with its strong piano hooklines. Rather nice, if not earth-shattering.

So the Michael Jackson deluge didn't quite materialise in time for Sunday's UK top 40 chart, although this could all change next week.

"I don't understand why you're number one"

If I may borrow a lyric from the recent (ironically) number one hit of the same name by Tinchy Stryder....I don't get La Roux. And I don't know anyone else who likes them either. Maybe it's because they remind me of the Eurythmics, and I used to hate the Eurythmics. "In For The Kill" is my joint-top most hated single of the year, it makes my ears bleed equally with Beyonce's "Halo", my other joint-top most hated single of the year. Anyway, today I was off work and off to the big city for some retail therapy. Almost every shop we went into was either playing Michael Jackson or La Roux. I don't object to Michael Jackson, but La Roux on the other hand....anyway, why is that "Bulletproof" song no.1? (Probably because it sold the most downloads this week, duh)

Whilst I'm on the subject of overrated female acts - Pixie Lott. If I hear that "Mama Do" song on the radio once more I might just scream. Still, she's much less objectionable than Duffy....

Back to number ones. David Guetta was no.1 last week with "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland, which is a great dance track. And by a French act too! Apparently he was the first French act to reach no. 1 in the UK since Modjo (which was also a great dance act - I loved their album). Anyway I digress...David Guetta's released a lot of quality dance music over the last few years so he finally deserves a no.1 at last.

I was disappointed by the poor chart showing of Little Boots' "New In Town". She may be yet another one of those over-hyped female electro acts, but I think she actually deserves her success, as her album is full of memorable pop songs. (I'll get round to reviewing it here someday). Maybe the follow-up "Remedy" will do better?

If you want some serious UK chart analysis (as opposed to these ramblings) then check out the wonderful James Masterton's chart blog which is updated weekly at http://new.uk.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chartwatch/

(Mr Masterton is also responsible for a blog of such musical-statistical-fabulousness and total quality that once you start reading it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. http://blog.masterton.co.uk/)

Just thought I'd check out the German singles chart before I head off to Dusseldorf on Monday.

Yep...it's same-old same-old with Lady GaGa at no. 1 with "Poker Face" and the chart doesn't really look too different from any other European chart, with perhaps the exception of Peter Fox, Silbermond, Polarkreis 18 (and I know they're not German, but it's nice to see that Mando Diao are still very popular indeed in Germany!).

One name which I have seen popping up in various European charts in recent weeks is Milow, whose unusual acoustic-style cover version of the 50 Cent/Justin Timberlake track (which coincidentally was out when I was previously in Germany) is currently at no. 2 in the German singles chart.

So I decided to find out more information about this artist, and he turns out to be a Belgian singer-songwriter (real name Jonathan Vandenbroeck) who has released two albums of acoustic pop - which may appeal to fans of Jason Mraz or James Morrison, for example - and if you want to hear more of his songs then go to his MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/milowbe

That rather nice "Broken Strings" by James Morrison & Nelly Furtado is currently top of the German singles chart this week. Highest new entry at no.5 is "The Colour of Snow" by Polarkreis 18, the follow-up to the brilliant "Allein Allein" (which is still no.7). I like this new song too.

Another major star with two songs in the top 20 is Peter Fox, who came to my attention with his rap on Miss Platnum's "Come Marry Me" a couple of years ago. "Schwarz zu Blau" (no. 3) is quite a dramatic and rather good track, whilst "Haus am See" has been around a lot longer and is still no.9.

Reamonn have been around with their big anthemic rock ballads for a few years and are still very popular - "Million Miles" is a new entry at no. 23. Nothing too original about this, but it's OK.

I remember Max Mutzke when he did ESC with "Can't Wait Until Tonight". I didn't know he was still around, but "Marie" is currently in the top 30.

Those in search of cheese will find much to enjoy in the current works of Tim Toupet and Michael Wendler.

I am so happy tonight...."I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, a song which I've loved for a long long time on this blog, and one which everywhere else in Europe equally loved long before the UK did, has finally climbed to no. 11 in the UK top 40 singles chart.

The singles chart is pretty meaningless now and generally cluttered with dull r'n'b and overplayed radio rubbish, not to mention chavvy trash like Kid Cudi's "Day and Nite", possibly the worst thing to grace the top 5 since...well, the last worst thing to grace the top 5.

So, for a nice little easy going song like "I'm Yours" to get into the top 20, it's a massive achievement indeed. Well done Jason. It's long overdue.

A little look at this week's Sverige Topplistan singles chart...Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" is no. 1. Presumably not a tribute to that rubbish Ant & Dec game show. Of course over here in the UK we're the last ones to get "Just Dance" so "Poker Face" should probably reach our charts in about August or thereabouts.

It knocked Idol-winner Kevin Borg's "With Every Bit Of Me" from the top spot. I'm still not too keen on this "winner's song", it is rather predictable and has that deja-vu feeling about it.

Sahara Hotnights are back with "In Private" which is this week's highest new entry. It's a cover version of the old Dusty Springfield hit and they've managed to keep faithful to the song but give it their own style. I quite like this.

Good to have Mando Diao back too: "Dance With Somebody" is no.10. Catchy, quality guitar pop which they do effortlessly. I like it! Their new album "Give Me Fire" is out in February.

Unlike many of my fellow bloggers I've never understood the appeal of former Idol-winner Agnes but at least she's wisely ditched the big power ballads for catchy, uptempo out-and-out pop. "Release Me" is ok, not the worst I've heard, but I'm still not a fan.

Nina Persson's 'side-project' A Camp are no.13 with "Stronger Than Jesus". She is such an iconic figure in the Swedish music scene and is so distinctive that she could sing the phone book and make it sound good. This is more 'easy-listening' than the Cardigans, but I liked it on first listen. One of those songs which makes you sway from side to side (!)

I'm beginning to worry that "Curly Sue" will end up like an albatross around the neck of Takida, as it refuses to leave the singles chart after 58 weeks there - it's still no.27 - whilst follow-up "Handlake Village" is at no.16. I love the video for this song, which is filmed in the Swedish countryside.

I still believe that they could be one of the next big Swedish musical exports - the international market could be very receptive to their, how shall I describe it, 'Metallica-lite' style of music.

Elsewhere, the "Grammy-effect" has made its presence felt, with Anna Ternheim, Kleerup, Robyn and E.M.D. all entering the lower-end of the singles chart.

I haven't been feeling too great over the last few days and the next few days are going to be a bit mad too but I may just post a few random thoughts along the way. Like these....

1. Britain goes GaGa over GaGa: "Just Dance" knocked "Hallelujah" off the no.1 spot on Sunday. Hooray!! What a great pop record, and it's got me hoping that 2009 could be the year when quality pop finally wrestles control of the charts from the manufactured talent show rubbish, the identikit r'n'b and the corporate indie.

I wouldn't mind a commercial dance music revival either - if Guru Josh's "Infinity" was transformed from a 1990 laughing stock into a dance stormer then anything is possible. Oh and Calvin Harris is on the way back too. I like him.

2. Empire of the Sun: new wizards of Oz. Just discovered this amazing duo last week and I can't stop listening to "Walking On A Dream" and "Standing On The Shore" and "We Are The People" (www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound) They make dreamlike dance-pop which (to me) has very strong early 80s influences to it. Distinctive sound with floating harmonies and beats sometimes reminiscent of Deepest Blue (whatever happened to them?). I am loving this band and I think they're going to become major faves on this blog!

3. Michelle don't love Coolio: We're so addicted to this series of Celebrity Big Brother - who'd have thought it? Anyway there's the usual mix of the noisy/opinionated/entertaining/quiet/dull housemates. Even though Coolio, Tina and Terry can be annoying at times, I'd rather have them than comatose pop stars Mutya, scarf-boy Ben and Michelle, the latter two getting very annoyed by housemates' suggestions that they may be more than just friends. Tonight's BB was a Heaton blub-fest, as she whinged about Coolio the bully-o. Then Ben weighed in and got a very predictable response from Coolio!
Why is Michelle so bothered anyway? If she's in a secure relationship with her boyfriend outside the house, then she shouldn't really care. Or do we feel yet another fabricated reality romance coming on? The tears. The manipulation. Aah...it all makes sense now....!

I'm disappointed by the young pop stars, who seem ill at ease among the older and more opinionated members of the house.

I will probably post a few more updates over the week as I'm really into this series now. Anyway, Michelle, Mutya, Tina and the (overpaid) Ulrika are up for eviction.

I wish the highlights show would have more Verne as he's the reason I started watching it. His "Endless Love" duet last week was priceless though :)

Martin Stenmarck is back at the top of the Sverige Topplistan with "A Million Candles Burning" which is a very different sound from his usual and is an environmental-friendly charity single. With a title like that, I expected one of those "Winners Song"-type hands in the air ballads so I was glad it was more uptempo.

At no.2 in the Topplistan is Darin, who is back, to the joy of pop-bloggers everywhere. "Breathing Your Love" is very good, and has a little "Disturbia"-vibe going on, although IMHO it will never replace "Money For Nothing" as my favourite Darin song. My only other gripe about this one is that Kat De Luna is on it, I can't understand her appeal and it could have done without her.

I've never really been a Britney Spears fan but "Womanizer" has such a catchy hookline which has already eaten its way into my brain and it's now squatting there. I'm trying to evict it. No.3 this week in the Topplistan.

Poster Girl recently mentioned the debut single by Daniel Karlsson who was on Idol last year. I've decided that "Would You Believe", which is this week's highest new entry at no.9, is a rather excellent record and it has totally taken me by surprise as I didn't expect that type of song from him - commercial yet extremely credible. I hope this continues to do well and that we get to hear an album from him.

Going up to no.12, is an ex-Idol winner and participant in "Stjärnor på is" - the Swedish version of "Dancing On Ice", Markus Fagervall with "If You Don't Mean It" which is OK although a bit on the formulaic mid-paced-pop-ballad side. I was never really a fan of his when he was on Idol so can't get too excited about this.

Finally, at no.18 there's a really catchy track by Swingfly - yet another Swedish rapper, this genre really is on a high at the moment - and "Singing That Melody" has really grown on me with its rather cheesy mobile phone number hookline.

I've been checking out various European singles charts and couldn't fail to notice just how similar they all are. So leaving aside the varying merits of Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, Coldplay, Duffy and Jordin Sparks, it's refreshing to see that the Norwegian singles chart contains a number of homegrown hits.

"If A Song Could Get Me You" - Marit Larsen: this is topping the charts at the moment and is a nice quirky little acoustic ballad, like Lene Marlin overdosing on the happy pills. It's rather sweet, but maybe a little too sweet at times, but it makes for an interesting no.1 single choice.

"Lost" - Erlend Bratland: a "....Talent" guy I presume? No, it's not a cover of the Michael Buble song, and yes, it does sound like a talent show contestant's song.

"Scared of Heights" - Espen Lind: I've followed his work on and off for a few years, good to see he's still going. This is a nice jaunty little acoustic ballad, which the Norwegians seem to be rather fond of at the moment. It's a little Jason Mraz-esque (and coincidentally "I'm Yours" is no.5).

"Belly Up" - Maria Mena: I'm not really familiar with her work so I don't know if this is good or not by her standards. It's certainly a bit offbeat and unusual for the top 40.

"As I Am" - Inglow: this is the kind of melodic easy on the ear rock which will definitely appeal to fans of Tokio Hotel or Takida.

I'm hoping to do Norwegian charts updates more regularly - their singles chart certainly appears more interesting than I thought it would be!

There is something seriously rotten in the top 40, when the trashy, contrived, 'oh aren't I shocking?' "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry gets to no.1 in the chart, (and knock Kid Rock off no. 1), whilst The Verve's great comeback single "Love Is Noise" can only get to no.5.

I suppose the only consolation is that this week's no.1 has got one-hit-wonder written all over it, but why are the charts all over Europe falling for this tedious publicity seeker?

Elsewhere, I'm happy to see that The Script have made top 5 with their second hit "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", but just who is buying that awful "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale? It reminds me of that "JCB Song" from a couple of years ago. Yes, that bad.

I do fear for the chart success of Gabriella Cilmi and Sam Sparro's follow-up singles to "Sweet About Me" and "Black and Gold" respectively, as these songs are still in the top 30 after all this time and "Save The Lies" and "21st Century Life" will probably be neglected as a result.

The top 40 chart has become ridiculously stagnant, with songs hanging around for several months at a time. I'm not suggesting we go back to the old days when a song went straight in at no.1 and then disappeared in a fortnight, but the UK chart is now very stale indeed and something needs to be done to put some life back into it. Any suggestions?