Highlights from Adam’s Top 40: January 26, 2014

Ceeps gettin’ better.

DEBUTS
40. One Direction – Midnight Memories
39. Shane Filan – Knee Deep In My Heart
37. The 1975 – Settle Down | HIGHEST DEBUT

TOP GAINERS
30. Max Frost – White Lies (35)
28. Foster The People – Coming Of Age (34)
18. Neon Trees – Sleeping With A Friend (26) | BIGGEST MOVER — two weeks
15. Bastille – Bad Blood (21)
08. Grouplove – Shark Attack (13)

THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
10. A Great Big World – Say Something (08) | PEAK: #02
09. Boy & Bear – Southern Sun (09) | PEAK: #09
08. Grouplove – Shark Attack (13) | PEAK: #08
07. Gary Barlow – Let Me Go (05) | PEAK: #05
06. One Direction – Story Of My Life (04) | PEAK: #01 for three weeks
05. MAGIC! – Rude (07) | PEAK: #05
04. Fitz & The Tantrums – The Walker (06) | PEAK: #04
03. The Fray – Love Don’t Die (03) | PEAK: #03
02. Bastille – Of The Night (02) | PEAK: #01 for two weeks
01. Christina Perri – Human (01) | PEAK: #01 for two weeks

Top 10 Next In Line:
1. The Vamps – Can We Dance? (2)
2. Eric Hutchinson – Tell The World (-)
3. James Durbin – Parachute (3)
4. Disclosure featuring Sam Smith – Latch (1)
5. Mary Lambert – She Keeps Me Warm (4)
6. Royal Wood – Forever And Ever (-)
7. Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith – La La La (7)
8. KONGOS – Come With Me Now (-)
9. Sara Bareilles – I Choose You (-)
10. MKTO – God Only Knows (8)

In The Mix:
Bastille – Flaws
Birdy – Skinny Love
Chet Faker – No Diggity
Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas – Instant Crush
Daughtry – Battleships
HAIM – Forever
Hudson Taylor – Weapons (new)
Jared & The Mill – Breathe Me In
John Butler Trio – Only One
John Newman – Out Of My Head (new)
Kylie Minogue – Into The Blue (new)
Lo-Fang – When We’re Fire
Los Lonely Boys – Don’t Walk Away
Magic Man – Paris
needtobreathe – The Heart
New Politics – Tonight You’re Perfect
OneRepublic – I Lived
Paloma Faith featuring Pharrell Williams – Can’t Rely On You
Tegan & Sara – Drove Me Wild (new)

Chart Notes:

• Baby, there’s a shark in the water… so said V.V. Brown in her only hit to date, the #1 “Shark In The Water” from 2010. Well, don’t go in the water because the beast is looking for another bite. Grouplove rides a wave up from 13-8 with “Shark Attack”, their third top ten hit in a row. The quintet is now looking for their second #1; “Tongue Tied” spent two weeks at the top back in 2012.
• The Biggest Mover for the second week in a row belongs to “Sleeping With A Friend” by Neon Trees. It launched from 39-26 last week, and climbs from 26-18 this week. As far as friendly titles goes, the biggest pop pal in my chart’s history is “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C; it rose to #2 in the early summer of 2000.
• This week’s Highest Debut enters at #37 this week, which lands British indie rockers The 1975 their third top 40 hit, “Settle Down”. Their two previous singles were the #2 “Chocolate” and a recent #1 for a week, “Girls”. The title of their latest entry has been in the countdown twice before in 2012: in the spring, it peaked at #30 for Kimbra, and in the summer, it rose to #9 for No Doubt. No one settled for anything less than an original tune in each instance.
• 34-year-old Irish singer Shane Filan is back with his second solo single to reach my chart, “Knee Deep In My Heart”, debuting at #39. Last September, “Everything To Me” rose to #34. Filan was previously a member of the quintet turned quartet Westlife, one of the top-selling boy bands across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Two of their songs made my top 40, “Swear It Again” in 2000 and “World Of Our Own” in 2002.
• Finally, at #40, is the latest single from One Direction. “Midnight Memories” is the title song from their latest full-length effort and follow-up to “Story Of My Life”, which is still in my top ten. A clip for the song premieres on Friday. “Midnight” is the band’s tenth charting hit since 2011.

(See my full chart on the M4BCC message board)

PROFILE: Shane Filan Gives His “Everything” On New Single

That jet’s a sure bet.

It’s written in the Bible of Boy Bands: thou shalt have at least one member who goes solo. Think about all of those bands that managed to produce a member that made it on their own. On the charts today, former *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake is still racking up the hits. JC Chasez also charted away from the group. In Europe and the U.S., Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams managed successes away from Take That, with Mark Owen also leaving his mark to a lesser degree in his homeland. From more stealthier groups like Backstreet Boys to the second-string bands like O-Town, virtually every one has had one member that breaks away to varying degrees of solo success. Now, the latest example of the pop phenomenon comes from a member of a band who recently parted ways, but still wants a piece of the action.

His name is Shane Filan, coming to us courtesy of the Irish boy band Westlife. They ranked highly all over the charts in the U.K. for more than a decade. Beginning as bubblegum pop act with a mix of original songs and light remakes, they turned into virtually an all-covers act about midway through their run, which gave them a mature edge but an increased amount of flack too. The group broke up last year after a Greatest Hits album and one final tour together. They were never fully embraced by a U.S. audience under RCA Records, going as high as #20 on the Hot 100 with “Swear It Again” in 2000 after a slow run upward. The label also sent “World Of Our Own” to CHR radio during the summer of 2002 and was a hair away from making the pop top 40, only to be blocked out by the surging “A Moment Like This” by then-American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. Her coronation anthem debuted the week of their maximum push and thus, priorities were shuffled, and they lost out, never to be heard from on this soil again.

Two members of the now defunct act have since recorded alone. In 2002, Nicky Byrne participated on the single “Here Come The Good Times”, Ireland’s official anthem for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It went to #1 there for one week in May. In 2004, Brian McFadden left the quintet to pursue his own solo career, which landed him three top ten singles in the United Kingdom (including the #1 “Real To Me”) and two number-one hits in Australia: “Almost There” with ex-girlfriend Delta Goodrem (2005) and “Just Say So” with Kevin Rudolf (2010). His glory days are far behind him and his high peaks are sales are virtually non-existant now. So, I guess third time will hopefully be the charm for Mr. Filan and his attempt at a long and lasting career on his own, and thankfully, he’s off to a good start with his debut release.

“Everything To Me” isn’t out in the United Kingdom until August 25, but a music video for the song premiered on VEVO and YouTube over the weekend. It has since received about 47,000 views. The song is a charming reminder of what made Westlife popular in the first place. It’s a sweet and carefree ode to the one he loves. Though he admits sometimes finds himself lost in at all, utilizing the first verse to compare life to a jigsaw puzzle, he comprehends that the idea taking things slowly with his girl will bring them the best in their relationship. He sings, “I don’t need the sunshine shining on my face/And I don’t need perfection to have the perfect day/I just want to see you happy, a smile on your face/Nothing else matters ’cause you’re everything to me.” Precious! Musically, it’s another take on the breezy island sound that Jason Mraz made popular again with “I’m Yours” and Train with “Hey, Soul Sister”, with more of a reliance on the background vocalists as well as a horn section in the final segment of the song. Though it does take some time to build, the ending ultimately soars, creating a pleasant melody and composition that will resonate with more than just his former group’s core audience.

Filan’s release date also features new singles from Bastille, Olly Murs and Rizzle Kicks, but I doubt he will be totally forgotten. Whether he makes it to the U.S. or not this time around is another question, but considering his clip is available to watch here, I’d like to think that maybe it could happen. It would do rather well at the adult contemporary formats. Time will tell if the label wants it to be pursued as I do. Until then, Shane Filan is doing his “everything” to get his name back out there.

Buy “Everything To Me” on iTunes (United Kingdom only.)