Congrats to 24-year-old blue-eyed-soul crooner Sam Sparro, whose electro number "Black And Gold" jumps up from #23 to #4 on the official U.K. singles chart. I discussed Sam the other day in my weekly Towleroad music column, and in the process went off on one of my pop conspiracy theories -- this time about how the "Black And Gold" video resembles the original "Opportunities" video by Pet Shop Boys. Check it out yourself and see if I'm onto something or just hittin' the paint thinner again. (Likely the latter.)Madonna's "4 Minutes" inches up a bit this week to #5, but in the U.K., the CD5 is still a somewhat major determinant in a single's ultimate peak position. So far "4 Minutes" is charting impressively on paid downloads alone, and the CD single isn't scheduled to be released till April 21.
Speaking of which, kudos should be given to Kylie Minogue, whose single "Wow" -- this week at #25 -- has managed to hang around within the Top 30 since late December. A long stretch of that was due to strong early download sales prior to the official release of "Wow." As mentioned yesterday, we in the States will finally see Kylie do some promotional TV appearances to coincide with the release of X this week.On a final note, Britney Spears' "Break The Ice" modestly slips into the Top 40 at #36.
The U.K. Top 10:
1. "American Boy" - Estelle Feat. Kanye West *2 weeks*
2. "Low" - Flo Rida Feat. T-Pain
3. "Mercy" - Duffy
4. "Black And Gold" - Sam Sparro
5. "4 Minutes" - Madonna Feat. Justin Timberlake
6. "Better In Time/Footprints In The Sand" - Leona Lewis
7. "Rockstar" - Nickelback
8. "With You" - Chris Brown
9. "Stop And Stare" - OneRepublic
10. "Fascination" - Alphabeat