Monday 22 December 2014

Merry Christmas everybody

Merry Christmas, readers!

FantasyTOTP will be taking a two-week break over Christmas, since the real-world TOTP shows will make it redundant. If you enjoy them, make sure you come back to this blog in 2015 for year-round TOTP enjoyment.

In the meantime, here's a round-up of the most-featured TOTP performers of the year:

Five appearances: Vance Joy, John Legend, Becky Hill, Ellie Goulding, Katy Perry, Fuse ODG.

Six appearances: Idina Menzel, 5 Seconds of Summer, Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris, Tinie Tempah, Coldplay.

Seven appearances: Paloma Faith, OneRepublic.

Nine appearances: Ella Henderson, One Direction.

Ten appearances: Jess Glynne.

Eleven appearances: George Ezra, Clean Bandit, Sam Smith.

A whopping FIFTEEN appearances: Ed Sheeran.

All hail King Ed, and a special well done as well to Clean Bandit, Jess Glynne and George Ezra who were unheard of in 2013 but have dominated the show this year.

Finally here are the all-time most featured friends of the show since FantasyTOTP started part way through last year:

1 Ed Sheeran (19 appearances)
2 One Direction (13)
= Sam Smith (13)
4 Ellie Goulding (12)
= OneRepublic (12)
6 Clean Bandit (11)
= George Ezra (11)
8 Pharrell Williams (10)
= Jess Glynne (10)
10 Calvin Harris (9)
= Ella Henderson (9)

See you next year!

Thursday 18 December 2014

Top of the Pops, 18th December 2014

It's the week before Christmas and the race for Christmas number 1 is too close to call. Two of the runners and riders are here in the form of Band Aid and Uptown Funk, although we can only show the video in both cases. It's also Wizzard's turn for a festive vault-dredging.

In non-festive action, metalcore gets a rare bit of TOTP representation in the form of Bring Me The Horizon, one of three new entries from three TOTP first-timers, and there is a barn-storming eighth appearance of the year from friends of the show and alarming chart yo-yos One Direction. Finally, George Ezra debuts single number 3, with a burst of Budapest thrown in as a bonus.

Debuts: KStewart, Fifth Harmony, Bring Me The Horizon, Mark Ronson.

Band Aid 30 - Do They Know Its Christmas?

Up 9 to number 3

George Ezra - Budapest / Listen To The Man

Up 6 to number 23 / Up 5 to number 41

Oliver Heldens ft. KStewart - Last All Night (Koala)

In at number 5

Fifth Harmony - Bo$$

In at number 21

Bring Me The Horizon - Drown

In at number 17

From the Vault: Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day

Up 17 to number 35

One Direction - Night Changes

High Climber - Up 12 to number 7

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTER: JB Gill

Thursday 11 December 2014

Top of the Pops, 11th December 2014

TOTP is starting to take on a best of 2014 feel. The year's success stories Ed, Ella, Calvin, Ellie and 1D are all here, and two of those combine long-lived hits with newies this week. Also, she's been in the chart for aaaages but now is finally the time for the international artist of the year Taylor Swift to make it into the studio. Welcome, your majesty.

Newer faces come in the form of Blonde ft. Melissa Steel and the highest chart placing yet from Union J. And the Christmas lorry trucks on: this week it's the Pogues.

Debut: Blonde (but not Melissa Steel).

Union J - You Got It All

Highest New Entry - In at number 2

Blonde ft. Melissa Steel - I Loved You

In at number 7

One Direction - Night Changes

Up 2 to number 19

Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding - Outside

Up 1 to number 10

Ella Henderson - Yours / Ghost

Back in at number 16 / Up 6 to number 43

From the Vault: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York

Up 49 places to number 18

Taylor Swift - Blank Space

Up 4 to number 4

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud / Make It Rain

Up 3 to number 1 / In at number 38

PRESENTERS: Olly Murs dressed as Father Christmas and Nick Grimshaw dressed as an elf

Thursday 4 December 2014

Top of the Pops, 4th December 2014

It's an unusually left-field line-up this week. Sure, Take That are at number 1, but the other notable new entries come from an extraordinarily slow ballad (Labrinth) and an unprecedented pop-pop-punk supergroup (McBusted).

Lower down we have film music from James Newton Howard (with J-Law's vocals, played over a Hunger Games montage) and some tips for next year in Years and Years and James Bay. And the Christmas cheer starts here: we take the first of our annual digs into the festive vault and bring out Mariah Carey.

Debuts: McBusted, James Bay.

McBusted - Air Guitar

In at number 12

Sam Smith - Like I Can

Up 2 to number 15

James Newton Howard - The Hanging Tree

In at number 14

Years and Years - Desire

In at number 22

James Bay - Hold Back The River

In at number 18

From the Vault: Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

Up 16 to number 52

Labrinth - Jealous

In at number 7

Take That - These Days

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTERS: Duffy and Heidi Range dressed as reindeer