What does a #1 record mean? Does being #1 the first week of the year mean the same thing in the middle of the fall? No, but is it any less of an accomplishment? Getting a #1 record is hard any time of the year and I think it does mean something no matter when you get it.
It was around the same time last year that Alvvays took the number one spot on the charts and it was one of the weakest #1's of the year in terms of percentage with 49% of reporters. It was not the lowest of the year though. Caribou had 2 weeks at #1 last year one at 60% and one at 48%. I bring this up because when Bully took #1 this week Alvvays was the first thing I thought of. Perhaps it is something about this time of year that makes it possible for #1 records with less than 50% of the reporters? It does make sense as there are a lot less records coming out and that then means there are a lot less BIG records coming out so stations chart the best of what is available. So Bully took #1 this week with only 45% of stations charting it. A pretty big step bellow even Alvvays last year. I did not have to go far though in looking for a #1 with less of a percentage though as Thee Oh sees took it with only 44% of reporting stations.
In the case of Alvvays and Bully I think you can compare the two but they are not comparable to Thee Oh Sees or Caribou because those records were on the charts for multiple weeks.
I wanted to also compare Bully and Alvvays with the average #1 record. Over the past year and a half. This year the average #1 record has had 62.4% of all reporting stations. Last year that average was 62.7% Pretty close. The highest in the last year and a half was Sleater-Kinney with 76% of all stations.
One thing I bring up a lot when talking about the charts is that the 100 ADD mark is a good way to gauge if a record is going to make a run at #1. This appears not to be as true in the summer time. A few weeks back when Bully was #1 most added with 89 adds I thought there was no chance for them to make a run. One thing I did overlook with Bully though is that this was the 2nd time they were #1 most added this year. In the first week of the year they were #1 most added, something I had completely forgotten about but something that obviously helped with the bands impact at radio. Sometimes looking at just the top ADD numbers can be a bit short sighted and its nice to be reminded to look at the big picture.
Speaking of adds. This weeks #1 most added Tame Impala will surely be #1 in a short amount of time and likely dominate until the end of summer. Speaking of summer, according to my records we have about 6 weeks left before it gets really busy again. How many #1's will we see in those 6 weeks?
I am going to say 3.
Thank you for reading.
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