Feb 12th 16: Alan Walker Goes No.1

Oops–what a surprise. Completely. It is hardly seen that a song jumps to #1 from outside the Top 5. This current week Norwegian DJ Alan Walker does with his debut hit Faded. Last week he sat pretty at #8, the midweek survey listed jonas Blue and his Fast Car at the top and over the week the electro influenced club hit took over the British deep house track.
A year ago OMI did that feat too. And of course Die Ärzte had their 12–1 jump in September due to a viral campaign.

It is the first Norwegian #1 since 2009 when Marit Larsen held the top position for five weeks with If A Song Coul Get Me You. So Alan Walker also is more selling in a week than his mate KYGO ever did.

A story besides: This is the tenth consecutive European #1 hit–a period that started in June past year with Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better) by Felix Jaehn feat. Jasmine Thompson.


Also the rest of the top 10 is in a big turnover. Climbing from #7 to runners up position the jonas Blue cover of Fast Car goes. Reaching #1 in the UK too the new version there also overtakes the original version of Tracy Chapman from 1988.
Further three songs enter the Top 10 newly. To #5 Stereoact feat. Kerstin Ott with Die immer Lacht jumps from position 20. #8 is Me, Myself & I by G-Eazy X Bebe Rhexa–landing there in its sixth chart week. And the X Ambassadors see their Renegades jumping 19–10. So all of the new arrivals come from acts never charted that high before. With two completely US-American acts invading the top 10 we "only" have six tracks with European acts involved. It is this the lowest result since November 21st 2014. And also the statistics for the top 20 doesn't look better. 12 tracks involving Europeans is as low as in December 2014 last time.


As this issue covers the last and wildest days of German carnival it also serves with the hits of the season. Leading the pack is Andreas Gabalier with Hulapalu which lands at #13 and is his second top 20 hit in Germany. Runners up is Leev Marie by Paveier. Stopping at #34 this is a new career peak for the Cologne band.
Number 3 in this special interest survey is Jeck Yeah by BRINGS occupying #48 on the singles list.
All three songs are recorded this season.


The highest new entry comes from the dream lovers Sarah + Pietro casted in 2011. Nur mit dir is their sixth chart entry and still they have a teenie fanbase what is impressive at all. The huge success from the start of their careers now is far and away.

Right behind the highest climber of the week stops. It is Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay.

Almost exactly five years ago Mike Posner had his last appearance in the list. This week he is back with I Took A Pill In Ibiza which enters at #59. It is an open secret that this entry comes due to a remix by Norwegian duo SeeB.

Feb 5th 16: Zayn Arrives - Rihanna Fails - Carnival & SSIO Invades

2016 counts six chart issues–three of them Stimme by EFF were the most sold single. Meaning this is the best performing #1 of the current year so far.
More spectacular it is this the 40th consecutive week with a European at the top of the list. That is a feat not seen since 25 years.
A further statistical story from the top is the static Top 4 which is the first time since November past year.

At #5 the highest new entry comes in. It is former OneDirection member Zayn Malik with his first solo single. Pillowtalk directly shoots into the top 5–a feat the boy group never managed to do. Indeed their only #10 entry with Drag Me Down came after the split with ZAYN.

New inside the top 10 also is Jonas Blue Feat. Dakota and their take on Fast Car. The remake lands at #7 in its third chart week. One week more inside the list and now landing inside the top 10 Alan Walker lands his Faded at #8.
These new arrivals kick out long selling German productions like Robin Schulz and Glasperlenspiel which brings a situation last seen in early March past year with only one German production inside the top 10. Most time of 2015 we had four, five or even six and seven German productions there.

One of the stories of the week is a story about a fail. Rihanna's new album Anti clearly misses the taste of the masses. #7 in the UK and #12 in Germany in its first week is far and away from what could be expected. Single Work (featuring Drake) also clearly misses the top with stopping at #23. Is that the result of her very ambitious campaign for the album?

Youtube-Star Lamiya launched her first single Glow. It starts chart life at #26.

Carnival season launches its hits since a few weeks. The week before the ultimate party the amount increases as there are:
Warum hast du nicht nein gesagt by Roland Kaiser & Maite Kelly re-enterin #56
Jeck Yeah! by BRINGS new at #59
Leev Marie by Paveier new at #75–after an eight years long abstinence the band is back with a second chart entry
Kölsche Jungs by BRINGS re-entering #80
Polka, Polka, Polka by BRINGS re-entering #95

Leader of the album list is SSIO with 0,9. He also is the first living artist in 2016 who can launch simultaneous new entries on the song survey. Leading the bunch of six is Ich fibicke jeden at #61.

7th of March 2014: The power of TV

Back at the Top Pharrell Williams is adding a seventh Nr.1 week to the account of his hit Happy after he performed it at Wetten dass...?. Last weeks No.1 Waves by MR PROBZ has to step beside and sits now at number 2.

Looking up the history Pharrell is the first male solo artist since Michel Teló in early 2012 who rests at least seven weeks at number 1 (of course I don’t count here AVICII who always colaborates with uncredited singers.)

Wetten dass...!? more and more looses its audience–in Germany a heated debate is going on about that fact. But the show still boosts music sales. So Adel Tawil’s Lieder goes 16–10 after it was performed live at the show. The track already spent 17 weeks inside the list–most of them inside the Top 10. Now it is back for a further week.


Highest new entry comes from an Norwegian act. Nico & Vinz had some first success in Scandinavia under the name Envy. Her single Am I Wrong is the first one released outside the northern countries and immediately lands at number 3 in Germany. It is the highest Norwegian production since five years when a-ha hauled up their Foot Of The Mountain to number 3 also.


New inside the Top 10
As expected Rather Be by Clean Bandit goes 12–6 and breaks the Top 10 after the full CD version is released. Also AVICII gets his Addicted To You inside the Top 10. The track lands at number 8 ten days ahead of the relaese of new remixes. It is the third Top 10 hit from hi album True.

Stopping short of the big 10 Liar Liar by Cris Cab improves being a hit. It goes 28–13 in its fifth chart week and features master of the moment Pharrell Williams as producer. So after three number 1 hits PW is on the way for the next step. In next weeks time also physical sales count into the list.

The fast rise of LORDE comes to a halt slowly. Team only rises one further place reaching exactly number 20. It's her second Top 20 hit. Predecessor Royals slides to number 35 this week.


Carnival hits
This issue covers sales from 21st of February to 27th. It is the week just before the crazy days of Shrove Monday and Tuesday. As every year this time generates its own hits–some of them returning for several years. The leap made by Cologne BRINGS is most significant for increasing interest in carnival hits this week. Kölsche Jung lands at number 41 which is a new peak for the song and the highest rank the band can achieve since four years.

Jürgen Drews also offers a new single. Und wir waren wie Vampire lands at number 48. It is his 27th chart hit as a solo performer. If you count his chart career as a member of Les Humphries Singers too he is an artist having chart success since the weekly charts were enabled. From still active artists only Peter Maffay's career spans a longer time started in April 1970.

Back on the list are: Cat Ballou with Es jitt kei Wood (#62), voXXclub with Rock mi (#100–63), Peter Wackel with the carnival edition of his song Scheiss drauf! (#67), Kasalla with Pirate (#77), HÖHNER with Das geht nie vorbei (new peak at #85).


An elder track becomes a new hit by its use for a viral campaign–that's the story written often enough but still has the power to surprise people. Latest chapter is the story around Supergeil by Der Tourist Feat. Friedrich Liechtenstein. Latter one is a semi known actor in Berlin who had started producing electronic music 10 years ago. By doing this he got to know some other producers and was featured on some tracks with his voice or just for acting in video clips. So he did last year for Der Tourist. The track incidently reached the marketing department of supermarket seller EDEKA. Two weeks ago a new video version of the track was released becoming immediately popular and now starting to sell even the official release of the track is scheduled for 8th of March yet. Starting its chart life at number 59 also means: this thing might become big.

31st of January: Lily Allen is back

No change at the Top: Pharrell Williams still holds firm with Happy and equals the result of the predecessor with three consecutive weeks at number 1. It’s again a calm January.

Heavy action goes on at number 2 with Lily Allen landing there her current single Hard Out Here. It is her biggest hit to date and her first release as a solo artist in four years. The huge success is a result of the track’s use on the so called Dschungel-Camp TV Show. Every January the show generates a (flashlight) hit as the first musical input of every new year. Last year it was Troublemaker by Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida which also peaked at number 2 and had a real hit career afterwards. Will Lily Allen match that success?

Another winner of being connected to the Dschungel Camp is (Michael) Wendler who moved in but very early left the show. Probably that made some fans kind of disappointed. His new single Unser Zelt auf Westerland starts at a mere number 55–the worst result for a Wendler track so far.


Further growing hits climb up the list: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis do have a third Top 20 entry with White Walls stopping at number 17. Katy Perry’s Dark Horse already peaked at number 32 in December right after her performance on The Voice Of Germany. Than the song tumbled down the list–but since two weeks again starts catching fire and landing now at number 33. A video for the track is announced so we can assume it will rise some further. So far the commercial success of the song isn’t that impressive.

Still climbing is Stay The Night by ZEDD Feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore. Landing at number 45 it gives the producer and DJ his biggest hit so far.

LORDE has yet some way to go for having a next big hit. Royals still looks good at number 18. Succeeder Team goes 86–65.

OneRepublic seems launching a next hit: Something I Need goes 99–74.


At the end of January the Aprés-Ski and carnival season leaves clear traces in the list. A still strong performing Helene Fischer (number 5 with Atemlos durch die Nacht and number 50 with Ich will immer wieder ... dieses Fieber spür'n) Wendler's new single at number 55 and the VoXXclub song Rock mi bouncing back to 67 are more or less a sign for that. More significant is the re-entry of BRINGS' lates single Kölsche Jung at number 82 and the comeback to the singles charts after 10 years of Wolfgang Petry at number 90. And also the hit of the past two seasons I sing a liad für di by Austrian Andreas Gabalier re-enters–so far at number 94. It is already the track with the most chart runs in this decade and it collected 69 chart weeks.

Hot Spot 02-22-13

We witness Scream & Shout at number 1 for a sixth week. The track now matches the result of the best performing single by Britney Spears so far, … Baby One More Time. The debut single spent six weeks at the top in Germany almost exactly 14 years ago.
And also will.i.am now matches with the current number 1 single his best performance at the top so far – it was Shut Up by his band The Black Eyed Peas which occupied the top spot in 2003/04 for six weeks.
Will both together go a week further this time?

Macklemore & Ryan Wilson feat. Wanz climb to number 3 with their Thrift Shop. In Switzerland the track this week reached Number 1.

It is just a week to go for the full release of Rihanna’s next Single Stay on CD. But the track steadily rises and this current week reaches number 5. It is her 19th Top 10 hit at all and the 10th alone in this decade. Eight of these ten song reached the Top 5.

On the way up DJ Antoine wants to become the next David Guetta. His current single Bella Vita is rising to number 15 matching now the peak of Sky Is The Limit – the title track of his current album not released as a single yet. Number 15 is the highest position so far since his 2012 smash hit Ma chérie hit number 6.

Probably the first German act on the field of Northern Soul is Leslie Clio. After her first chart entry Told You So in summer last year she now returns with I Couldn’t Care Less which is choosen for backgrounding the new Ford Fiesta Campaign. The spot lifts the song up to numberr 31 – a new peak for the artist.

It is carnival time in the list. DJ Ötzi’s new single Wie ein Komet is entering the list at number 33 – it is the highest seasonal song followed closely by Andreas Gaballier and his recording of I sing a Liad für di. Also Mickie krause takes a leap with his song Nur noch Schuhe an.
Also new is Cat Ballou with Et jitt kein Wood and Kasalla finally can reach the upper half with their Pirate for the first time. The song entered the list for the very first time one year ago.
Winner of the party season also are Stefan Raab and Cologne based HÖHNER..

Hot Spot 02-15-13

Scream & Shout still is number 1 – it’s the fifth week for will.i.am & Britney Spears. Question is: will Britney match next week their best result so far from 1999?

The 48th chart single of Depeche Mode is crowned as the highest new entry at number 2. Heaven is the first Top 10 hit for the band in this recent decade –the 4th consecutive. It is already the 11th single that can reach number 2 or 1.
The second track on the single All That’s Mine enters the charts as a standalone purchase at number 86.

Finally CD version of Castle Of Glass recorded by Linkin Park is in stores now. It propells the track back to number 10 matching the peak two weeks ago.

British productions are gaining strenghth again. There are four tracks with at list a guest role of a British act inside the Top 10 and two more between number 11 and 20. A presence not seen since February last year. To compare that figures: from the US there are 5 tracks inside the Top 10 and four more under the following 10 places.

Imagine Dragons can reach with their debut album Night Visions number 6 of the album list. The release also propells official single It’s Time into the Top 20. And the opening track of the album Radioactive also finds a lot of purchasers. So it begins chart life at number 23. The song is mostly known from its use in the game Assassin’s Creed III.

The big success of the album list this week comes from veteran HEINO. His cover album Mit freundlichen Grüßen broke the record of being the fastest selling digital album of all times. By the way it is Heino’s very first number one album
The balance of his single hits is not that much impressive at all. Anyhow three tracks of his album are entering the list. The best performance can be seen by digital single Junge (a cover of a hit by Die Ärzte) which lands pretty at number 27 – in the week of it’s official release it completely failed in entering the list. At the end of the survey one can find also Sonne (originally recorded by Rammstein #91) and Haus am See (originally by Peter Fox, #96).
Probably much more impressive than the ranks achieved is the fact that Heino is back in the singles list after a23 years long break. His whole career as a hit singles artist now spans completely 45 years. That’s not bad.

The recent list covers the week 1st to 7th February. Still 10 days to go for carnival days. Nonetheless the sound of carnival starts to invade the German list. Still the most loved party track is I sing a Liad für Di by Austrian Andreas Gaballier. The track flies 71–44 in its 52nd chart week and reaches the highest rank since his peak weeks back in August 2011.
After its re-appearance due to a performance on DSDS Idiot by Michelle & Matthias Reim is recognized as a party hit too. It climbs 20 places to number 49 and reaches the upper half of the list for the first time since its original release 10 years ago. Doing so it overtakes also his current hit single Einsamer Stern.
Further down the list there is also a new song by Markus Becker and some other well known party animals like Mickie Krause, Höhner or Stefan Raab in the list.

Very low down the list there is the next hit for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis growing. Can’t Hold Us now reaches the Top 75 and it’s an assured thing we will see them much higher in a few weeks.

On February the 1st next season of Die ultimative Chartshow started. The first episode was about the most successful singles of the nineties. Landing on number 13 was Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio featuring L.V.. The song still got power and rises 96–83 in its 33rd chart week.

And the last TV impact of this week comes from the first recall show of DSDS 13 on February 2nd. The trio Maurice, Kevin and Sergen performed Halt dich an mir fest and the original by Revolverheld feat. Marta Jandová can enter the survey once again at number 97.

09-12: Baku Contest at Carnival Season

Seems that Brazilian Michel Teló starts writing chart history. A fifth week at the Top makes Nooosssaa! Ai Se Eu Te Pego! the third most successful Number 1 hit coming from an act of South America. Only 2010 football anthem Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) and 2001 Whenever, Wherever–both recorded by Columbian Shakira–sold a longer span most copies in Germany. Equalling the 5 weeks run at the Top of predecessor Somebody That I Used To Know the survey repeats a situation last watched in summer 2010 when We No Speak Americano by Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup was the most sold track for seven weeks after dethroning six weeks queen Shakira and her (again) Waka Waka.


Biggest impact of the week was the final of die national selection casting for the Eurovision Contest. The two finalists are swashing up the list. It is Our Star For Baku winner Roman Lob who naturally performs better. He enters at Number 3 with his winning song Standing Still. It is a powerfull rock ballad–probably well done for the western Europe market. Whether the eastern part will catch fire …?



Also the two other songs presented at the final show are in the list. Alone lands at Number 42 and Conflicted at 51. Runner’s up at the show Ornella de Santis brings her three songs into the survey too. Best–of course–her pre-chosen track Quietly at 24. Alone stops at 69, Standing Still at 77.


Another Top 20 story: entering at number 6 with his new single Wild Ones Flo Rida is right now the most successful chart act at all. He has three singles inside the Top 20. His closest combatant still is Taio Cruz holding two singles inside the Top 20.


German releases:
The one and only truly new release in German comes from a rapper: KAY ONE–known as one of the pupils of Bushido–announces a second album. On the first lifted single a big name as duetting partner appears: Mario Winans. Both together confess I Need a Girl–it is already part 3 of the story. Certainly the need is very deep. Why it is so hard to find the right girl is answered in the song itself. KAY ONE ultimately says: “Most of the girls just wanna have my money. I need a girl without LV bag or Cavalli top.” – All that is offered within a luxury setting of champaign and Versace interior. Hmmm – KAY ONE needs luxury but his girl should abstain from all that blingbling? Wish him good luck for his search.



KAY ONE’s Austrian colleague RAF 3.0 tries a very similar way. His new album is out now–leading track Wie kannst du nur (How could you) reaches the single’s list by itself. It is a classic frustration speech of a macho who ditched his girlfriend for whatever reason. Of course there is no doubt left that the girl was the bad one. With number 91 Wie kannst du nur performes five places better than it’s first track Fallen four weeks ago.





This recent issue of the charts reflects sales between February 17th and 23rd–so it includes the peak time of carnival season. Due to that fact the German hit of the season Schatz, schenk mir ein Foto by Mickie Krause reaches a new peak with number 27. It is again 12 places higher than the week before . By the way the track reaches it in its 37th chart week which is the fourth longest run in chart history (counted by chart weeks).

A new hit arrives finally at number 56. Kasalla is a Cologne band founded by Florian Peil. Their Pirate (Pirates in Cologne dialect) is the first track from the debut album Et jitt Kasalla! (literally: It got trouble / more common: You’ll Be In Trouble)–as I found out the track wasn’t planned asa full single release. Probably that will change next season. Founder Florian Peil and band member Sevastian Wagner had two chart hits before with their band Peilomat. Their biggest success so far was Allemann (All Together) that climbed to number 26 in early summer 2008.



Cologne band BRINGS launches its 12th chart hit with latest single Dat is geil (It’s wicked). It is the title track of their last album released in 2011. 2010 hit halleluja also re-appears for a week at number 87.



Of course a carnival classics is back in the list too. Viva Colonia entered the list for the first time nine years ago. It reached its peak at number 20 in 2007. Now it is listed at number 96 again.



Finally I am kind of proud to tell you that the Grammys also have a (kind of tiny) influence on German music market too. Decorated with three awards L.A. based DJ and producer Skrillex enters number 100 with his tune Weekends!!!. Yeah, there is a small crowd enjoying dubstep sound in Germany. But I guess it will take a long long march till he is as popular as in the States. In Austria Skrillex yet has a first hit under his belt with Bangarang reaching number 25.

08-12: The Final of TVoG

It is the fourth week at the top for Michel Teló and his Nooosssaa! Ai Se Eu Te Pego! and probably it will stay for another week there as it is the biggest carneval party hit right now. Statistically we now have two consecutive singles spending at least a month at the top. The last time we whitnessed such a feat was back in late spring past year. Than back it was JLO feat. Pitbull spending five weeks at the top with On The Floor before German Superstar winner Pietro Lombardi hold the crown for four weeks with Call My Name.

At the runner’s up position the winner of The Voice of Germany lands. It is–you already know it–20 years old Ivy Quainoo. It might have surprised some fans due to the fact that none of her performances had charted before. Obviously she was kind of a sleeper overtaking all contestants with her amazing Do You Like What You See which is a great pop song at all. Honestly it could be the title song for any James Bond Movie. Her coaches–The BossHoss– doubtlessly did a good job. It’s really a pity that a casting winner song never has the chance of getting a real hit in Germany. Number 2 says everything. And the performance at iTunes after a week is ... devastating.



The four competitors of Ivy Quainoo also storm the list. Michael Schulte–the third on the show–can make it into the Top 10 too. His ballad Carry Me Home lands at a proper number 8. It is already his third chart entry. He also lifts British Ed Sheeran. into the Top 10. After he performed with the newcomer star the song The A Team at the final show the original single jumps to number 9 and the just released album + enters the album list at number 12.

I’m only allowed to embed the acoustic version of „Carry Me Home“ sung at a private radio channel –sorry!


Also the runner’s up on the show Kim Sanders can launch with her final song a third chart entry in 2012. As she had a career as a singer already Haunted is her eighth track at all that can reach the Top 100. By halting at number 13 it is so far her best performing song. I would add: it is really the best and most ambitious song she ever recorded.



Fourth candidate Max Giesinger performed a more rock oriented song, but obviously that style wasn’t the favourite one of the audience. Nearly 18% of votes was a clear result. Sales afterwards speak a different language. Dach der Welt (Roof Of The World) starts its chart life at number 14. (No video or soundclip available, sorry) His duet with Katie Melua gives the guest star a re-appearance of her hit Nine Million Bycicles at number 97. It’s the first time since Ovtober 2007 that the song can reach the charts.



The strong impact of the show and their appearance inside the Top 20 results in a complete number of six German productions in the upper fifth of the chart. Such a feat was last seen in late October the past year. The question is: How sustainably that German power can establish itself?

Having the four finalists in the list ain’t everything TVoG can achieve. Also two participants kicked off at the semi final a week before bring their own songs into the survey. The tracks were not available before the final show and of course all the attention spotted to the Big Four. Hence it is more than impressive watching Mic Donet flying to number 36 with Losing You. That result corresponds with the voting of the show–more than 56% wanted him to stay, coach Xavier Naidoo instead chose Max Giesinger. Maybe Mic Donet can attest himself as the really big winner of the show. Just let’s wait til all candidates have released their albums. So far Losing You is at least as strong as winning song Do You Like What You See. It’s soulful, packed with power and simply overwhelming.

The official recording is blocked at all platforms, so I can only refer to following beat remix by DJTabou


Second semi finalist having a chart hit with a personal song is Sharron Levy. Her version on Somebody That I Used To Know still is in the list, now Drowning can appear also. Starting its chart life at number 87 it certainly will disappear soon. Whether Sharron Levy will have a life as a (commercially successful) singer is still in question.




Well, the casting show was the big hitmaker of the week. But there are still some further action going on. Let’s have a last look back at the Top 10: Turn Me on is the next big hit for French DJ David Guetta. End of January new remixes were released, a few days later a proper video appeared on TV and internet and the full CD single is announced for March 9th. Meanwhile the track jumps 23–10 giving David Guetta his first Top1 0 hit in 2012 but his 11th within the past three years. He is so far the most successful chart act of the recent decade. Featured singer Nicki Minaj adds a third Top 10 hit to her account. Two of them she achieved alongside David Guetta. Since the start of February she additionally is the new face of the MAC Viva Glam campaign that collects money for some charity activities–probably she’s on the way to become a really big superstar.



The recent list reflects the time span starting February 10th ending February 16th. On February 11th a big star of the 80ies died. You already know about whom I’m talking–it is Whitney Houston. So we see five hits of her re-appearing in the list. Her best known and probably her signature song I Will Always Love You is also the one purchased by most people remembering her. The song originally recorded by country star Dolly Parton in 1974 became a hit for Whitney Houston in 1992/93 as the main title for the movie Bodyguard. It occupied the number 1 spot for six weeks in early 1993. Another song from the movie Run To You can appear at number 98 again this week.

Further down the list one can find also the (inofficial) anthem for the Olympic Games in 1988 One Moment In Time that made it for two weeks in October to number 1. The number 2 hit My Love Is Your Love from 1999 enters at number 64 and her latest chart track I Look To You released in 2009 appears once again at number 84.


Besides these top stories there are some German news yet left.
Rosenstolz offers a second single from their recent album Wir sind am Leben (We’re Alive). Lied von den Vergessenen (Song Of The Forgotten) tells about the ones besides the main society. The video reflects on migrant people in poorness but the lyrics are much more open so almost everyone can be a lonely, misunderstood and a forgotten one. The single comes as a double A side featuring also Wie lang kann ein Mensch tanzen? (How Long A Human Could Dance?)
If you’re located outside Germany you can watch the main video here. If not: the youtube/GEMA struggle is to be solved in court in April 2012–keep fingers crossed)

In the album list Hamburg based Deichkind shots to number 2 with their album Befehl von ganz unten (Order From Far Below). It is absolutely the best sold album of their whole 12 year long career. As an effect the track Leider geil (Sorry, Wicked) lands at number 38. Promised, that electro rap track will sweeten a lot of summer parties this year for sure.



Try the Decalicious Mix also



I warned you for several weeks of the approaching carnival season. Also this week we see some typical moves of very simple Schlager tracks. The winner this issue is Mickie Krause who sees his Schatzi, schenk mir ein Foto (Darlin’, Give Me A Photo) rises twelve places to number 39 reaching a new peak. So far the track peaked at number 40 in past summer as one of the big Mallorca party hits. Now in its 36th week at all the track counts as one of the slowest riser (if you refer to the weeks spent in the charts). Only four songs had a longer run before reaching their peak, Schöne Maid (Pretty gal) by Tony Marshall in 1972 had a 39 week climb, Belgian Vaya Con Dios needed 40 chart weeks and a remix by Milk&Sugar to rocket up to number 7 a year ago, the Christmas anthem Last Christmas by Wham! took 72 weeks before it peaked at number 4 in 2008 and finally Paul & Fritz Kalkbrenner saw their sleeping hit Sky And Sand appearing 83 times inside the charts to reach a number 29 in November 2011 as their highest rank ever achieved. Appeared for the first time in the list a year ago Schatzi, schenk mir ein Foto is kind of a fast riser–we’ve seen already three tracks this year reaching their peaks three years or more after their first entry.

Also cologne band HÖHNER. (Chicken) sets kind of personal records. Re-entering with Schenk mir dein Herz (Give Me Your Heart) and 6 bis 8 Stunden Schlaf (6 To 8 Hours Of Sleep) they right now appear for a 15th consecutive year in the charts. From all acts listed in 2012 so far only two have a longer unbroken presence in the charts. It is again Wham! with their seasonal anthem and singer Xavier Naidoo solo or as part of Söhne Mannheims. Both count 16 consecutive years of having at list one chart entry inside the German charts.

Finally also Tim Toupet sneaks again into the list with his So ein schöner Tag also known as Fliegerlied. The song was the hit of carneval season 2009–it attracts once again a lot of fools partying around these days.

06-12: TVoG still spills the charts

Michel Teló stands as the number one star with his anthem Nooosssaa! Ai Se Eu Te Pego! for a second week.

The big impacts once again are brought by The Voice of Germany. Two weeks before the final the power of the show is still unbeaten.

Bouncing back into the Top 10 and reaching a new peak at number 6 Troublemaker by Taio Cruz benefits heavily from his appearance on the show on January 27th. He opened the Live Show number 5 with all twelve contestants that were in the race back than.

Coach and juror Rea Garvey launched his new single two weeks before the final and of course he was performing the song Colour Me In on the show too. As a result the single flies to number 12–the highest rank Rea Garvey could achieve as an solo-artist ever. And the highest since his band Reamonn reached number 6 in 2008 with Through The Eyes Of A Child. Of course once he was (unofficially) credited for a number 1 hit when his voice appeared on a version of All Good Things (Come To An End) with Nelly Furtado that was available in Germany on the single CD as a bonus track.



Best performing candidate from the show was surprisingly Sharron Levy. The Israel native staged with the number 1 hit Somebody That I Used To Know turning it into an rock driven ballad that brings her a number 26. Maybe that’s the start of an career besides a big major deal.



All others from the show end further down. Kim Sanders–finally the runner’s up finalist–sets her second show entry as number 54. Empire State Of Mind (Part II) was a sleeping hit originally recorded by Alicia Keys. It reached number 35 back in 2010 and spent so far 48 weeks inside the charts. Of course that version is back in the list too. It comes in short of Kim Sanders’ take at number 58. Part I featuring JAY-Z & Alicia Keys together re-appears at 84.

Third at the end–third two weeks before the final contestant Michael Schulte seems to be one of the most constant participants on the show. He performed Video Games still at number 3 in the version of Lana Del Rey. His take can reach number 66 giving him a second chart entry.



Behnam Moghaddam was a big aspirant for the final until he performed Eleanor Rigby as an explosive rock piece which made coach Xavier Naidoo shooting him off the show. A lot of fans were shocked according to many sites and forums–commercially the take on the well known tune of The Beatles ranks at number 75–indeed a weak result for Behnam. The song itself had a hidden chart life in 1966. Officially the track was released in combination with Yellow Submarine as a double A side single in Germany too. The official charts list only Yellow Submarine although.

A very similar story can be told about Percival–the second big aspirant. He staged Beautiful on the show January 27th. The song made famous by Christina Aguilera reached number 4 in Germany in 2003. The version of Percival is much more a rough ballad. Coach Rea Garvey was not really convinced–neither was the audience. Beautiful stucks at number 77.




Best CD start without TV show support comes from Marlon Roudette. His Anti-Hero (Brave New World) was available before as digital single and now jumps 19–7 with physical sales counting.

German Deichkind is back. After the release of their last album Arbeit nervt (Work Sucks) producer Sebi Hackert died and there was a uncertainty about the further existence of the project. Fortunatly the guys decided to continue. Bück dich hoch (Stoop Up) is the pre-release from upcoming album Befehl von ganz unten (Order From Down Below) – it continues the story of Arbeit nervt forcefully. In my opinion it critisizes actual politics and financial crisis in a much smarter way than other pop products try to do. Starting its chart life at number 17 after released online the single is so far the second best performing of Deichkind and only the second to reach the Top 20. 12 years ago they managed to do so with their chart debut Bon Voyage.



Supported by the release of their twelfth album named simply Volume 12 The Disco Boys see their cover of Around The World rising to number 31.

Also the winner of Das Supertalent 2011 Leo Rojas offers an album. Spirit Of The Hawk storms the album list at number 2. Leading single Ele condor pasa (only available digitally) can enter the singles list at 82. The tune became popular in 1970 when Simon & Garfunkel added some lyrics and recorded that version. It entered the Number 1 in Germany for 7 weeks and ended as the most sold single of the year. The same year a few instrumental versions charted also–most known probably the one of Facio Santillan that reached number 9 in September 1970.



Last new entry is the new single of De Randfichten (The edge spruces). They try to get some attention in carneval season with Du kleine Fliege (You, little fly). It is a very simple song for drunken people who love singing stupid lyrics while drinking more … Number 96 is the result so far.




In The end let’s tell you about the strangest chart move of the week at last: Wiz Khalifa drops back 91–71 with his hit Black And Yellow for what reason ever. I can’t explain but I like it.

German track invasion II

A chart week serving us with a few surprises. The biggest ones are told already. But there are still some more left. One of the most impressive chart runs finally ends up within the Top 10 this week. Martin Solveig + Dragonette lift up their Hello to #7. It is an unbelievable seven places jumps. The last weeks it was rising much softer – now the track ultimately catched fire. No wonder – you can hear the catchy hookline everywhere you go: in super markets, on the radio, on the streets … And the song is used within the recent commercial spot for the new Nokia E7 smartphone.



Internationally the track topped the charts in Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. And it went to #13 in the UK. In Germany it took the Canadian band and the remixing DJ full 19 weeks to reach their so far highest position. Meaning they entered the charts in November last year at an underrated #44.
The last track having such a long run to reach its peak was Alicia Keys’ solo take on Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Hearted. It occupied #35 in its 21st chart week at the end of November last year.

The best CD release is done by Chris Brown. But Yeah 3x shows a pretty untypical chart move as it looses one place landing at #9. Usually a newly available CD issue boosts the sales summit. Probably we’re facing here a completely new kind of star, whose audience is more related to the digital use of music.

A look at the German tracks within this week’s list.
Allthough five of the ten new entries this week come from Germany there is on top nothing new. As the last two weeks Lena and her Eurovision track Taken by a Stranger is earning the crown for being the most sold German production. The track dips 7 – 8 … probably it will have its second rise when the big Eurovision show arrives. Also the runners up of the inofficial national list are holding place with decreasing sales: Milk&Sugar vs. Vaya Con Dios are with Hey (Nah Neh Nah) still the German #2 sliding down 13 – 14 meanwhile culcha candela’s Berlin City Girl as the third highest German track (and the first with German lyrics) moves 17 – 16.

The most successful new German production entering the charts this week comes from Jupiter Jones. The band exists already for nine years. They released four albums on the independent label Mathilda and Titus’ Tonträger. Last summer they signed a contract with Columbia Berlin /Sony. Now a new self titled album and a single Still (Silent) were released. It is a soft guitar rock song with a clear romantic note.The track enters the list at #32.



Bullmeister is a young trio originally based in Heidelberg now living in Berlin which offers fresh electro dance pop. Their song Girls Beautiful was chosen by TV channel Pro7 to promote the sixth season of Germany’s Next Top Model.The first episode was aired on 3rd March – one day later the CD was available. It enters the list now at #39. The show itself had caused bigger hits already.



One of the prototypes of German synthie sound is Alphaville. They released a second single from their comeback album Catching Rays On Giant. That album indeed is the second successfull release of the former trio. The released single did not have the massive impact other tracks of the band had. And so Song For No One also creeps only up to #50. Although Alphaville could count as one of the most influential bands in Germany the new single is only their 11th chart hit.

Video: MyVIdeo, the band’s homepage

The hope of German hiphop MARTERIA sets out a second attempt of entering the mainstream. Although the artist is recording tracks since years the commercial breakthrough came last summer first when his album Zum Glück in die Zukunft (For Happiness To The Future) was released by company Four Music. Leading track Verstrahlt (play on words for stoned / lucky also radiated) became a medium hit but different to the usual life of German hiphop tracks it was kind of a long seller entering the list again four months after its release. Sekundenschlaf (Microsleep) is the second release from the album. It is a collaboration with Peter Fox which merges dancehall-reggea-style with hiphop and pop. On this melange MARTERIA is reflecting about the shortness of life, the way of getting older, of passing by youth and the loss of wildness and dreams. Like a lot of German hiphop lyrics these are kind of depressiv and surrendering too. In difference to other artists MARTERIA does not believe in violence or hedonism as a solution. That very grounded attitude might be the reason why he is attractive for a lot of people – but not for typical hip hop fans.
Sekundenschlaf enters the list at #64 – in comparison to its predecessor it is very low down and will probably leave the charts very soon again.

Watch the video here.

A band still waiting for the big breakthrough is JENIX. They earned some publicity by touring with Silbermond and releasing together a charity single for Haiti in summer last year . The CD featured two cover songs by the bands – on that release Here We Go Again found its way to the charts for the first time. Now the original recording by JENIX was released again as a solo CD single. It enters the list at #95.



Carnival caused a small invasion of rising German tracks further down the chart this week. The biggest seasonal seller comes from Cologne band HÖHNER. (dialect for Chicks). Their Schenk mir dein Herz (Give Me Your Heart) jumps 53 – 33. It is a somehow new carnival hit as it was recorded in autumn 2009 and collected only 17 chart weeks so far.
Also No.2 on the list is a new one: entertainer and singer Mickie Krause offered in January his Schatzi, schenk mir ein Foto (Honey, Give Me A Photograph). It entered low down at #77 in its first week dipping in and out the charts the following weeks. Finally it becomes a medium hit jumping to #46 this week. It is the highest position for Mickie Krause since his FIFA world championchip related Orange trägt nur die Müllabfuhr (Only the refuse collection service is wearing orange) went to #31 in 2008.
Most successfull „classic“ carnival hit is So ein schöner Tag (Fliegerlied) (What a beautiful day – Song of the pilot). In 2008 the children song was released by Bavarian DONIKKL finding a lot of fans at Munich Oktoberfest and finally became a chart hit – there are several versions available, most popular became the one by Tim Toupet reaching position 6 in February 2009.
Finding its way back to the upper half of the German chart is caused not only by the regular carneval events. It had big support by the DSDS show (Germany’s version on Idols) featuring Après Ski Hits – which is very close to carnival hits. Marco Angelini performed the Fliegerlied. Well –the track sits pretty this week at #49 in its 50th chart week. It is the highest position since March 2010 – all versions together spent 76 weeks within the charts so far.

The DSDS show helped a lot of further tracks to a boosted chart performance. First of all the new #1 Born This Way by Lady Gaga is a direct effect of the show performance by Zazou Mall. Also the highest new entry Tonight by Enrique Iglesias feat. Ludacris & DJ Frank E had its airing. It was performed by Ardian Bujupi. The Norwegian duo MADCON sees their Freaky Like Me jumping back 17 places into the Top 20 after a performance of DSDS favourite Pietro Lombardi. It is the 16th week of the track and the highest position since beginning of January. And even the track spending most weeks within the German charts – Ein Stern (der deinen Namen trägt) (A Star – which is named after you) by DJ Ötzi & Nik P. – manages to reappear at #81 after a performance in the show.

TV is actually the most proper instrument to launch hits in Germany: DSDS, Germany’s Next Top Model … and since 4th March Die Ultimative Chart-Show also supply the masses with newer and older sounds. The latter one is a very special form: host Oliver Geissen is presenting the best hits under a chosen motto. The show started in 2003 and became very popular. Compilations on CD were released . On 4th March the 90th show was aired under the device „The most successful synthie pop hits“. Within the list and on stage performed Faithless their burner Insomnia which immediately also re-enters the chart at #41. It is the 52nd chart week of the track – counted all versions and remixes since 1997 together.

Looking at the German list sees two female artists entering who are not German but from the neighbourhood and worth be mentioned here as well:
The second song of German X Factor winner Edita from Switzerland comes three months after her first success. Meanwhile she changed her nameonly called by her first name right now. The sound did not change that much – very unspecific mainstream pop. The Key starts its chart life at #51.



And finally french singer ZAZ enters the German market. After Je Veux became a hit in France in May/June last year and later on in Belgium and Switzerland it is a now a new entry at #36 in Germany aussi.

German track invasion

Sorry for being delayed. There is so much action going on in this world right now that one could mention mainstream pop as the most unimportant topic to talk about. Even in Germany polititians and blogging journalists are arguing heavily about what the accident in Fukushima after the earthquake and tsunami means to technological development in Germany. Nuclear energy or even better the end of it is a highly discussed topic in Germany since last summer. The world of pop meanwhile does not really take notice of the event.

The actual list of Friday 11th March is referring to sales within the week 25th February to 3rd March. One of the significant actions going on is the rise of hollywood hills offered by Sunrise Ave. The soft rock track of the Finnish band is one of the most played at German radio stations. So the physical release on 25th February gives the track a boost in sale making it rise 11 – 6. It is the second timethat Sunrise Ave can reach the upper places within the German list. Their only Top 10 hit before Fairytale Gone Bad went #3 in early 2007 – it is one of the tracks spending most weeks in the charts by collecting 70 weeks till today.

Having a second top10 track here Germany becomes the area where the band is most popular. Even in their home country Finland they only had two top 10 tracks. hollywood hills so far did not go further than #13. Expect the song staying within the German top 10 – the iTunes list notes the track at #4 (13th March) after they performed it live at Stefan Eaab’s WOK WM 2011 on 11th March.

Another Scandinavian act is gaining increasing popularity in Germany. Swedish Roxette climb with their comeback track She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio) to #10. After 19 years they have finally a new track inside the top 10 in Germany. It is their ninth doing so. The recent album Charm School is listed at #7 in its 3rd chart week.

All in all we do have five European tracks inside the German top 10. The other half is completely occipied by US American acts.
Most popular (saying: most sold) German track is still Taken by a Stranger by Eurovision star Lena. The complete single’s ranking sees her falling 2 – 7 in its second week. Finally a video is available also:



Talking about German tracks – the most successfull new CD coming from Germany is another of the type: former GDR star gets its first commercial single hit more than 20 years after Germany’s unity. The artist I’m talking about is Ute Freudenberg. In the early 80s she was one of the most popular female artists in East Germany. In 1981 she had accompanied by her band Elefant a huge hit with Jugendliebe (Early Love). It is till today her most popular song. A voting by magazin Super Illu a few years ago proved it. In 1984 Ute Freudenberg exiled to Western Germany. She worked still as a singer but never managed to have broader success. Now in 2011 she finally can reach the masses. Accompanied with Christian Lais who had a small hit two years ago she tells the story about the life in cold war times. Auf den Dächern von Berlin (On The Tops Of Berlin) is kind of a romantic memory about youth life in East and West. Avoiding any critic look at the former times it heavily recalls the feeling of „At that time everything was much better …“ – a typical attitude of so called Schlager (the German term for soft pop songs sung in German and listened to mostly by an elder audience). After Silly one year before and Puhdys just two weeks ago Ute Freudenberg is now the third artist of the GDR who gets a first chart entry. Only Silly managed to do so on her own power (but not in original cast – cause former lead singer Tamara Danz died in 1996). The question is now: will more acts follow? Is 20 years of German unity enough to refer back to both cultures? I will keep watching it.



Next new track of a German producer comes at #45. DJ Ronny Rockstroh was creating kind of a new style in dance music. He combined electro dancefloor with German vocals – not only short screams but real lyrics. His first offering Licht (Light) gave him an entry at #75 in 2009. Last year he had success with Tanzen (Dancing) which was licensed by a major label blowing the track up to #37 as CD release. Now the new track Wolke 7 (Cloud #7) is available. As I found out the Kick Fresh label has released the track digital and on vinyl so far. A proper physical release on vinyl is not officially announced. Entering #45 this week the releae schedule will be re-written probably. Simple lyrics and a cliché serving video will help the track finding its way to the masses. The DDC dance chart lists the track at #4, the ODC dance chart show #8 and the Dance 50 have Wolke 7 at #2.



Back in German chart is band Wir sind Helden (We are Heroes). Singer of the band Judith Holofernes just had unintended promotion. Leading yellow press paper BILD requested her to give a personal statement for an ad campaign. She declined with an open letter calling the papaer a „dangerous political instrument”. Nonetheless BILD used the letter for an advertisement. That episode was discussed heavily within the German blogosphere. The mainstream market aint that impressed in contrast. New single of Wir sind Helden Alles auf Anfang (Back to square one) enters the German list at #63.



And yet another German release. To be more precise: a release under German participation. The USAmerican-Canadian-German band The Black Pony had its chart debut in December last year. Boys Are Crazy spent two weeks in the list climbing to #69.Scars And Bruises now has to promote the upcoming album Launched In The Pool scheduled for 18th March. The single enters the chart at #72.



Lower down between rank 80 to 100 a lot of other German releases are crowding into the chart. New tracks and older ones all are related to carnival – the so called fifth season which is very important to the German music business. You will see projects like Bläck Fööss (Black Feet) or Räuber (Bandits) rising much higher next week. This issue is with 21 tracks not listed a fortnight before the most turned around of this year so far.

Not a German production but popular right now in German speaking countries only cause of its use within the German movie Kokowäh (German transliteration of „Coq au vin“) is Snowflakes by White Apple Tree. The US American synth pop trio aint well known even in their home country. They had their album debut almost one year ago with the Velvet Mustache not including the 2008 single Snowflakes. Now – with long lasting success of the movie (in its fifth week Kokowäh still holds #2 within the movie charts) UNIVERSAL decided to release the track as a full CD single including a new remix by movie maker and actor Til Schweiger. Two weeks ahead the download only track enters the chart at #31. It seems to be certain having the track soon much higher – probably top 10. Chances of getting similar success in the US are quite small. The very 80s influenced sound attracts European music lovers much more. Snowflakes is by the way the third track of the Kokowäh sound track which enters the charts. Predecessors were HURTS and The Script.



Last story about German specific chart actions: there were a few older pop tracks re-entering the charts in the last few weeks. Most of them were caused by a performance within the DSDS – Deutschland sucht den Superstar show (Germany is searching for superstar – German version on Idols). The first proper show backing the battle of the last 10 favourites was aired on 26. February featuring the topic „Super Hits”. Although some blogs saw Sebastian Wurth as the best performer the song attracting most viewers was With You performed by 18year old Pietro Lombardi. The original version by Chris Brown was a medium hit in 2008 reaching #33. Now the track appears again at #51.



You Raise Me Up performed in the show by Sebastian Wurth is back at #75. It is the second succesfull track in Germany of Irish band Westlife. In 2006 it ranked no higher than #11. Since then it came back four times – always as an effect of interpretations in casting shows. Now the track starts its sixth chart run with a position he had not seen since two years. It is the 31st chart week for the song.

Song number three from the DSDS show is In My Head by jason derülo which can reappear after a three months break at #80. In the show the song was interpreted by Ardian Bujupi

Find more about the DSDS show of 26th Feburary.