German Chart Comments - Issue Date 22.01.2016

Matt Simons managed only to spend a brief week atop the German singles charts with his "Catch & Release" but now has to retreat to #3 and to give way to EFF and "Stimme" to crown the countdown, an increase from #4. Behind EFF we can find German singer Mark Forster and local DJ and producer Felix Jaehn, who are well known by chart fans. Forster's biggest hit remains "Au Revoir" from 2014, which reached #2 and already has a double-platinum status, while Jaehn has two number one hits on his account from last year - "Ain't Nobody" and his remix of "Cheerleader" of Omi.
Watch - Matt Simons
Listen - EFF
  
"Stitches" of Shawn Mendes, which finally succeeded in replacing Justin Bieber at the top in the UK, moves up one to take the silver medal in Germany.
Watch - Shawn Mendes 
 
Also on the rise is "Light It Up" of Major Lazer, up one to #4, making the same peak as Major Lazer's megahit "Lean On". It would be however tough to register the same amount of sales again. 
Watch - Major Lazer   
 
Marking new peaks inside the top ten we have Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself", up one to #6, and "7 Years" of Lukas Graham, up two to #10.  
Watch - Lukas Graham
Watch - Justin Bieber 

Up six to #16 is "Sweet Lovin'", the second single of Sigala, while G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha's "Me, Myself & I" makes it inside the top 20 in its third week in the countdown. It rises from #38 to #17.
Dua Lipa's "Be The One" is also confidently joining the list of 2016's early anthems as it climbs from #32 to #21.
Watch - Dua Lipa 
Watch - G-Eazy    
Watch - Sigala 

In her fifth week in the chart Elle King improves on her #27 peak from last time and moves up two to #25 with "Ex's & Oh's". Entering the German top 30 for the first time in their career we can find X Ambassadors and "Renegades", which is up twelve to #27.
Watch - Elle King
Watch - X Ambassadors  

Alan Walker is the next DJ coming from Scandinavia, who is posed to shake the European dance scene with his first hit "Faded". The song, which already topped the charts in Norway and Sweden, skyrockets 39 positions in Germany and is at #30 in its second week in the countdown. Expect it in the top five over the next few weeks. 
Watch - Alan Walker 

Flo Rida's "My House" is up 13 to #32, while the highest new entry of the week can be found as low as #41. It belongs to UK music producer Jonas Blue and his take on Tracy Chapman's classic "Fast Car". The song is already a huge hit in Australia and is destined for big things in Europe as well. The original actually was never a hit in Germany, spending just a week at #81. 
Watch - Jonas Blue
Watch - Flo Rida 

The other new entries:

68. The Chainsmokers feat. Rozes - Roses
Watch - The Chainsmokers
74. 5 Seconds Of Summer - Hey Everybody!
Watch - 5SOS
86. Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out
Watch - Twenty One Pilots
89. Ali Bumaye - Mmm... #Na Klar
Watch
90. Yall feat. Gabriela Richardson - Hundred Miles
Watch - Yall
93. Selena Gomez - Hands To Myself
95. Farid Bang - C R E E D 
Watch

The Album Chart
 
Over to the Album Chart, German rapper Azad scores his first ever #1 album with "Leben II", fifteen years after his first "Leben" reached just #46. David Bowie's "Blackstar" slips to #2, while his Best Of compilation rises one to #4. Inbetween at #3 we can find "Lebenslänglich", the latest offering of legendary German band BAP (this time under the name Niedeckens BAP). Südtirol's rock band Unantastbar has its first ever top-ten album with "Hand aufs Herz" entering new at #5.

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 15.01.2016

As expected, this week's charts are marked by the sad news that David Bowie passed away on Sunday and we can observe how a back catalogue of his most fondly remembered hits enters the top 100. Curiously, the two biggest of them "Heroes" (new at #19) and "Space Oddity" (at #40), long considered true classics, have never entered the German hitparade before. Bowie first appeared in the German singles charts with "The Jean Genie",  which spent a week at #37 in 1974. His biggest achievement in the singles countdown is the #2 position of "Let's Dance" in 1983, with the song re-entering this week at #73. Two places above it we can find the re-entry of "Under Pressure", Bowie's collaboration with Queen, which reached #21 first time around. The man himself gave the world a new album in the week of his death, with "Lazarus", a single taken from it, entering at #77. The album, called "Blackstar", debuts easily at #1 in the LP chart, to become Bowie's second album to reach the summit in Germany. 
Watch - Heroes 

Back to the singles chart, as I predicted last time, it was Matt Simons, who manages to replace Adele at the top as "Catch & Release" moves up one to dethrone "Hello" after spending eleven weeks as Germany's number one. The previous song to have managed to stay for more weeks at #1 was "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole in 2010. "Hello" slips to two, while "Stitches" of Shawn Mendes enters the top three by rising one to #3. 
Watch - Matt Simons
Watch - Adele  
Watch - Shawn Mendes 

Also on the way up is "Stimme" of EFF, up two to #4, as well as Major Lazer's "Light It Up", up four to #5.  
Listen - EFF
Watch - Major Lazer 

The highest new entry comes in at #11 belonging to DJ Ötzi and Nik P. Next to Andreas Gabalier, DJ Ötzi is one of the few male stars from the schlager scene, who succeeds in bringing hits in the upper reaches of the singles chart. Many of you are still trying to forget his übersuccesses from the 2000s, including "Ein Stern". The latter was also a collaboration with Nik P and in fact both "Ein Stern" and current hit "Geboren um dich zu lieben" were first recorded by Nik P, before becoming popular thanks to the Austrian "DJ". "Geboren um dich zu lieben" also gained sales due to its performance on the latest schlager TV show of Florian Fischer, sorry, Silbereisen on Saturday. 
Live 

"7 Years" of Lukas Graham is up one to #12, while at #16 is the second highest week of the week. The new dance rendition of Ben E. King's 1961 classic "Stand By Me" is the first track by Geeno Smith to enter the charts. One of the most famous cover versions of the song belongs to 4 The Cause, which hit #2 in 1998.
Watch - Lukas Graham
Watch - Geeno Smith 


With the support of Philipp Dittberner (responsible for last year's megahit "Wolke 4"), German rapper Prinz Pi scores his biggest chart hit with "1.40 m" at #24. His most successful track so far has been the #50 peak of "100X" from 2013. 
Watch - Prinz Pi

Elle King and her "Ex's & Oh's" climbs from #41 to a fresh peak of #27, while Dua Lipa's "Be The One" rises eleven to #32. "Me, Myself & I" is already looking like one of the first hits of 2016 with the song of G-Eazy and Bebe Rexha soaring from #68 to #38 in its second week on the list. It is the first chart appearance of G-Eazy, while Bebe Rexha provided vocals to "Hey Mama" of David Guetta. 
Watch - Elle King
Watch - Dua Lipa 
Watch - G-Eazy  

And last, let's not overlook the #66-#39 jump of "Renegades" of X Ambassadors. The Brooklyn-based band has already had a huge success with the hit across the Pond and it is now time for Europe to follow suit.
Watch - X Ambassadors 

The other new entries this week:  

69. Alan Walker - Faded
Watch - Alan Walker 
87. KLUBBB3 - Du schaffst das schon
Watch - KLUBBB3
89. Ulmo Ocin - Mandalo
Watch - Ulmo Ocin
96. Jamie Lawson - Wasn't Expecting That
Watch - Jamie Lawson 

The Album Chart

Apart from occupying the #1 slot in the Album Chart, David Bowie appears in it with four other LPs, with his Very Best at #5. At #2 local DJ duo Gestört aber Geil comes in with its self-titled debut album, home of last year's hit "Unter meiner Haut". German rapper B-Tight is at #6 with his new album "Born 2 B-Tight", while schlager supertrio Klubbb3, consisting of Florian Silbereisen and his colleagues from the Netherlands - Jan Smit and from Belgium - Christoff, is new at #7 with debut CD "Vorsicht unzensiert!". And finally, this year's New Year's concert of the Vienna Philharmonic comes in at #10.

German Chart Comments RETURN! - Issue Date 8.01.2016

It's been so long since my last chart comments, that it seems like ages, but now, with the start of the new year, let's kick off the thread again. Hopefully, all you German chart fans (yes, I know there are one or two of you out there) will find something interesting in my thoughts about the most important countdown in mainland Europe. 

You won't be surprised to find out that Adele continues to rule the German singles chart at the beginning of 2016 as "Hello" sticks to the #1 slot for what is now massive eleven consecutive weeks. Germany is still one of the few countries where Justin Bieber's mania had not managed to threaten Adele's dominance (yes, the situation in the UK chart is more than crazy right now) and although Bieber really has three singles in the German top 20, with "Sorry" now at #7 and already having peaked at #3, he is far from becoming the next number one. 
Watch - Adele 

The next number one, however, may be Matt Simons as his "Catch & Release" rises one to #2. Though the song dates back to 2014, it's actually the remix of Dutch house duo Deepend which has made it extremely popular over the last few months, first in Belgium and now in Germany, Austria and France. Needless to say, it is the first single of US-born Simons to ever enter the German charts.
Watch - Matt Simons 

The top three is completed by Glasperlenspiel and their bestseller "Geiles Leben", which is unmovable at #3. 
Watch - Glasperlenspiel 

Canadian singer Shawn Mendes is really having the time of his life as his "Stitches" is storming the charts worldwide. The song rises five to peak at #4 in Germany this week. At the same time EFF, the collaboration project of DJ Felix Jaehn and singer Mark Forster, is up one to #6 with "Stimme".
Danish band Lukas Graham, named after its vocalist, is also on the rise with debut single "7 Years" moving three to #13 in its eleventh week in the hitparade. 
Watch - Shawn Mendes 
Listen - EFF 
Watch - Lukas Graham 

David Guetta, Sia and Fetty Wap enter the top 30 this week with their club anthem "Bang My Head". It climbs ten positions to #24. Also inside the top 30 we can find British producer Sigala and his second single "Sweet Lovin'". The successor of "Easy Love" soars from #42 to #26.
Watch - David Guetta 
Watch - Sigala 

After debuting at #37 a week ago German producer Topic, with the help of Nico Santos, moves in the right direction. "Home" is up five to #27. Dua Lipa, who was nominated in the BBC Sound of 2016 poll, is advancing in Germany with debut single "Be The One". The latter may be for now a foreigner to the UK charts but skyrockets from #75 to #43 in Germany. At #47, up from #99 where it debuted last week, "Die immer lacht" of Stereoact ft. Kerstin Ott will try to be one of the first dance anthems of the new year. Check it out.
Watch - Topic 
Watch - Dua Lipa 
Watch - Stereoact 

The new entries this week:

52. Seiler und Speer - Ham Kummst
Watch - Seiler und Speer 
68. G-Eazy - Me, Myself & I (feat. Bebe Rexha)
Watch - G-Eazy 

The Album Chart

Typically for this time of the year there are no major new releases in the album chart with heavyweights Adele, Sarah Connor and Unheilig occupying the top three. 

 

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 10.04

As all positions between one and seven remain unchanged compared to the previous week, Lost Frequencies spends a second week on the top of the German singles chart with "Are You With Me". The dance anthem is followed by Omi's "Cheerleader" (eight weeks at #2) and Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do". 
Video - Lost Frequencies  
Video - Omi
Video - Ellie Goulding

Up eight to #8 and entering the top ten for the first time in their careers we can find Major Lazer and DJ Snake and "Leon On". They are followed by the highest new entry of the week at #9. It comes from French dance project Klingande and their third single "Riva (Restart The Game)". The track comes year and a half after Klingande topped the charts all over Europe with modern evergreen "Jubel".
Video - Major Lazer  
Video - Klingande 

Rihanna is still in the top five with "Fourfiveseconds" but that doesn't stop her to bring yet another new song inside the top 100 as "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuts at #17.
Live 

Just outside the top 20, Pitbull and Ne-Yo are up one to #22 with "Time Of Our Lives".
Video - Pitbull and Ne-Yo

Kygo's European smash "Firestone" is still a top-ten presence, but the Norwegian DJ is ready with his second smash as "Stole The Show" rises to #36 from #55 in its second week in the countdown. 
Video 
 
"See You Again" from the soundtrack of behemoth movie hit Fast & Furious 7 moves up fifteen to #39 to give Wiz Khalifa his fifth top 40 single in Germany.
Video 

It has taken some time until Sam Smith's "Like I Can" gained momentum in Germany but the song has finally made it inside the top 50 by going up to #45 from #69.
Video 

The Album Chart

German rapper Farid Bang brings a third consecutive album straight at #1 as "Asphalt Massaka 3" debuts directly atop the German Album Chart. At #2 we can find the latest from Nightwish called "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", which comes four years after "Imaginaerum" peaked at #6. Udo Jürgens, the legend of German music, who passed away surprisingly at the end of last year, appears at #3 with his last ever concert in Zurich. Also arriving inside the top ten are rapper Olexesh at #5 with "Masta", The Prodigy's "The Day Is My Enemy" at #6 and Soehne Mannheims's "Best of" at #8.

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 3.04

Finally, after a six-week stay on the top, Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" has to give up the reign this week to Belgian DJ act Lost Frequencies and his debut track "Are You With Me". The hit is based on a song by country singer Easton Corbin and is already in the top five of most of the countries in continental western Europe. So Ellie and Lost Frequencies switch the #1 and #3 positions with Omi's "Cheerleader" remaining for a seventh consecutive week at #2.
Video - Lost Frequencies  
Video - Omi
Video - Ellie Goulding
   
"Hold Back The River" of James Bay is up two to #4, while the highest new entry, yet another example of the current dance trends, belongs to the curiously named Gestört aber GeiL & Koby Funk feat. Wincent Weiss. The song, under the title of "Unter meiner Haut", comes in at #12. It is based on a single of relatively unknown local singer Elif, who had brought the song to #80 in the spring of 2013.
Video - James Bay
Video - Gestoert aber geil 
 
Major Lazer scores his first ever top 20 single in Germany as "Leon On", his collaboration with DJ Snake and MØ soars to #16 from #37. Johannes Oerding is also having his first ever top 20 success with the great "Alles brennt", which rises five to #20. 
Video - Major Lazer
Video - Johannes Oerding

"Up" of Olly Murs and Demi Lovato, up seven to #21, continues its steady ascent already beating the #28 peak of Demi's best performing offering in Germany - "Wouldn’t Change a Thing".
Video - Olly Murs and Demi Lovato
 
In its third week on the chart, "I Really Like You" of Carly Rae Jepsen advances by six notches to #33, while Zedd and Selena Gomez move up one to #39.
Video - Carly Rae Jepsen
Video - Zedd

Inbetween Martin Garrix returns in the top 100 at #37 on a better form with his collaboration with Usher called "Don't Look Down". Garrix' previous offering "Virus (How About Now)" flopped at #94.
Video - Martin Garrix 

Maroon 5's "Sugar" gains two to #41, while in its second week on the countdown "Five More Hours" of Deorro and Chris Brown soars from #76 to #49. It is the second entry of the US house DJ and producer in the German chart after "Yee" spent three weeks at the low end of the Top 100 in 2013. Also new inside the top 50 is "My House", the title track of the just released new EP of Flo Rida. It debuts at #50.
Video - Maroon 5
Lyric Video - Deorro
Audio - Flo Rida 
  
The Other New Entries :
 
55. Kygo feat. Parson James - Stole The Show 
Video 
81. Calvin Harris feat. Haim - Pray To God 
Video 
85. Martin Solveig & GTA - Intoxicated 
Video 
88. Revolverheld - Deine Nähe tut mir weh 
Video 
100. Fifth Harmony feat. Kid Ink - Worth It 
Video 

The Album Chart

In the LP chart Mark Knopfler somehow manages to keep the number one slot with "Tracker" for a second week in a row - a feat which has been unseen for more than half a year. New arrivals fill in the positions between two to six and at #2 we have "What's Goes?", the first album of hip hop group Die Orsons to enter the top ten; at #3 comes the debut album of James Bay under the name of "Chaos and the Calm"; the latest from Toto called "Toto XIV" is at #4; Joe Bonamassa's "Muddy Wolf At Red Rocks" arrives at #5, while Eskimo Callboy's "Crystals" is new at #6.

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 27.03

As Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" and Omi's "Cheerleader" are locked, respectively, at #1 and #2 in Germany for the sixth consecutive week, Lost Frequencies' "Are You With Me" joins the elite top three club by moving up two.
Video - Ellie Goulding Video - Omi
Video - Lost Frequencies  

"Hold Back The River" has steadily turned into one of the hits of 2015 and the song of James Bay enters the top ten this week by rising eight to #6.
Video - James Bay
The British invasion continues at #10 with the first single of London-based trio Years & Years to ever enter the German charts. "King" already topped the UK countdown a few weeks ago. 
Video 

We should also spare some thought on the latest offering of Frei.wild. Yes, "Wie ein schützender Engel" debuts at #11 to become the band's fifth top 20 single and, yes, it will be out of the top 100 next week.
Video 

At #16 David Guetta and Emeli Sande are up three with "What I did for Love". Pitbull and Ne-Yo are also on their way towards the better part of the chart with "Time of Our Lives" rising nine to #23. Olly Murs scores his sixth top 30 single with "Up". The latter advances eleven positions to #28. 
Video - David Guetta
Video - Pitbull and Ne-Yo
Video - Olly Murs and Demi Lovato   

"Elastic Heart" of Sia is this week up six to #29, while in its second week on the countdown "Lean On" of Major Lazer & DJ Snake moves up five to #37.
Video - Sia
Video - Majer Lazer

Newcomer Joris offers the third new song of the week as his "Herz über Kopf" debuts at #38. A position below we can find Carly Rae Jepsen with "I Really Like You", which rises eleven to #39 in its second week in the chart.
Video - Carly Rae Jepsen
Video - Joris 

"I Want You To Know", the collaboration between Zedd and Selena Gomes gains slightly in power by climbing four to #40, while Maroon 5's "Sugar" is this week at #43, up two.
Video - Zedd
Video - Maroon 5

With the coming of Fast & Furious 7 in the cinemas, the interest in its soundtrack is this week displayed by "See You Again" - a track of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, which soars to #46 from #89.
Lyric Video 



The Other New Entries :

75. Lafee - Was Bleibt
Audio
76. Deorro X Chris Brown - Five More Hours
Lyric Video 
91. Nena - Magie
92. Guy Sebastian ft. 2 Chainz - Mama Ain't Proud
Video 
95. Big Sean ft. E-40 - I Don't **** With You
Video
96. Muse - Psycho
Lyric Video

The Album Chart

Three years after his previous album reached #1, Mark Knopfler is back at the summit of the German LP chart with "Tracker". It thus becomes the third solo album of the legendary musician to be #1 in Germany. Last night Oonagh won two Echo music awards for her debut album and now the German singer who sings in Elvish returns with a new offering called "Aeria" debuting at #2. Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly", which currently comfortably leads the US and UK charts, debuts in Germany at #7.

German Chart Comments - Issue Date 20.03

This week's German top three remains unchanged with "Love Me Like You Do" of Ellie Goulding spending its fifth week atop the countdown. Omi's "Cheerleader" comes second, while Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney are once again at #3 with "Fourfiveseconds".
Video - Ellie Goulding
Video - Omi
Video - Rihanna

Belgian act Lost Frequencies and "Are You With Me" joins the top ten by rising ten to #5, while "Wolke 4" of Philipp Dittberner & Marv advances two to a new peak at #7.
Audio - Wolke 4
Video - Lost Frequencies

Benefiting from the support of one Ed Sheeran, US rapper Hoodie Allen registers his first chart entry and his first hit in Germany in the shape of "All About It". The catchy track debuts at #9.
Video

Over the last few weeks Germany's music scene was shaken by the decision of Andreas Kümmert, the former winner of The Voice of Germany, to decline to represent the country at the Eurovision contest this May in Vienna despite participating in the competition for Germany's entry at the music show and winning the vote of Germans with a clear majority. Kümmert, who, let's face it, would have fallen into oblivion if he hadn't appeared in the contest, decided that he could not stand on the stage in Austria and thus cleared the way for runner-up Ann Sophie to go instead. Germans, however, seem still to like his winning song as "Heart of Stone" soars from #84 to #12 in its second week in the countdown. "Simple Man", Kümmert's finale song from The Voice of Germany, peaked at #2.
Video 


British newcomer James Bay makes it inside the top twenty this week with his "Hold Back The River" going up eight to #14. "Heartbreak Song" of Kelly Clarkson advances two to #16, while David Guetta scores his 22 top 20 single in Germany with "What I Did For Love". The song, which features the vocals of Emeli Sande, climbs two to #19. It is thus the second appearance of Emeli inside the top 20.
Video - James Bay
Video - Kelly Clarkson
Video - David Guetta  

German hip hop band Die Orsons have had two singles inside the German top 100 so far, with the bigger of them being the #34 peak of "Horst & Monika" from 2012. Now they are definitely on a better form with "Schwung In Die Kiste" entering at #23 just a couple of weeks after "What's Goes?" made a brief chart appearance at the lower end of the countdown.
Video

Swiss singer Stefanie Heinzmann was last in the German chart in 2012 with "Diggin’ in the Dirt", which peaked at #12. She is now back with new material as "In The End" debuts this week at #25 to be her sixth top 30 hit in the country.
Video

I've mentioned Ann Sophie earlier due to her unexpected triumph at the selection of Germany's song for this year's Eurovision. The track in question, called "Black Smoke", arrives this week at #29. Hopefully it will gain in recognition as the contest approaches.
Live 

Pitbull and Ne-Yo's "Time Of Our Lives" advances further, this week to #32 from #43, while "Elastic Heart" of Sia continues its slow ascent by two notches to #35. "Up" of Olly Murs and Demi Lovato gains eleven, justifying its title, and is at #39 in its third week on the chart.
Video - Pitbull and Ne-Yo
Video - Sia
Video - Olly Murs and Demi Lovato 

Also new inside the top 50 we can find "Lean On" at #42, the latest of Major Lazer with the help of DJ Snake and MO. So far Major Lazer has been in the top 40 with "Watch Out for This (Bumaye)", peak #27, in 2013. 
Lyric Video 

At #45, up twelve, Maroon 5 improved on their #49 peak two weeks ago with "Sugar". 
Video

And finally, this week sees the comeback of Carly Rae Jepsen to the charts as her new single "I Really Like You" debuts at #50. Carly has had two hits on her account - the modern evergreen "Call Me Maybe" (peak #3) and the duet with Owl City "Good Time" (peak #11).
Video

The remaining new entries in the Top 100:    
 
51. Andreas Kuemmert - Home Is In My Hands  
Video 
65. Mark Forster - Bauch Und Kopf 
Unplugged 
67. Conchita Wurst - You Are Unstoppable  
Lyrics Video 
70. Liont - Montag 
Video 
85. Mumford & Sons - Believe  
Audio 
89. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See You Again
Audio 
92. Sam Smith - Like I Can  
Video 
99. Victoria Conrady & Mark Forster - Maniac 
Audio 

The Album Chart  

Though her single career nowadays is more miss than hit, Madonna has managed with ease to top the German charts with her 13th studio album "Rebel Heart". It thus raises the number of number one LPs of Madonna in Germany to 12. This all comes to the expense of Howard Carpendale, with the veteran schlager singer failing once again to score its first number one album in Germany with "Das ist unsere Zeit" debuting at #2. Also new in the top ten we have rapper Sudden and "Superkraefte" at #4.