Interesting year in the charts with some long standing records broken. Here's my review, starting off with the Singles Longevity. This chart reflects most weeks charted.
Place
Year
No Wks
Title/Artist
Peak
1
2019
83
Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
4(6)
2
1983
74
Blue Monday - New Order
2
3
2017
68
Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran
1(13)
4
2019
68
Dance Monkey - Tones And I
1(11)
5
2019
68
Catching Feelings - DRAX Project feat. Six60
3(2)
6
2017
64
Perfect - Ed Sheeran
1(8)
7
2018
63
Sunflower - Post Malone and Swae Lee
1(2)
8
2013
62
Happy - Pharrell Williams
1(15)
9
2014
59
Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran
1(4)
10
2019
58
Long Gone - Six60
5
11
2011
57
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye feat. Kimbra
1(6)
12
2019
56
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
4
13
2014
55
Stay With Me - Sam Smith
1(4)
14
2018
55
Eastside - Benny Blanco feat. Halsey and Khalid
1(4)
15
2019
55
Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
1(4)
16
2008
55
Always On My Mind - Tiki Taane
1(2)
17
1975
54
Wasted Days And Wasted Nights - Freddie Fender
2
18
2015
53
Lean On - Major Lazer feat. MØ & DJ Snake
1(2)
19
2019
52
In The Air - L.A.B.
1(3)
20
1976
52
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
1(2)
21
2013
51
Royals - Lorde
1(3)
22
2018
51
Shallow - Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
1(2)
23
2011
50
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett and GoonRock
1(11)
24
2011
50
Titanium - David Guetta feat. Sia
3
25
2019
50
Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa
3(2)
26
2019
49
bad guy - Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber
1(1)
27
1975
48
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - Abba
1(1)
28
2015
48
Where Are Ü Now? - Skrillex And Diplo feat. Justin Bieber
3
29
1989
46
Strokin' - Clarence Carter
2
30
2018
45
Youngblood - 5 Seconds Of Summer
1(4)
31
2019
45
Circles - Post Malone
1(1)
32
2019
44
Old Town Road (remix) - Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
1(12)
33
2018
44
Better - Khalid
4
34
2019
44
Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
9
35
2017
43
Rockstar - Post Malone feat. 21 Savage
1(8)
36
1976
43
December 1963 (Oh What A Night) - The Four Seasons
2
37
2011
43
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
3
38
2014
42
Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
1(9)
39
2018
42
Shotgun - George Ezra
1(4)
40
2019
42
Roses (Imanbek Remix) - SAINt JHN
1(2)
41
2016
42
Can't Stop The Feeling! - Justin Timberlake
2
42
2007
42
Maybe - OpShop
3
43
2014
42
Chandelier - Sia
3
44
2018
42
Lovely - Billie Eilish feat. Khalid
4
45
2017
42
Vibes - Six60
9
46
2006
41
Lips Of An Angel - Hinder
1(2)
47
2014
41
Cheerleader - Omi
3
48
2013
40
I See Fire - Ed Sheeran
1(3)
49
2014
40
I'm Not the Only One - Sam Smith
3
50
2019
40
The Greatest - Six60
3
51
1992
40
November Rain - Guns N Roses
7
52
2009
39
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
1(9)
53
2011
39
Someone Like You - Adele
1(5)
54
2017
39
HUMBLE. - Kendrick Lamar
1(3)
55
2016
39
Never Be Like You - Flume feat. Kai
2
56
2016
39
Don't Let Me Down - The Chainsmokers feat. Daya
2
57
2016
38
One Dance - Drake feat. Wizkid And Kyla
1(13)
58
1975
38
Before The Next Teardrop Falls - Freddie Fender
1(12)
59
1986
38
Sailing Away - All Of Us
1(9)
60
2015
38
Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd
1(3)
61
2015
38
Sorry - Justin Bieber
1(2)
62
2007
38
Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie
1(1)
63
2018
38
Better Now - Post Malone
1(1)
64
2014
38
Take Me To Church - Hozier
2
65
2017
38
Thunder - Imagine Dragons
3(1)
66
2019
38
Memories - Maroon 5
3(4)
67
2017
38
New Rules - Dua Lipa
3(3)
68
2018
38
When The Party's Over - Billie Eilish
3(2)
69
2017
38
Congratulations - Post Malone feat. Quavo
21
70
1976
37
Fernando - Abba
1(9)
71
2006
37
Bathe In The River - Mt Raskil Preservation Society feat. Hollie Smith
Here's the Album Longevity Chart. Note both the single and album at the top of both charts has changed. The record was set for the Album Chart in 1978 and the Single in 1983, so breaking the top spot here is a big change:
Place
Year
No Wks
Title/Artist
Peak
1
2015
304
Six60 (2) - Six60
1(3)
2
1975
297
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd
1(1)
3
2014
248
X - Ed Sheeran
1(13)
4
2011
237
21 - Adele
1(38)
5
2017
199
÷ - Ed Sheeran
1(35)
6
2011
197
+ - Ed Sheeran
1(2)
7
2011
192
Six60 - Six60
1(2)
8
1977
190
Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
1(9)
9
2017
162
Six60 (EP) - Six60
2(3)
10
2014
154
In The Lonely Hour - Sam Smith
1(8)
11
1984
155
Legend - Bob Marley & The Wailers
1(4)
12
2015
152
25 - Adele
1(14)
13
1980
150
Making Movies - Dire Straits
3
14
2017
143
don't smile at me - Billie Eilish
3
15
2018
136
Beerbongs And Bentleys - Post Malone
1(6)
16
2010
136
Doo-Wops And Hooligans - Bruno Mars
2
17
1992
133
Ten - Pearl Jam
3
18
1975
131
Crime Of The Century - Supertramp
12
19
2008
130
The Fame: Monster - Lady Gaga
1(2)
20
2016
130
Stoney - Post Malone
3
21
1975
129
Atlantic Crossing - Rod Stewart
2
22
2010
127
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
1(1)
23
1983
126
Genesis - Genesis
2
24
2019
125
Diamonds - Elton John
2(3)
25
1981
120
Queen's Greatest Hits - Queen
1(5)
26
1987
116
The Joshua Tree - U2
1(9)
27
2018
114
Bohemian Rhapsody OST - Queen
2(10)
28
1978
113
Dire Straits - Dire Straits
2
29
2005
111
Based On A True Story - Fat Freddy's Drop
1(10)
30
1979
109
The Wall - Pink Floyd
1(10)
31
1975
109
Hot August Night - Neil Diamond
1(1)
32
2015
109
Purpose - Justin Bieber
1(1)
33
1985
106
Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits
1(21)
34
2013
106
Sol3 Mio - Sol3 Mio
1(16)
35
1987
106
Phantom Of The Opera - Stage Show
1(5)
36
2012
105
Born To Die - Lana Del Rey
2
37
1983
105
Eliminator - ZZ Top
4
38
1998
104
Come On Over - Shania Twain
1(23)
39
2017
104
17 - Xxxtentacion
2
40
1985
103
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
1(1)
41
1980
102
Dangerous - Michael Jackson
1(2)
42
1975
102
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
9
43
2002
101
Beautiful Collision - Bic Runga
1(8)
44
1991
101
Music By Candelight - Ghorghe Zamfir
1(4)
45
2014
100
1989 - Taylor Swift
1(6)
46
2016
100
24K Magic - Bruno Mars
2
47
1983
98
Thriller - Michael Jackson
1(12)
48
2017
98
The Greatest Showman OST - Various
1(4)
49
1976
97
Eagles Greatest Hits - The Eagles
2
50
1983
97
Speaking In Tongues - Talking Heads
3
51
1993
95
Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
9
52
2002
94
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
1(12)
53
2007
93
Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
1(7)
54
1984
92
Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen
1(15)
55
1976
92
Crisis? What Crisis? - Supertramp
6
56
2019
91
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? - Billie Eilish
1(10)
57
2018
91
? - Xxxtentacion
1(1)
58
1999
90
Play - Moby
1(6)
59
1992
89
ABBA Gold - Abba
3
60
1978
89
The Cars - The Cars
5
61
2016
88
ANTI - Rihanna
5
62
1995
87
HIStory: Past, Present And Future - Michael Jackson
1(7)
63
1981
87
Reveries - Richard Clayderman
1(2)
64
2007
86
Second Hand Planet - OpShop
1(3)
65
1993
86
Simply The Best - Tina Turner
1(2)
66
2010
86
Sign No More - Mumford And Sons
1(4)
67
1991
86
Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumkins
4
68
2017
86
American Teen - Khalid
5(3)
69
2019
86
Goodbye And Good Riddance - Juice WRLD
15
70
2013
85
Halcyon Days - Ellie Goulding
1(1)
71
2019
85
Free Spirit - Khalid
2(2)
72
1987
85
The Big Chill OST
5
73
1988
84
Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
1(4)
74
2014
84
Frozen OST - Various
1(3)
75
1985
84
No Jacket Required - Phil Collins
1(1)
76
1981
84
Icehouse - Flowers
2
77
1984
84
Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads
2
78
2012
84
Unorthodox Jukebox - Bruno Mars
2
79
2019
84
Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent - Lewis Capaldi
3
80
1976
83
A Night On The Town - Rod Stewart
1(9)
81
1978
83
Bat Out Of Hell - Meatloaf
1(1)
82
1995
83
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins
In Summery, there were: 159 singles charted over 30 weeks 331 albums 50 charted over 50 weeks 55 compilations charted over 30 weeks 47 NZ singles charted over 50 weeks 40 NZ Albums charted over 50 weeks
Here's some more statistic for the Compilations Chart to the end of 2020:
NOTE: Due to the outbreak of Covid 19, there was no chart between 6 April and 6 July due to the country being in lockdown and retailers being closed. This seriously affected sales
It’s been a very unusual year and the 2020 charts reflect that. In March the Covid-19 pandemic hit and that seriously affected charts as a nationwide Level 4 lockdown came into effect. With no retail sales, the compilations chart took a hit and was suspended for 14 weeks. It was also the year for longevity. New albums struggled to survive as older albums (and singles) refused to leave the chart. That saw a host of albums enter the chart high in the Top 10, only to be evicted the next week. Green Day, Tami Neilson, Nial Horan, Pearl Jam and Shawn Mendes were just a few of the many casualties to debut near the top of the chart, only to be near the bottom in the second week. On the other hand, the final chart for 2020 had seven entries over 100 weeks old with three knocking on the door of 200, and a kiwi record breaker. November 30 saw Six60 reach 300 weeks – the first album to do so. Just three weeks earlier they broke the record set by Pink Floyd which saw Dark Side Of The Moon hold the record in most weeks charted for over 43 years. And they did it all in consecutive weeks, not like the 18 re-entries of the Floyd album. Six60(2) continues to chart well into the new year. It was a similar story in the singles chart. After 33 years, Lewis Capaldi took the record from New Order’s Blue Monday with most weeks charted for a single. That record now stands at 83 weeks for Someone You Loved. The final chart for 2020 saw six songs over the 30-week threshold. In many ways 2020 was a predictable year. Eighteen American artists across the seven charts went by the name Lil, the average song length continued to be low (the shortest since 1972), and, of course, there was the longevity issue, which even plagued the compilations chart. It was, however, a good year for kiwis with 15 new singles. Compare that to 2017’s dismal 3 and it’s a big improvement. Kiwis even featured in overseas charts with Jawsh685 and BENEE doing particularly well. 2021 looks to be no different and we could even see Lewis Capaldi toppled from the longevity list. In my opinion, the music industry needs a jolly good shot in the arm with originality. Maybe a kiwi could show the way. John Tempest
