Squash 40 - Jan W1 22

Let's welcome in a brand new era of Squash (where I actually write one of these per week as i've been meaning to for years) and what better time than a brand spanking new first chart of a calendar year! As with every first chart, the keyword is "EXODUS" as all but one song (The swash and hip buckling Pirate by Everglow [up 4 to #13]) from the end of 2021 takes a hard ejection out of the Squash-osphere. 

So where does that leave us with the new cast of 2022? Well, 23 of the artists are returning from previous years with Kim Petras (Coconuts #5), Charli XCX (New Shapes #7), BOWKYLION (Best Wishes บานปลาย #39) and Lolo Zouaï (Scooter #40) picking up where they left off with their 2021 successes. It's not all 2021 alumni impacting though - former K-Pop starlet Wang Feifei is making her Chinese solo debut with the twisted Stalker (#14), this being her sophomore charting single after 2016's Fantasy, and Katy B finds herself hunting her next big SQ hit with Lay Low (#8) after almost 7 years away from the chart.

Debuts wise the top 10 has 4 notable additions including the heavy-hitting Chinese-American Karencici (Do Do Do #2, 99% Angel #26), infectious Japanese indie band DADARAY (Gals #6), December debut girls IVE (Eleven #3) and a lush throwback cover by Spanish-Argentine performer Nathy Peluso (Vivir Asi Es Morir De Amor #9, but also sneaking in the back door with C. Tangana at #37).

As for the lofty spires of #1, the first rosette goes to unassuming and the underrated K-rookies Cignature with only their second charting song on the SQ, the cool and somewhat melancholic Boyfriend. They match Italian singer/rapper Mahmood from last year of having that rare feat of a 2nd single #1 after a middling first single (in Cignature's case the 2020's fizz-pop debut ASSA), a stat also reflected by Vietnamese sweetheart Bao Anh whose second single in 2019, Nhu Loi Don, ended up winning Song of the Year in the 2019 SQ Awards. Ms Anh also appears this week with the almost Bossa-nova feeling Yeu Khong Can Ep (#10).

ALBUM CHART

Unsurprisingly, Karencici, with her two charting SQ40 singles, also comes out top of the Album totem tower followed by a gaggle of nugus and veterans such as the aforementioned DADARAY, Chilean vocal tornado Mon Laferte, the angst-riddled Snail Mail and fellow indie-pop-rock band Tilly Birds at #2, #3, #4 and #5 respectively. Also worth noting as a lol is the release of Japanese-American fembot contingent FEMM's album Tokyo Girls Anthem (#10) that features none of their 2021 singles entries and seemingly comes out of nowhere.