Dutch indie-newcomer Meau rises to Number 1 with the surprise hit “Dat Heb Jij Gedaan”

Dutch indie singer Meau moves to Number 1 with her surprise breakout hit single “Dat Heb Jij Gedaan”. The singer-songwriter has been putting out indie music for some time now and has been slowly building a solid fanbase for herself. Her music is similar to Eefje de Visser or Holly Humberstone. Following critical success amongst Dutch critics, her newest single “Dat Heb Jij Gedaan” was quickly picked up by popular radio stations, which resulted in growing streaming numbers. She recently peaked atop the Dutch Spotify Top 50 and scored her first Top 40-hit in the national hit parade. Meau dethrones Sam Fender’s “Spit of You”, which spent twee weeks leading the chart and marked Fender his fourth Number 1-hit on my personal list.

With Christmas right around the corner, lots of holiday favourites soar up this week its chart. Leading the pack is Sigrid with “Home to You (This Christmas)”, which reaches a new peak at Number 8. The single was originally released in 2019, but was recently reworked to become a holiday song. “Home to You” becomes Sigrid her sixth Top 10-hit on this chart, following big hits such as “Don’t Feel Like Crying” [#2]  and this year’s “Burning Bridges” [#9]. Her highest-scoring release to date is “Strangers”, which peaked atop the chart in 2018 and went platinum.

SZA’s new single “I Hate U” rockets up the chart with unparalleled speed, finishing at Number 10. The single was originally solely released on SoundCloud, but after it became a fan favourite and went viral on TikTok, the American singer decided to release it as a major single and sent it to major American radio stations. “I Hate U” becomes SZA her fifth Top 10-hit on this chart. It was preceded by “Good Days” [#2], which became SZA her highest-peaking solo project to date, and her very first Number 1-hit “Kiss Me More”, on which she featured with Doja Cat. SZA her collaboration with Summer Walker “No Love” is also eyeing the Top 10, but currently has to settle for twelfth place instead.

The highest debut of the week is scored by Ed Sheeran and Elton John with their newest collab “Merry Christmas”. The single is the most-streamed new song this week, including over twenty combined streams. “Merry Christmas” marks Ed Sheeran his thirty-second Top 40-hit, while Elton John earns his ninth – following “Cold Heart” with Dua Lipa earlier this year. The single is already a big hit across Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, where the hit song debuted atop the chart with record sales.

At Number 27, Ariana Grande re-enters the list with her holiday classic “Santa Tell Me”. The festive favourite always resurfaces on the charts in December, being one of the most popular modern Christmas songs. On my chart, “Santa Tell Me” peaked at Number 3 in 2014 and last charted in December 2019. Further down, Dutch singer and rapper Snelle debuts at Number 36 with his newest single “In M’n Bloed”. The song is the highly anticipated follow-up to his big Number 1-hit “Blijven Slapen” with Maan earlier this year. At Number 39, Billie Eilish enters the list with “Male Fantasy”. The song is aided by an incredible performance on Saturday Night Live and an amazing new video clip.

With the holidays in sight and the end of the year around the corner, I’ve decided to look back on this year in music. Big household names returned gloriously, newcomers soared towards the top of the charts with surprise, and up-and-comers finally established themselves as mainstays. My year-end list will be published soon, but first, I have decided to rank the biggest debuts of 2021.

The biggest debut of the entire year belongs to none other than Adele her “Easy on Me”, which shot straight to Number 1 after being streamed more than eighty times. According to my last.fm, “Easy on Me” has had the most successful streaming debut week since Dua Lipa’s Number 1-debut with “Levitating”. In that very same week, Adele her “Oh My God” entered in the second position with impressive streaming figures. The album track is the only song to debut at Number 2 this entire year; an impressive and rare feat.

Three other songs managed to claim that coveted Number 1-debut. Olivia Rodrigo her “good 4 u” became the very first Number 1-debut of 2021, when the song entered atop the chart in May. The single became Olivia her second chart-topper, following her breakout hit “drivers license” earlier this year. Dua Lipa’s “Love Again” followed quickly, when the single entered atop the chart in June. The dance hit was the sixth single to be released off the original version of Future Nostalgia and became the British singer her ninth chart-topper. Jesy Nelson her first solo single “BOYZ” rose to Number 1 in October, following her departure from Little Mix in 2020. It was met with negative reviews from critics and was panned by social media users, facing Jesy with accusations of both cultural appropriation and blackfishing. “BOYZ” also has not managed to stick around the charts, as it quickly dropped out of the Top 10 after debuting atop the list. The debut single currently stands as one of my worst-performing Number 1-songs of all time.

Other notable debuts include Sam Fender’s “Spit of You” and “Seventeen Going Under”, which debuted at Number 5 and Number 14, respectively, and eventually topped the charts weeks after its original release. Dutch duo Snelle and Maan their collaboration “Blijven Slapen”, was also a runaway hit, as it debuted in the Top 5 and later rose to Number 1. Little Mix their first ever single without Jesy Nelson also entered the chart quite high; their remixed version of “Confetti” with rapper Saweetie debuted at Number 6. For a full ranking of the highest debuting songs of 2021, see the list below this week’s chart.