Chartjackers
Chartjackers | |
---|---|
Adam Nichols | |
Narrated by | MistaJam |
Opening theme | "Put 'Em Under Pressure" by Republic of Ireland Football Squad |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 11 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Jonathan Davenport |
Producer | Adam King |
Editor | Will Hodgson |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time |
|
Production company | Hat Trick Productions |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 12 September 21 November 2009 | –
Chartjackers is a British documentary series, produced by
The Chartjackers single was written entirely through
Chartjackers garnered a viewing figures peak of almost half a million with its final episode and was critically panned by reviewers. Some commentators felt that the programme's concept was ridiculous and doomed from the start, others felt that the series showed a contempt for music and the general public, and other critics questioned whether the point of the project was to raise money for charity or for the four bloggers to promote themselves.
Production
Concept
Chartjackers was devised in 2009 by Jonathan Davenport and Andy Mettam of the British production company Hat Trick Productions. It was commissioned by Geoffrey Goodwin and Jo Twist of the television brand BBC Switch, and was featured as part of a season of multi-platform content intended to appeal to teenagers.
Casting
As a cross-platform project that incorporated YouTube, it was important that the video bloggers cast for the leading team already had a large fanbase – the four bloggers chosen had a combined YouTube subscriber total of over 200,000.[12] They were selected for their familiarity to young British YouTube viewers and to "act as Pied Pipers to the teen audience".[7] Miranda Chartrand and Adam Nichols, the vocalists who sang on the completed Chartjackers single, were cast halfway through the programme's series as part of an audition process and were featured in the remainder of the episodes.[13]
Filming locations
Although much of Chartjackers was filmed in and around London—such as a
Series overview
Chartjackers documented the lives of Day, Haggart, Hill and McDonnell as they attempted to write, record and release a charity single through crowdsourcing.[19] The series was shown in real time, with each of the first ten episodes detailing the events of the previous seven days. On 5 September 2009, one week before the programme's first episode aired, the group announced on the YouTube channel ChartJackersProject their intention to release a number one single within their ten-week time frame. A different task would be undertaken each week, so that, by the end of the project, the song would be completed.[20]
The first episode of Chartjackers documented the events of the first week of the project and explained what its ultimate goal was. To generate potential lyrics, viewers were asked each to post one line as a comment to a video on ChartJackersProject. Viewers posted more than 4,000 comments,[22] from which were selected the winning lines. These lyrics were posted to the Internet the following episode, with the chorus having been composed by YouTube user blakeisno1 and the repeated phrase "I've Got Nothing" chosen for the song's title. ChartJackersProject viewers were then asked to create a melody for the lyrics and submit it in a video response, so that one could be selected for the single.
Out of a total of 51 melodies that had been sent in, the winning entry by Jonny Dark was chosen from them during episode three. It was also revealed that a band would be put together to perform the Chartjackers single and that any potential members should apply by submitting video auditions. Episode four documented some of the hundreds of auditions that had been sent in – the group reviewed these auditions and selected from them their ten favourites to go through as finalists. These ten finalists performed for the four boys during episode five, where Chartrand, a 19-year-old au pair from
Taking Hardy's advice, the music video for "I've Got Nothing" was filmed during the seventh episode of Chartjackers. To begin promoting its release, the team also petitioned
Celebrity guests
Over the course of the series, several figures from both the music and entertainment industry made an appearance on Chartjackers, usually to offer advice or encouragement to the four boys. The first celebrity to feature on the show was former pop star
Reception
Critical reception
[Chartjackers] stands as a shining example of how all the goodwill in the world isn't going to guarantee mass public support and so setting out a defined aim (such as a Number One single) which fails to take into account this one final variable will inevitably result in a small sense of "failure" when the true reality of reality TV finally kicks in.
Critical reaction to Chartjackers was overwhelmingly negative. Although radio stations, newspapers and magazines were all canvassed,[25] the show was largely ignored by the mainstream media and received generally negative reviews. It was misrepresented in an article on The Times's website, which mistook the four boys for a new boy band.[2] Fraser McAlpine of BBC Radio 1's Chart Blog said that the project showed a basic "contempt for music" and "the public at large".[3] James Masterton of Yahoo! Music called Chartjackers "something of a failure" and its charting "lacklustre".[24] He did not mention it at all in his weekly chart podcast.[26] Neither Reggie Yates nor Scott Mills, two of the DJs whose Twitter feeds were spammed during episode eight, were impressed by the way that the Chartjackers team had tried to get their attention.[27][28]
Similarly negative reviews came from Eammon Forde of Music Week, who said the decision to release the single without management was "ridiculous" and that the campaign was "doomed",[2] and Pocket-lint, who described the show as a "car crash".[29] In the week of the single's release, Irish television personality Stephen Byrne questioned on his Twitter profile whether the main motivation for the project really was "charity"[4] – British comedian David Bass agreed with him.[30] The project was quickly overshadowed by a similar, more successful campaign to get "Killing in the Name" by American metal band Rage Against the Machine to top the UK Singles Chart for Christmas 2009.[31][32]
Awards
Chartjackers received one nomination at the 2010
Year | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Broadcast Digital Awards[33]
|
Best Multi-Platform Project | Nominated |
Distribution
Chartjackers was distributed both on television and online. It ran for a single series of eleven episodes: the first ten episodes lasted for five minutes each, with the final compilation episode running for half an hour and gaining a viewership peak of half a million.[35] Chartjackers premiered on BBC Two on 12 September 2009 at 12:50 p.m., as part of the channel's two-hour-long BBC Switch segment – it was uploaded to the YouTube channel BBCSwitch the same day.[1][36] This practice of broadcasting an episode on BBC Two and uploading it to the BBCSwitch channel the same day continued throughout the series. Episodes were also streamed online through BBC iPlayer to UK residents for seven days after their initial broadcast.[37] The show was not broadcast outside of the UK and, as of 20 September 2013[update], is not available on DVD.
I've Got Nothing
The completed Chartjackers single was released worldwide exclusively through the iTunes Store at midnight on 9 November 2009.[38] Each copy was sold for £0.79 in the UK and $0.99 in the US.[2][39] Just under 8,400 copies were downloaded in the UK, giving "I've Got Nothing" a chart placing of number 36 in the UK Singles Chart.[40] The song sold approximately 20,000 copies worldwide,[41] but did not make the singles chart in any other country.
Like the series from which it originated, "I've Got Nothing" was poorly received by critics. Some called the effort "very bad"[42] and others predicted that it was "unlikely to make much of a top 40 impact".[43] The music video for "I've Got Nothing" featured footage of Chartrand and Nichols singing the song in a London park, along with an actor dressed as Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear. This footage, along with clips of viewers miming to the song, was then used to construct the final music video for the single, which McDonnell edited.[15]
"I've Got Nothing" was performed live twice. The first occasion was at the 93 Feet East gathering on 4 November 2009, during the promotion of the single's release. The gathering featured performances from other YouTube users and was headlined by Hawkes.
See also
- 2009 in British television
- Alternative media
- List of YouTube personalities
References
- ^ BBC Programmes. 12 September 2009. Archivedfrom the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d Bowers, Mary (13 November 2009). "YouTube if you want to be a star". The Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2009. (subscription required)
- ^ a b McAlpine, Fraser (14 December 2009). "Thoughts About Rage Against The Machine vs X Factor". London: BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ a b Byrne, Stephen (14 November 2009). "charity". Dublin: Twitter. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- ^ "Four YouTube legends, one mind-blowing challenge as Chartjackers comes to BBC Switch". London: BBC. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Rushton, Katherine (7 September 2009). "BBC Switch to launch "YouTube X Factor"". Broadcast. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2010. (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Entertainment Development Priorities". London: BBC. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ^ a b "Club comes into focus for new TV show". Rochdale: Rochdale Observer. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ "A lot more news for you". Chortle. 11 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ "Production file: Hat Trick Productions". New Media Age. 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- Fish in a bottle. 2009. Archived from the originalon 29 October 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- ^ Gauld, Esther (29 October 2009). "Stars of YouTube going for number one". Geeks.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- ^ Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (10 October 2009). "Episode 5". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 5. BBC. BBC Two.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ a b Nissim, Mayer (3 November 2009). "Chesney Hawkes to play with Chartjackers". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 November 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ a b Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (24 October 2009). "Episode 7". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 7. BBC. BBC Two.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Chartjackers' hit produced by Creative Newport Student". Newport: University of Wales, Newport. 23 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- MySpace. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (7 November 2009). "Episode 9". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 9. BBC. BBC Two.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Chartjackers: Crowdsourcing to Top the UK Charts". Hypebot. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ^ "Welcome To ChartJackers!". 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2010 – via YouTube.
- ^ Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (3 October 2009). "Episode 4". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 4. BBC. BBC Two.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ a b Nissim, Mayer (18 September 2009). "Hawkes backs BBC 'Chartjackers'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ Fry, Stephen (11 November 2009). "The great @coollike &co ha ..." Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ a b Masterton, James (16 November 2009). "Chart Watch UK". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
- ^ "More composed now". 20 December 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
... We asked traditional radio to play the song. We asked newspapers and magazines for coverage ...
- ^ Writer: James Masterton (19 November 2009). "Week Ending November 21st". James Masterton's Chart Update.
- ^ Yates, Reggie (20 October 2009). "Spam is the worst way to g ..." Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ Mills, Scott (20 October 2009). "Thanks for your MILLIONS o ..." Twitter. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (7 October 2009). "VIDEO OF THE DAY – Chartjackers". Pocket-lint. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ Bass, David (14 November 2009). "@3sixty5days agreed". London: Twitter. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
- ^ "Rage Against The Machine to take on 'The X Factor' for Christmas Number One". NME. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ Famethrowa, Johnny (4 December 2009). "Rage Against The "X-Factor"". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Awards". London: Hat Trick Productions. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
... ChartJackers Nominated 2010 Best Multi-Platform Project ...
- ^ "Awards". Windfall Films. 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ "Chartjackers – Episodes from 2009". London: BBC Switch. 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ^ BBCSwitch (12 September 2009). "Chartjackers TV episode 1". Retrieved 25 July 2011 – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Chartjackers". London: BBC Switch. November 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ "Chartjackers attack the charts". London: BBC. November 2009. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "I've Got Nothing – Single by ChartJackers". iTunes. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ "Singles Chart For 21/11/09". Official Charts Company. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ^ Producers: Jonathan Davenport and Adam King (21 November 2009). "Compilation". Chartjackers. Series 1. Episode 11. BBC. BBC Two.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ "Subtle hints that Simon Cowell might not always be musically motivated". Popjustice. 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ Balls, David (9 November 2009). "Music – Single Reviews". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- ^ "Go Chartjackers! And Tom Deacon. Obvs". London: BBC Switch. November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
External links
- Chartjackers at BBC Online
- ChartJackersProject's channel on YouTube