The longest-ranked chart hit in Germany is now the song “Roller” by the Ludwigshafen rapper Apache 207 with 162 weeks. The song released in August 2019 has the Christmas hit “Last Christmas” by Wham! from 1984, as GfK Entertainment as investigators of the Official German Charts announced in Baden-Baden. For three and a half years, “Roller” – with interruptions – has been stirring up the top 100. A recurring passage in it reads: “Apache stays the same.”
How long the record will last will be seen at the end of the year, when – like every year – George Michael’s “Last Christmas” song is likely to be placed again and “Roller” may have sunk into the eternal chart bottoms.
Eurodance and street rap combined
The 25-year-old Apache 207, whose real name is Volkan Yaman, knows how to combine Eurodance and street rap. He was born in Mannheim in 1997 and grew up in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Apache 207 doesn’t fit into any category, moves successfully between R’n’B, pop and disco. With long black hair and often sunglasses, the two-meter-tall artist doesn’t fit into the mold either. He told the German Press Agency at the end of last year: “I’ve never put on a costume, it’s just my own clothes, that’s how I am.”
Of the 162 weeks on the charts, “Roller” was at number one for just one week in early September 2019. The song is currently at number 41, up from number 45 the week before.
Number one hit together with Udo Lindenberg
Apache 207 currently has another number one hit. With “Komet” he has been at the top of the single charts for six weeks together with Udo Lindenberg (76). In the video clip, the two stars smoke cigars on the balcony of the Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg.
In the record song “Roller”, the lyrical I wears Gucci sandals “out of defiance, defiance”: “Nevertheless, they imitate me, can’t believe it.” Then the lyrical I speaks about his “wasp”, which means the moped brand Vespa.
But the song is not just a declaration of love for motor scooters. There’s also the slangy rap language about women, gays and violence. Lines like “Bitch like Barbie, Hood Safari; Get on the speedfight, fuck Kawasaki, let’s go, Barbie». In comparison, the Wham! Christmas hit “Last Christmas” is a harmless number. Every year, just in time for Advent, it storms the charts – like “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. In 2023 the nostalgic song will be 39 years old.
«Last Christmas» comes at Christmas 1984
The cheesy synthesizer pop song celebrated its entry into the hit list in 1984 on December 24th (position 54). In January 1985, the song climbed to number seven. Then “Last Christmas” didn’t make it into the top 100 for eleven years.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley have been regulars in December and January since 1997. By the way, the catchy tune was first on the one on Christmas Eve 2021, then again on New Year’s Eve of the same year. The song was number one for a third time a good nine weeks ago, i.e. at the end of 2022.
Tom Odell’s “Another Love” has also spent 161 weeks in the charts. The love song by the 32-year-old British singer-songwriter is ten years old and first hit the German charts in March 2013. In the past two years, for example, Tiktok has made it popular again. It grew into a solidarity song for Ukraine and Iran. “Another Love” currently ranks 17th.
