Week of April 18

Four debuts this week, and three have a link to the 1980s. At No. 40, singer Cary Brothers debuts with "Something About You." It's a remake of the 1986 hit by Level 42, which hit No. 2 for three weeks. Meanwhile, Usher's latest at No. 39, "Making Love (Into the Night)," incorporates part of the melody and lyrics from the two-time hit from Benny Mardones. "Into the Night" went to No. 1 in 1980 and, upon re-release, No. 3 in 1989.

The third 1980s link is a little less literal. Murs & 9th Wonder debut at No. 37 with "I Used to Love Her (Again)," a song that uses the metaphor of a romance to talk about the artists' relationship with hip-hop. In theme and approach, it's reminiscent of early hip-hop artists. Hip-hop is not my favorite genre of popular music, but sometimes particular songs catch my attention. (It definitely helped that I was familiar with 9th Wonder, a North Carolina-born producer, from local media.)

Last week, the logjam was in the top 10; this week, it's affecting positions 11 through 21, which probably portends a good deal of midchart action next week. Meanwhile, probably in its final Top 10 week is Michael W. Smith's "I Will Be Your Friend," down 1-6. This would be a fitting bow for the song as 10 years ago this week it entered the Top 10 for its first run. (It came back in January in tribute to my then-ailing cat Dr. Gray, who now seems to be getting along well, thank goodness.)