This week's chart activity is dominated by two rap artists. Rapper Pitbull pulls off the feat of earning his first two Top 10 hits in the same week, with his guest appearances on Enrique Iglesias' "I Like It" (14-9) and Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (15-10).
Meanwhile, Eminem earns his first Top 40 hit on my charts, as his duet with Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie," debuts at No. 36 in its clean version (explicit language edited out). I've struggled with charting this song because the first time I heard it a couple of months ago I wondered whether it was exploitative, given Rihanna's personal history with domestic violence. But over time, as I've listened to the lyrics, the song has resonated with me as an honest portrayal of the emotional tinderbox of an abusive relationship. It's certainly caught on with U.S. buyers and listeners, as it's reigned at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 for a month and a half.
Elsewhere on the charts: Donna Summer earns her sixth Top 40 hit of the 21st century with "To Paris With Love" at No. 40. Her biggest, "Stamp Your Feet," was the No. 1 song of 2008; John Mellencamp returns with "Save Some Time to Dream" at No. 39. He's placed 32 songs in the Top 40 in the past three decades, with his most recent No. 1 being 1997's "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)." And Michael W. Smith enters with "Save Me From Myself" at No. 37, his first hit since the rebound "I Will Be Your Friend" went to the top earlier this year.
At the top of the charts, Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" caps its five-week sprint by moving 2-1. That rise was almost as fast as her chart activity with "California Gurls"; the Snoop Dogg duet (which falls out of the Top 40 this week) went to No. 1 in four weeks.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Week of August 22
At the top of the charts, an interesting battle between two of the top female pop/rock singers of the past couple of years. Sara Bareilles moves 2-1 with "King of Anything," scoring her third No. 1 (after "Love Song" and "Love on the Rocks") in the past three years. But right behind her is Katy Perry, hoping to earn her third No. 1 in the past three years with "Teenage Dream." This week, the follow-up to "California Gurls" sprints 11-2.
Of this week's three debuts, country singer Trace Adkins has the highest, with "Between the Rainbows and the Rain" at No. 36. It's a track from his new release, "Cowboy's Back in Town," and it becomes his first Top 40 crossover since 2007. That's when "I Wanna Feel Something" went to No. 3 for two weeks.
Nelly enters at No. 37 with his latest, "Just a Dream." With hits such as "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "My Place" (featuring Jaheim) and "Over and Over" (featuring Tim McGraw) all falling during the period when my charts were inactive, this marks only his second Top 40 appearance. In late 2006, shortly after the charts restarted, his collaboration with Janet Jackson, "Call on Me," went to No. 17.
"Wake Up Everybody," a classic from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, with Teddy Pendergrass on lead, still sounds fresh 34 years later. Nevertheless, it's spawned a remake by John Legend and The Roots, with guest appearances by Melanie Fiona and Common. The remake debuts at No. 38.
Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull both have two songs in the Top 15 this week. Their collaboration, "I Like It," moves 16-14. Sandwiching it are Iglesias' collaboration with Akon on "One Day at a Time" (14-13) and Pitbull's teamup with Usher, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (17-15).
Of this week's three debuts, country singer Trace Adkins has the highest, with "Between the Rainbows and the Rain" at No. 36. It's a track from his new release, "Cowboy's Back in Town," and it becomes his first Top 40 crossover since 2007. That's when "I Wanna Feel Something" went to No. 3 for two weeks.
Nelly enters at No. 37 with his latest, "Just a Dream." With hits such as "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "My Place" (featuring Jaheim) and "Over and Over" (featuring Tim McGraw) all falling during the period when my charts were inactive, this marks only his second Top 40 appearance. In late 2006, shortly after the charts restarted, his collaboration with Janet Jackson, "Call on Me," went to No. 17.
"Wake Up Everybody," a classic from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, with Teddy Pendergrass on lead, still sounds fresh 34 years later. Nevertheless, it's spawned a remake by John Legend and The Roots, with guest appearances by Melanie Fiona and Common. The remake debuts at No. 38.
Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull both have two songs in the Top 15 this week. Their collaboration, "I Like It," moves 16-14. Sandwiching it are Iglesias' collaboration with Akon on "One Day at a Time" (14-13) and Pitbull's teamup with Usher, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (17-15).
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Week of August 15
With a tight Top 10 this week (songs moving up one or two positions), the song just below it is making the most chart noise. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" zooms 29-11, undoubtedly heading to become her fourth Top 10 hit in the past two years, following "Hot 'N Cold," "Waking Up in Vegas" and "California Gurls" (with Snoop Dogg). Perry's first chart hit, "I Kissed a Girl," peaked at No. 20; her collaboration with Timbaland, "If We Ever Meet Again," hit No. 15 last month.
Four debuts this week, including follow-ups to recent No. 1 hits for the Zac Brown Band and David Gray. The Zac Brown Band team up with country chart-topper Alan Jackson on "As She's Walking Away" at No. 33; the song marks Jackson's seventh Top 40 appearance. His biggest hit is 2002's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?" which stayed at No. 1 for three weeks. Meanwhile, Gray's "A Moment Changes Everything" at No. 38 is his ninth Top 40 hit; his list of No. 1 songs includes "Babylon," "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" and his recent duet with Annie Lennox, "Full Steam."
Another debut comes from Seal. "Secret," at No. 35, is Seal's first appearance since his remake of "A Change is Gonna Come" hit No. 28 in 2008. Seal has hit the top twice, with his debut hit "Seal" in 1991 and "A Prayer for the Dying" in 1994.
Four debuts this week, including follow-ups to recent No. 1 hits for the Zac Brown Band and David Gray. The Zac Brown Band team up with country chart-topper Alan Jackson on "As She's Walking Away" at No. 33; the song marks Jackson's seventh Top 40 appearance. His biggest hit is 2002's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?" which stayed at No. 1 for three weeks. Meanwhile, Gray's "A Moment Changes Everything" at No. 38 is his ninth Top 40 hit; his list of No. 1 songs includes "Babylon," "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" and his recent duet with Annie Lennox, "Full Steam."
Another debut comes from Seal. "Secret," at No. 35, is Seal's first appearance since his remake of "A Change is Gonna Come" hit No. 28 in 2008. Seal has hit the top twice, with his debut hit "Seal" in 1991 and "A Prayer for the Dying" in 1994.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Week of August 8
A few weeks back, I reflected about how cool it is that the Internet gives music lovers far more sources for learning about new artists than were available in past decades. I've learned about Janelle Monáe through a friend's Facebook posting, the Zac Brown Band through another's music blog and charting, and Nikki Yanofsky, Larsen B and others through iTunes' "Free Single of the Week" feature.
Well, this week you can add "forgotten artists" to "new artists," as this week's top entry is a 36-year-old recording I learned about through the music blog of disc jockey and music lover Jim Bartlett. His blog, The Hits Just Keep On Comin', regularly introduces me to facets of the industry I've never known, and this week -- in his look at one-hit-wonders that peaked at No. 92 on the Hot 100 -- he introduced me to Lea Roberts. Through his blog, I heard her version of Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain." Recorded in 1974, the song still sounds fresh today. And it's fresh enough for me to chart it; it's No. 32 this week.
My local radio stations may not where I learn about new music any more, but radio still has its own powers. (My current local radio faves are two new AM stations that focus on country music of the '60s. '70s and early '80s and pop-Top 40 music of the '50s-'80s.) Reba McEntire's latest, "Turn on the Radio" at No. 36, is but the latest of several chart songs to extol the powers of radio; it joins the 20-week-charting "Heard It on the Radio" by The Bird and the Bee in this week's survey. "Heard It..." became the biggest "radio" song on my charts, surpassing such Top 10 hits as Bruce Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere," Everclear's "AM Radio" and Queen's "Radio Ga-Ga."
One sign of how swiftly new music is moving is seeing how many songs in the Top 10 have been on the charts for less than 10 weeks. This week, only two of the Top 10 songs are older than 10 weeks, making for the "newest" Top 10 in all of 2010. Only the former No. 1 song "Free" from the Zac Brown Band and the new No. 1, "Cool My Heels" by Nikki Yanofsky, are in double-digit chart runs. It'll be interesting to see which of the young turks arise victorious in the weeks to come.
Well, this week you can add "forgotten artists" to "new artists," as this week's top entry is a 36-year-old recording I learned about through the music blog of disc jockey and music lover Jim Bartlett. His blog, The Hits Just Keep On Comin', regularly introduces me to facets of the industry I've never known, and this week -- in his look at one-hit-wonders that peaked at No. 92 on the Hot 100 -- he introduced me to Lea Roberts. Through his blog, I heard her version of Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain." Recorded in 1974, the song still sounds fresh today. And it's fresh enough for me to chart it; it's No. 32 this week.
My local radio stations may not where I learn about new music any more, but radio still has its own powers. (My current local radio faves are two new AM stations that focus on country music of the '60s. '70s and early '80s and pop-Top 40 music of the '50s-'80s.) Reba McEntire's latest, "Turn on the Radio" at No. 36, is but the latest of several chart songs to extol the powers of radio; it joins the 20-week-charting "Heard It on the Radio" by The Bird and the Bee in this week's survey. "Heard It..." became the biggest "radio" song on my charts, surpassing such Top 10 hits as Bruce Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere," Everclear's "AM Radio" and Queen's "Radio Ga-Ga."
One sign of how swiftly new music is moving is seeing how many songs in the Top 10 have been on the charts for less than 10 weeks. This week, only two of the Top 10 songs are older than 10 weeks, making for the "newest" Top 10 in all of 2010. Only the former No. 1 song "Free" from the Zac Brown Band and the new No. 1, "Cool My Heels" by Nikki Yanofsky, are in double-digit chart runs. It'll be interesting to see which of the young turks arise victorious in the weeks to come.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
