All three of this week's debut songs feature artists who haven't been on the charts in years. At No. 40, "Somebody to Love Me" is the first hit for Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. Ronson is best known in the United States as producer of Amy Winehouse's breakthrough hit, "You Know I'm No Good." "Somebody to Love Me" features lead vocals from Boy George, making it his first appearance on the charts in almost 15 years; in early 1996, the title track from his CD "Cheapness and Beauty" hit No. 24.
One notch above Ronson is Phil Collins, whose "Going Back" is his first Top 40 appearance since "You'll Be in My Heart" hit No. 25 in 1999. ("Can't Stop Loving You" in 2003 fell during the chart's inactive period.) "Going Back" is the title track of Collins' recently released collection of mostly Motown remakes.
And at No. 35 is "A Brighter Day," the first track from the Doobie Brothers to hit the surveys since 1989. That's when the group had its last Top 10 hit, "The Doctor," which went to No. 2. Like that hit, this one features lead vocals from original Doobie lead singer Tom Johnston; of the songs on their new CD, "World Gone Crazy," only one features vocals from later lead singer Michael McDonald (and that appearance is more of a guest vocal).
At the top of the charts, the Zac Brown Band and guest Alan Jackson move 2-1 with "As She's Walking Away." This marks Jackson's first trip to the top since "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" in 2002. He came close in 2007 when "A Woman's Love" went to No. 2 for three weeks. The band is hot this week, with their latest CD debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 album charts.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Week of September 26
Katy Perry bounces back for a third nonconsecutive week at No. 1 with "Teenage Dream." Her song is the fourth charttopper in 2010 to come back for another go-around; the previous three were V.V. Brown's "Shark in the Water," The Bird and the Bee's "Heard It on the Radio" and the Zac Brown Band's "Free." Zac and his band, meanwhile, move 3-2, trying to unseat Katy with "As She's Walking Away," a collaboration with Alan Jackson.
Other chart news this week from superstar collaborations: The biggest mover is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from Santana, India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, 40-29. Meanwhile, both Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull score concurrent Top 10 hits. Both artists are featured on "I Like It" at No. 5, while Pitbull teams up with Usher on No. 6, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," and Iglesias pairs with Akon on No. 10, "One Day at a Time."
As a collaborator and as a solo artist, Cee-Lo Green has a strong week. With Fantasia, he moves 31-26 with "The Thrill Is Gone." Solo, he sprints 27-21 with "Forget You."
Of this week's four new entries, the highest is by a newcomer, Brendan James, a New Hampshire native and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. "The Lucky Ones" enters at No. 37. On the other end is an artist who began national popularity in the late 1950s with his brothers on what has become a wedding-reception classic, "Shout!" Ronald Isley debuts at No. 39 with "No More." It's his first solo hit; outside the Isley Brothers, he went to No. 1 in collaborations with Rod Stewart ("This Old Heart of Mine," 1990) and R. Kelly ("Down Low (Nobody Has to Know), 1996).
Other chart news this week from superstar collaborations: The biggest mover is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from Santana, India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma, 40-29. Meanwhile, both Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull score concurrent Top 10 hits. Both artists are featured on "I Like It" at No. 5, while Pitbull teams up with Usher on No. 6, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," and Iglesias pairs with Akon on No. 10, "One Day at a Time."
As a collaborator and as a solo artist, Cee-Lo Green has a strong week. With Fantasia, he moves 31-26 with "The Thrill Is Gone." Solo, he sprints 27-21 with "Forget You."
Of this week's four new entries, the highest is by a newcomer, Brendan James, a New Hampshire native and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. "The Lucky Ones" enters at No. 37. On the other end is an artist who began national popularity in the late 1950s with his brothers on what has become a wedding-reception classic, "Shout!" Ronald Isley debuts at No. 39 with "No More." It's his first solo hit; outside the Isley Brothers, he went to No. 1 in collaborations with Rod Stewart ("This Old Heart of Mine," 1990) and R. Kelly ("Down Low (Nobody Has to Know), 1996).
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week of September 19
A year ago this week, Uncle Kracker was finishing up his run at the top with the song that eventually became the No. 1 song of 2009, "Smile." This week, he lands his third chart-topper in 12 months, as his duet with Kid Rock, "Good to Be Me," moves 2-1. ("Another Love Song" hit the top in the spring.) "Smile" is on its way out of Billboard's Hot 100, falling out of the Top 40 this week after a No. 31 peak on its second chart go-around. (This second Hot 100 run was fueled by a Top 10 country peak and a No. 1 run at Adult Contemporary.)
But the artist who is making the biggest splash this week is Cee Lo Green. As his duet with Fantasia, "The Thrill is Gone," moves 36-31, he leapfrogs in at No. 27 with "Forget You." It's the clean version of a hilariously vulgar song with a fabulous neo-soul groove that earned 3 million views on YouTube in its first week. Billboard calls "Forget You" the inferior edit but I actually think it works just fine. It should become a monster radio hit along the lines of Cee Lo's 2006 work as part of Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy."
The other debut, at No. 40, is also intriguing, but moreso for the odd combination of artists. Carlos Santana, who has hit the Top 40 with more collaborators than just about anyone in the past dozen years, is back, remaking the George Harrison composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Santana is joined by neo-soul singer India.Arie and classical cellist Yo Yo Ma. It'll be interesting to see whether this Santana combination does as well as No. 1 collaborations with Rob Thomas, Michelle Branch and ... Cee Lo Green, who joined Santana and Lauryn Hill in 2000 on "Do You Like the Way?"
But the artist who is making the biggest splash this week is Cee Lo Green. As his duet with Fantasia, "The Thrill is Gone," moves 36-31, he leapfrogs in at No. 27 with "Forget You." It's the clean version of a hilariously vulgar song with a fabulous neo-soul groove that earned 3 million views on YouTube in its first week. Billboard calls "Forget You" the inferior edit but I actually think it works just fine. It should become a monster radio hit along the lines of Cee Lo's 2006 work as part of Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy."
The other debut, at No. 40, is also intriguing, but moreso for the odd combination of artists. Carlos Santana, who has hit the Top 40 with more collaborators than just about anyone in the past dozen years, is back, remaking the George Harrison composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Santana is joined by neo-soul singer India.Arie and classical cellist Yo Yo Ma. It'll be interesting to see whether this Santana combination does as well as No. 1 collaborations with Rob Thomas, Michelle Branch and ... Cee Lo Green, who joined Santana and Lauryn Hill in 2000 on "Do You Like the Way?"
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Week of September 12
Let's take a look at this week's new No. 1 song, biggest movers and debut songs.
The new chart-topper is "Misery" by Maroon 5. It's the band's third official No. 1 hit, following "Makes Me Wonder" in 2007 and "If I Never See Your Face Again" (featuring Rihanna) in 2008. The band had several hits from its debut album that came out during my chart's dormant period -- songs such as "Harder to Breathe," "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved." "Misery" is the first hit from the group's forthcoming album "Hands All Over."
Three of the week's biggest movers are from artists coming off recent Top 10 hits. MercyMe follows "All of Creation" with "Back to You," which leaps 22-12. David Gray's follow-up to his No. 1 duet with Annie Lennox, "Full Steam," is "A Moment Changes Everything" (23-14). And the Zac Brown Band is trying for back to back No. 1's, following "Free," as the group's collaboration with Alan Jackson, "As She's Walking Away," sprints 10-4. Meanwhile, jumping from 40 to 30 is "Not Broken," the latest from the Goo Goo Dolls. That group is making a bid for its first Top 10 hit since "Here Is Gone" went to No. 7 in 2002.
Of the three debuts this week, the most noteworthy is "Hey You," the first Top 40 hit in 20 years for Heart. In 1990, the group hit No. 24 with "Stranded." The group, led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, was a top album-rock act in the 1970s, but they had a comeback as a power-pop band in the 1980s, when they scored a No. 1 hit in 1985 with "Never." "Hey You" is from their new CD "Red Velvet Car."
Natasha Bedingfield is back at No. 38 with "Touch," her first hit in about a year and a half, when "Soulmate" hit the Top 10. And Sara Bareilles isn't letting much time pass; while her former No. 1 "King of Anything" is still in the Top 10, she debuts with another cut from the CD "Kaleidoscope Heart." The nostalgic-sounding "Gonna Get Over You" enters at No. 39.
The new chart-topper is "Misery" by Maroon 5. It's the band's third official No. 1 hit, following "Makes Me Wonder" in 2007 and "If I Never See Your Face Again" (featuring Rihanna) in 2008. The band had several hits from its debut album that came out during my chart's dormant period -- songs such as "Harder to Breathe," "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved." "Misery" is the first hit from the group's forthcoming album "Hands All Over."
Three of the week's biggest movers are from artists coming off recent Top 10 hits. MercyMe follows "All of Creation" with "Back to You," which leaps 22-12. David Gray's follow-up to his No. 1 duet with Annie Lennox, "Full Steam," is "A Moment Changes Everything" (23-14). And the Zac Brown Band is trying for back to back No. 1's, following "Free," as the group's collaboration with Alan Jackson, "As She's Walking Away," sprints 10-4. Meanwhile, jumping from 40 to 30 is "Not Broken," the latest from the Goo Goo Dolls. That group is making a bid for its first Top 10 hit since "Here Is Gone" went to No. 7 in 2002.
Of the three debuts this week, the most noteworthy is "Hey You," the first Top 40 hit in 20 years for Heart. In 1990, the group hit No. 24 with "Stranded." The group, led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, was a top album-rock act in the 1970s, but they had a comeback as a power-pop band in the 1980s, when they scored a No. 1 hit in 1985 with "Never." "Hey You" is from their new CD "Red Velvet Car."
Natasha Bedingfield is back at No. 38 with "Touch," her first hit in about a year and a half, when "Soulmate" hit the Top 10. And Sara Bareilles isn't letting much time pass; while her former No. 1 "King of Anything" is still in the Top 10, she debuts with another cut from the CD "Kaleidoscope Heart." The nostalgic-sounding "Gonna Get Over You" enters at No. 39.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Week of September 5
For the past decade, featured artists have been a dominant force on Billboard's Hot 100. The main contributor to the phenomenon is the rise of rap and hip-hop, which frequently exposed new artists to listeners through guest appearances on releases by more established artists. Today, that formula isn't quite so typical, as guest artists are just as likely to be as famous as the artists they're supporting. In addition, the practice has spread beyond rap and hip-hop to traditional R&B, pop/rock and even country.
This week on my charts, featured artists make up almost 25 percent, with seven of the nine songs that include featured artists placing in the Top 12. The songs span a wide range of styles: dance with rap (Pitbull featured on songs by Enrique Iglesias and Usher), R&B/rock (Velvet Revolver featured on Macy Gray's "Kissed It") and even country/rock (Kid Rock featured on Uncle Kracker's "Good to Be Me" and Alan Jackson featured on the Zac Brown Band's "As She's Walking Away").
A featured artist also appears among this week's three debuts. Cee-Lo, who previously has been part of the No. 1 act Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy," 2006) and a featured artist on Santana's "Do You Like the Way?" (No. 1, 2000), is back as a featured artist on Fantasia's "The Thrill Is Gone" at No. 38.
Of the other two new entries, Owl City avoids being a one-hit wonder, with "To the Sky" at No. 39; a year ago this week, debut hit "Fireflies" entered the Top 20. And the Goo Goo Dolls enter at No. 40 with "Not Broken," making the charts for the first time in four years. That's when "Stay With You" hit No. 19.
This week on my charts, featured artists make up almost 25 percent, with seven of the nine songs that include featured artists placing in the Top 12. The songs span a wide range of styles: dance with rap (Pitbull featured on songs by Enrique Iglesias and Usher), R&B/rock (Velvet Revolver featured on Macy Gray's "Kissed It") and even country/rock (Kid Rock featured on Uncle Kracker's "Good to Be Me" and Alan Jackson featured on the Zac Brown Band's "As She's Walking Away").
A featured artist also appears among this week's three debuts. Cee-Lo, who previously has been part of the No. 1 act Gnarls Barkley ("Crazy," 2006) and a featured artist on Santana's "Do You Like the Way?" (No. 1, 2000), is back as a featured artist on Fantasia's "The Thrill Is Gone" at No. 38.
Of the other two new entries, Owl City avoids being a one-hit wonder, with "To the Sky" at No. 39; a year ago this week, debut hit "Fireflies" entered the Top 20. And the Goo Goo Dolls enter at No. 40 with "Not Broken," making the charts for the first time in four years. That's when "Stay With You" hit No. 19.
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