Week of May 22

Four songs entered the Top 40 the week of December 12, 2010. All four turned out to make significant chart impact. Neon Trees' "Wish List" hit the Top 10. Natasha Bedingfield's "Weightless" stayed on the chart for 16 weeks, including four weeks at No. 11. And Cee-Lo Green's "Fool for You" is currently the leading candidate for the top song of 2011, spending four weeks at No. 1 in February. But Green has serious competition now from another song that debuted that same week -- a song that hits the top this week.

Christian Kane's country ballad "Thinking of You" completes its run to a peak by moving 2-1 in its 24th chart week. By doing so, Kane moves into second place for the longest drive to the top in the history of my charts. Back in 1986-87, Genesis took 26 weeks to hit No. 1 with "In Too Deep." The slow move for that song came as a result of its initially hitting the chart as an album track and a song from the soundtrack of the movie "Mona Lisa," and then remaining in the Top 25 (as the survey existed at that time) long enough to earn renewed strength as the fifth single from Genesis' "Invisible Touch" LP. By contrast, Kane's song has flown under the radar as a country album track from his EP "The House Rules" that hasn't caught fire nationally. That lack of heavy rotation ironically has helped the song's longevity as it's gained a bit of strength week by week (after being stuck at No. 12 throughout the month of March).

Here are the songs that rank as the five slowest movers to No. 1 since the weekly charts began in 1981:

1) Genesis, "In Too Deep," 26 weeks, 1986-87
2) Christian Kane, "Thinking of You," 24 weeks, 2010-11
3) TIE Darius Rucker, "It Won't Be Like This for Long," 19 weeks, 2009
Jason Mraz/Colbie Caillat, "Lucky," 19 weeks, 2008
4) Nickelback, "If Today Was Your Last Day," 18 weeks, 2009
5) TIE Owl City, "Fireflies,' 17 weeks, 2009
Sara Bareilles, "Love on the Rocks," 17 weeks, 2007-08

It's probably no coincidence that six of these songs have been on the charts in the past three and a half years. First, the chart now is a Top 40 survey, switching from a Top 30 survey in 2006 and a Top 25 survey in 2002. The addition of 15 positions gives songs more room for chart placement and longer stays. Secondly, since the charts resumed in 2006 (after a break from 2003 through mid-'06), the influence of iTunes has been significant. The ability to listen to and purchase individual tracks on albums, as well as iTunes' "free single of the week" feature spotlighting unfamiliar artists, has encouraged a broader variety of songs to chart than a strict radio-reflective survey would.

Christian Kane has the biggest chart story this week, but not the only one. Two of the week's three biggest movers are comeback hits for artists with long chart pedigrees. Moving 16-9 is "She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)" from Roxette. The Swedish duo first entered the surveys in 1989 with the No. 3 "(She's Got) The Look," the first of 10 hits over a four-year span. Their current hit is the first since "Almost Unreal" hit No. 19 in 1993.

And moving 25-18 is "Secret Love," the latest hit for Stevie Nicks. The singer-songwriter's success as a member of supergroup Fleetwood Mac shouldn't overshadow the fact that she has had quite a solo career. "Secret Love" is her 11th chart hit since 1981 when her duet with Don Henley, "Leather and Lace," went to No. 2. Her last solo hit came in 2001 when "Bombay Sapphires" went to No. 10.

The week's biggest mover belongs to Adele. "Someone Like You" rockets 29-20, on track to follow "Rolling in the Deep" to No. 1. That song hangs on at No. 35 for a second week, in its 23rd week on the chart.

Two debut songs this week: "The Edge of Glory" marks Lady GaGa's third release from her upcoming album (and she's already released a fourth ... obviously, she's never heard of the word "burnout"). This song, at No. 39, features saxophone work from Clarence Clemons (of E Street Band fame). And "Gravity Happens," at No. 40, is the second chart hit for Kate Voegele. The singer and actress (TV's "One Tree Hill") went to No. 1 two summers back with her debut hit, "99 Times." This song is the title track from her new album.