In years past, immediately after an “American Idol” season was over, there would be a commercial single release of the original songs that the final two contestants performed. Typically, these rocketed to the top of the charts. Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken (besting actual winner Ruben Studdard), Fantasia, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks all scored chart-toppers with their initial releases. The first sign that there had to be some kind of retooling came last year when Jordin Sparks’ initial release, “This is My Now”, broke the string.
So, what the “Idol” folks have done in conjunction with iTunes is make all the performaces from each show available digitally, but the sales were not reported to Soundscan until the week of the show finale, which results in one amazing fact for eventual “Idol” winner David Cook, and one other sort of stinging reality.
Cook has 11 songs enter the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week, setting a modern-day record for most songs on this chart at one time. The previous record was 8, set by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus about a year and a half ago. I quote this as being a modern-day record because The Beatles actually placed 14 songs on the singles chart back in ’64.
At any rate, this becomes a semi-dubious distinction because none of Cook’s songs make it all the way to the top-where Lil’ Wayne holds for a second consecutive week with “Lollipop”. “The Time of My Life” slides in at #3 this week. Impressive? Yes, but not a number one, and considering the massive slide that “event” singles generally have in their second week, expect Cook’s number of charted singles to halve on next week’s chart.
By contrast, David Archuleta was only able to place three songs on this week’s Hot 100-led by his rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” at #36.
Y’all know what it is…here are this week’s Top 20 Singles & Albums, courtesy of the folks at Billboard.
Top 20 Singles:
1) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major
2) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
3) “Take a Bow” Rihanna
4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
5) “No Air” Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
6) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. feat. Yung Berg
7) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
8) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
9) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
10) “Damaged” Danity Kane
11) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
12) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
13) “Bust it Baby Pt. II” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
14) “What You Got” Colby O’ Donis feat. Akon
15) “Say” John Mayer
16) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
17) “With You” Chris Brown
18) “Love in This Club Part II” Usher feat. Beyonce & Lil’ Wayne
19) “Bye Bye” Mariah Carey
20) “Forever” Chris Brown
Top 20 Albums:
1) “Narrow Stairs” Death Cab for Cutie
2) “Nothing But the Best” Frank Sinatra
3) “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” Jason Mraz
4) “Rockferry” Duffy
5) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
6) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
7) “Home Before Dark” Neil Diamond
8) “Hard Candy” Madonna
9) “35 Biggest Hits” Toby Keith
10) “Just Me” Keith Sweat
11) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
12) “Division” 10 Years
13) “Now That’s What I Call Music 27” Various Artists
14) “Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory” Dierks Bentley
15) “Gavin DeGraw” Gavin DeGraw
16) “Awake Live” Josh Groban
17) “Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
18) “On My Way Here” Clay Aiken
19) “Juno” Soundtrack
20) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
*So…um…who the hell is 10 Years? Not that I profess to be the beginning and ending of all things music, but it’s a bit rare for me to have never once heard of an artist in the Top 20. Oh,well.
*A nice cluster of newbies in the Top 4, including a well-deserved bow at the top from Death Cab for Cutie.I’d imagine the biggest surprise would be from British soul singer Duffy at #4. Her single “Mercy” also rockets up the chart, landing in the Top 30 this week.
…and is it me, or does this song sound suspiciously like…
*As tipped off last week, Usher cruises into the Top 20 with his “Love in This Club” remix, which features the beyond-ubiquitous Lil’ Wayne as well as only slightly less ubiquitous Beyonce. Personally, I think it’s time for *both* of them to take a vacation.
*Clay Aiken, I think it’s time to say bye-bye to your career, eh?
*Keith Sweat is in the Top 10 of the album charts for the first time in almost a decade (and hits the #1 spot on the R&B albums chart for the sixth time). Proof that begging will *never* go out of style!
It’s that time again! Courtesy of the folks at Billboard, I bring you this week’s Top Singles and Albums charts. Dig the foxy-ass pic of Neil Diamond. He’s pimp!!vKick it, Fred!
Top 20 Albums:
1)”Home Before Dark” Neil Diamond
2)”35 Biggest Hits” Toby Keith
3)”Hard Candy” Madonna
4)”On My Way Here” Clay Aiken
5)”E=MC2″ Mariah Carey
6)”Spirit” Leona Lewis
7)”Gavin DeGraw” Gavin DeGraw
8)”Awake Live” Josh Groban
9)”Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory 2003-2008″ Dierks Bentley
10)”Complices” Luis Miguel
11)”Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
12)”Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
13)”Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 27″ Various Artists
14)”Troubadour” George Strait
15)”Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
16)”Stand Out” Tye Tribbett & G.A.
17)”Juno Soundtrack” Various Artists
18)”Jordin Sparks” Jordin Sparks
19)”Coco” Colbie Caillat
20)”Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2″ Tim McGraw
Top 20 Singles:
1)”Take a Bow” Rihanna
2)”Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
3)”Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major
4)”No Air” Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
5)”Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
6)”Sexy Can I” Ray J. & Yung Berg
7)”4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
8)”Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
9)”Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
10)”Damaged” Danity Kane
11)”Love Song” Sara Bareilles
12)”Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
13)”Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
14)”Say” John Mayer
15)”Viva La Vida” Coldplay
16)”Bust it Baby Pt. 2″ Plies feat. Ne-Yo
17)”What You Got” Colby O’Donis feat. Akon
18)”With You” Chris Brown
19)”See You Again” Miley Cyrus
20)”Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
*So, when the news started to hit about Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon getting married, I actually thought to myself, “Self, whatever happened to Luis Miguel?”. Luis was the Latin superstar Mariah dated between Derek Jeter and (allegedly) Eminem. The Top 10 debut for his latest album answers that question for me. I’m pretty sure Mariah and Luis are the only former couple to share space in the Top 10 this week, unless there was some Toby Keith/Clay Aiken hookup that I didn’t know anything about. Ugh. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
*Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” makes the second biggest leap to #1 in chart history, climbing 51 spots to the top. The holder for the largest jump is Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder”, from last year. So of course, another debut this week is “If I Never See Your Face Again”, by Maroon 5 featuring Rihanna (see how nicely that came together?). I’ll admit, I liked this song a lot without Rihanna, but she does add a bit of sexual tension to the proceedings (and it’s a much better song than the plodding “Take a Bow”). It’s still a little disturbing though, because I’m pretty sure that Adam Levine has at least a decade on Rih-Rih.
*Neil Diamond, somewhat improbably, scores the first #1 album of his CAREER with “Home After Dark”. This news definitely threw me for a loop, because I remember watching “America’s Top 10” as a kid and I swore that the “Jazz Singer” soundtrack was omnipresent. I’m surprised it wasn’t a #1 album. According to Wikipedia, it peaked at #3. Wow. Well, congrats to Neil and to producer Rick Rubin for bringing forth Neil’s late-career renaissance. Oh, and “American Idol”, which featured Neil as their guest judge a couple weeks back.
*After a five year wait, apparently people still care about Gavin DeGraw. I am decidedly *not* one of them.
*How about this one, folks? Danity Kane (at #10 on the singles chart) is the only group to be found in the entire Top 10 of both the singles AND albums charts! Every one else in the top tier of both lists is either a solo artist, performing a duet (or has a “featured” performance), or is a movie soundtrack. Billboard’s Chart Beat Chat acknowledges that it might be the first time in history that’s occurred.
*Next week, Death Cab for Cutie will almost certainly debut at #1 on the albums chart (managing to break the solo artist trend), while major moves on the singles chart should come from Usher (whose “Love in This Club Part II, featuring Beyonce, was made available for digital download this week) and NKOTB’s “Summertime”, which is on pace to debut in the Top 40, if not the Top 20.
*Ahh, screw it, let’s just make it a Rihanna Sunday. Here’s the video for “Take a Bow”. For the record, (and to clarify for the Boston Metro writer who called her a 2-hit wonder), this is her 8th Top 10 single. Umm…and what’s up with that neck tattoo? And isn’t this song just “Irreplaceable” with pianos instead of guitars?
