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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Billboard Charts

  • Chart Chat 5/11/08: Usher, Colbie Caillat, Plies & More!!


    Happy once de Mayo, ladies and gentlemen!! Let’s travel into the land of the Top 20 singles and albums, courtesy of Billboard Magazine!!

    Top 20 Albums:

    1) “Hard Candy” Madonna
    2) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
    3) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
    4) “Lyfe Change” Lyfe Jennings
    5) “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” Def Leppard
    6) “Rising Down” The Roots
    7) “Third” Portishead
    8) “Mudcrutch” Mudcrutch
    9) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 27” Various Artists
    10) “Greatest Hits-Limited Edition” Tim McGraw
    11) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
    12) “Nine Lives” Steve Winwood
    13) “Juno Soundtrack” Various Artists
    14) “Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack” Various Artists
    15) “This Kind of Love” Carly Simon
    16) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
    17) “Flight of the Concords Soundtrack”Flight of the Concords
    18) “Troubadour” George Strait
    19) “Coco” Colbie Caillat
    20) “The Best of Both Worlds Concert” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus

    Top 20 Singles:

    1) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
    2) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat Static Major
    3) “No Air” Chris Brown & Jordin Sparks
    4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
    5) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. & Yung Berg
    6) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
    7) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
    8) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
    9) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
    10) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
    11) “Damaged” Danity Kane
    12) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
    13) “Say” John Mayer
    14) “See You Again” Miley Cyrus
    15) “Forever” Chris Brown
    16) “With You” Chris Brown
    17) “Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
    18) “Don’t Stop the Music” Rihanna
    19) “Bust it Baby” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
    20) “Realize” Colbie Caillat

    *Colbie Caillat might be the most befuddling music purchase I’ve made in the past year. I guess it was one of those “let me see what the fuss is all about” purchases, and the fact is, she’s the most boring, white bread girl with an acoustic guitar in the history of music. She makes Jack Johnson (who I love, by the way) sound like freakin’ Mastodon by comparison.

    *Hmmm…so I thought Plies was going to be a one-hit wonder. Thanks to Ne-Yo, “Bust it Baby” becomes his second hit. Too bad I can’t even remember what the first one was.

    *Record industry folks, take a look at this stat. Of this week,s Top 20 singles, only five are by artists who have been around for 10 years or more (Li’l Wayne, Usher, Mariah Carey, Madonna and Ray J.). It also might be worth noting that of those five, Wayne, Usher and Ray J, are all under 30. Now, check out the album chart, where of the 16 albums that are not soundtracks or compilations, 10 of the artists/bands have been around for 10 years or more (and yes, I’m counting Mudcrutch, Tom Petty’s latest side project). Of the 6 remaining artists, all except Miley Cyrus are considered more “adult”-type artists. That should provide the world’s simplest reasoning for the fact that kids are buying singles (possibly because they can’t *afford* albums…hello??) and adults are buying albums. Can it get any more simple?

    *Usher finds himself in the bizarre position of having the same song on the Top 100 twice…sort of. “Love in This Club Part II”, which features Beyonce, is hanging out at #51. I don’t think the Billboard folks have explained yet why the two songs aren’t combined on the chart, assuming “Part II” is just a remix of “Part I”. Even if the songs sound completely different…the two versions of J. Lo’s “I’m Real” were completely different and they charted together.

    *Is Lyfe Jennings, who debuts in the Top 5 for the second consecutive time, becoming the 21st century Gerald LeVert…a consistently-selling R&B crooner that mainstream radio and media COMPLETELY ignores?

    *On their Def Jam swan song, The Roots tie “Things Fall Apart” with the highest debut of their career, at #6 (granted, with about half the sales, but still…)

    *”Idol”‘s ratings might be declining, but it’s influence is still strong. A performance of “Pocketful of Sunshine” moves Natasha Bedingfield into the Top 10 for the second time (following the ridiculously overplayed “Unwritten”), and the album also takes a huge jump. Meanwhile, Neil Diamond, who mentored the contestants in the same episode, is poised to score his first #1 album EVER next week, with “Idol” runner-up Gay…uh, Clay Aiken trailing at #2. In non-“Idol” debuts, look for big singles chart splashes from Rihanna and Coldplay’s new songs.

    …why do I feel like i should now be saying “keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars”? Damn you, Casey Kasem!!

  • Chart Chat 5/4/08: Madonna, Jesse McCartney, Static Major And More!!


    Hey folks:

    Courtesy of the good folks at Billboard magazine, I bring you (drumroll…) this week’s Top 20 singles and albums!!

    We’ll start with the albums chart:

    1) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
    2) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
    3) “Flight of the Concords” Flight of the Concords
    4) “Bittersweet World” Ashlee Simpson
    5) “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” Atmosphere
    6) “Now That’s What I Call Music 27” Various Artists
    7) “Juno” Soundtrack
    8) “Troubadour” George Strait
    9) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
    10) “Prayer of a Common Man” Phil Vassar
    11) “Best of Both Worlds Concert” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus
    12) “Alvin & The Chipmunks” Soundtrack
    13) “Sunset Man” James Otto
    14) “Sleep Through The Static” Jack Johnson
    15) “Trilla” Rick Ross
    16) “Lady Antebellum” Lady Antebellum
    17) “Accelerate” R.E.M.
    18) “The Black Swan” Story of the Year
    19) “Call Me Irresponsible” Michael Buble
    20) “Jordin Sparks” Jordin Sparks

    Top 20 Singles:

    1) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
    2) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major
    3) “No Air” Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown
    4) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
    5) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
    6) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. feat. Yung Berg
    7) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
    8) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
    9) “Forever” Chris Brown
    10) “With You” Chris Brown
    11) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
    12) “See You Again” Miley Cyrus
    13) “Say” John Mayer
    14) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
    15) “Damaged” Danity Kane
    16) “Don’t Stop The Music” Rihanna
    17) “Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
    18) “The Boss” Rick Ross feat. T-Pain
    19) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
    20) “What You Got” Colby O’ Donis feat. Akon

    *Nope, I don’t know who Colby O’ Donis is either. But…his song features Akon, so I also really don’t care who he is. But here’s his video in case you’re interested.

    *Chris Brown has three songs in this week’s Top 10. Is it safe to say Chris Breezy is going to be the 2008 version of T-Pain?

    *One thing I neglected to mention last week (and thanks to Joel Whitburn’s Chart Beat Chat column for making me aware of this), is that Static Major, who guests on Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” (down 1 spot to #2 this week), is the seventh artist to hit #1 on the singles chart posthumously, following Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Jim Croce, The Notorious B.I.G. and Soulja Slim. Static, who was better known as a songwriter (Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?” and “Try Again”) was also 1/3 of the singing group Playa, who had a hit with “Cheers 2 U” a decade or so ago.

    *Jesse McCartney becomes the latest former boy-bander to achieve chart salvation. Not only is he new in the Top 20 with “Leavin”‘” (which auomatically becomes his highest charting single), but he also has a co-write on the #1 single, Leona Lewis’s “Bleeding Love”. Not bad for the kid who was the lead singer of D-list boy band Dream Street.

    *Latest annoying song to finally get the chart boot: “Apologize” by Timbaland & OneRepublic.

    *How weird was it to see Madonna on “106 & Park” this week? Particularly in light of her work with Justin Timberlake, who has unofficially been banned from the network in light of his participation in “Nipplegate”?

    *Finally, a big shout to the duo of Atmosphere, who score one of the surprise debuts of the year (with one of the best album titles of the year, too!!). Definitely a good look for indie/backpacker rap!!

  • Chart Chat 4/27/08: Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, Madonna And More!!


    With NO further ado, I now present you with this week’s Top 20 singles and albums, courtesy of the good folks over at Billboard.

    Top 20 Albums:

    1) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
    2) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
    3) “Best of Both Worlds Concert” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus
    4) “Lady Antebellum” Lady Antebellum
    5) “Now That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 27” Various Artists
    6) “Troubadour” George Strait
    7) “Alvin & The Chipmunks Soundtrack” Various Artists
    8) “Juno Soundtrack” Various Artists
    9) “Accelerate” R.E.M.
    10) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
    11) “Trilla” Rick Ross
    12) “Sunset Man” James Otto
    13) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
    14) “Welcome To the Dollhouse” Danity Kane
    15) “Daughtry” Daughtry
    16) “Jordin Sparks” Jordin Sparks
    17) “Vol. 3-4: Alchemy Index” Thrice
    18) “Snakes & Arrows Live” Rush
    19) “Little Voice” Sara Bareilles
    20) “The Odd Couple” Gnarls Barkley

    Top 20 Singles:

    1) “Lollipop” Li’l Wayne feat. Static Major
    2) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
    3) “No Air” Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown
    4) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
    5) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
    6) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
    7) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. feat. Yung Berg
    8) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
    9) “With You” Chris Brown
    10) “See You Again” Miley Cyrus
    11) “Low” Flo-Rida feat. T-Pain
    12) “Say” John Mayer
    13) “Don’t Stop the Music” Rihanna
    14) “Damaged” Danity Kane
    15) “Stop & Stare” OneRepublic
    16) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
    17) “Boss” Rick Ross
    18) “Apologize” Timbaland feat. OneRepublic
    19) “Independent” Webbie, Li’l Boosie & Li’l Phat
    20) “Sorry” Buckcherry

    *Of course, it’s all about Mariah this week, as “E=MC2” becomes her sixth #1 album, putting her in a three-way tie for 2nd place among female artists with Madonna and Janet Jackson (Barbra Streisand is in 1st place, with 8). She should probably enjoy this moment, as Madge will in all likelihood bump Mariah back to 3rd place when “Hard Candy” is eligible to chart the week after next.

    *Although the 463K Mariah sold marks the biggest sales week of 2008 so far and is also the biggest debut week of Mariah’s career, it might be worth noting that in 2007 among female artists, Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys ALL opened with bigger first weeks. Then again, Mariah’s albums tend to have legs, so we’ll see what happens.

    *Why is radio not playing “4 Minutes”? The Madonna/JT collaboration has been the #1 or #2 downloaded song in America for the past 4 weeks, but stands at #6 this week. From a radio standpoint, the 21st century hasn’t been great to Madge, with her only huge radio hit being 2000’s “Music”.

    *The group Lady Antebellum (which apparently features the brother of fake John Mayer/Katherine Heigl’s hubby Josh Kelley) becomes the second consecutive new country act to crack the Top 5 nationally. I just wanna know who the hell came up with that name.

    *The real John Mayer finds himself in the Top 20 with a second single in less than a month (he’s credited on Fall Out Boy’s “Beat It”). “Say” has been out for something like 5 months now, but makes it’s jump due to a performance on “Dancing With The Stars”. It’s a cute enough song, but after a breakthrough album like “Continuum”, it almost sounds like a throwaway.

    *Also getting a TV-related bump is Gnarls Barkley. Following an appearance on SNL (was Cee-Lo’s mike messed up? The sound was weird), “The Odd Couple” pops back into the Top 20.

    *Alicia Keys’ “No One” FINALLY disappears from the Top 20!! I love Alicia, but I was getting tired of having to type that out every week. Hopefully Timbaland’s grossly overplayed “Apologize” is next.

    *How come when folks mention superstar acts coming out with albums in the near future, no one mentions Usher. Let’s not forget: Usher was the last artist to open with a million-plus week, AND 2004’s “Confessions” is the most recently released album to attain a diamond certification for 10 million plus shipments. “Here I Stand”, which arrives on 5/27, could be a monster.

    *Next week should be a relatively quiet chart week, with Ashlee Simpson being the only notable debut (with a number WAY off the pace of her first two albums). Mariah should be able to hold her ground at the top for a second week, although Leona Lewis fever is just beginning, and her performance on “Idol” last week should cement her position as runner-up.