This week’s chart action, courtesy of Billboard Magazine.
Billboard Hot 100: Top 20 Singles
1) “So What” Pink
Pink. Photo courtesy of Joel Telling.
2) “Whatever You Like” T.I.
3) “Disturbia” Rihanna
4) “Paper Planes” M.I.A.
5) “Swagga Like Us” Jay-Z & T.I. feat. Li’l Wayne & Kanye West
6) “Forever” Chris Brown
7) “Closer” Ne-Yo
8) “Can’t Believe It” T-Pain feat. Li’l Wayne
9) “American Boy” Estelle feat. Kanye West
10) “Got Money” Li’l Wayne feat. T-Pain
11) ‘Dangerous” Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon
12) “Hot N Cold” Katy Perry
13) “I’m Yours” Jason Mraz
14) “Viva La Vida” Coldplay
15) “In the Ayer” Flo-Rida feat. will.i.am
16) “Love Story” Taylor Swift
17) “One Step at a Time” Jordin Sparks
18) “Better in Time” Leona Lewis
19) “I Kissed a Girl” Katy Perry
20) “Miss Independent” Ne-Yo
Billboard 200: Top 20 Albums
1) “Death Magnetic” Metallica
2) “The Recession” Young Jeezy
3) “Rock & Roll Jesus” Kid Rock
4) “Do You Know” Jessica Simpson
5) “All Hope is Gone” Slipknot
6) “A Little Bit Longer” Jonas Brothers
7) “LAX” The Game
8) “Exit 13” LL Cool J
9) “Tha Carter III” Li’l Wayne
10) “Mamma Mia Soundtrack” Various Artists
11) “Love & Life” Eric Benet
12) “Good Girl Gone Bad” Rihanna
13) “Love on the Inside” Sugarland
14) “The Quilt” Gym Class Heroes
15) “Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends” Coldplay
16) “The Block” New Kids on the Block
17) “Breakout” Miley Cyrus
18) “Do You Believe in Gosh” Mitch Hedberg
19) “Still Unforgettable” Natalie Cole
20) “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” Jason Mraz
*Pink sets up her upcoming album “Funhouse” quite nicely with the first #1 single of her career (not counting the multi-artist massacre of “Lady Marmalade” from 2001. While I’m sure most will agree that she’s a talented woman, did anyone think that this chick would still have a career after nearly ten years when they first saw the video for “There U Go”?
Hey folks, here are some of the headlines floating through the music world this week, and no, I’m not talking about Kanye West’s arrest.
“American Boy”…now you see it…now you don’t…now you see it again!!
Following the lead of Kid Rock, whose “Rock & Roll Jesus”album has sold 2 million copies + without any digital media services, Atlantic Records pulled British singer’s “American Boy”off of iTunes about two weeks ago,although the song had climbed into the Top Ten on the Billboard charts. This was done with the intention of spurring album sales-remember back in the days when labels would take singles out of print or not release them at all to get you to buy the album? Same premise. However, fans didn’t exactly take the bait. Estelle’s “Shine” (which is a legitimately good album) actually FELL in sales last week. Lo and behold, “American Boy” is now available digitally again. Don’t you just love the record industry?
Here’s the video for Estelle’s smokin’ new single “Pretty Please (Love Me)”
Ahoy, mateys. There’s actually some stuff to talk about on the charts this week. Let’s move on, shall we? All chart positions are the exclusive property of Billboard Communications or somethin’. Ya smell me?
Top 20 Albums
1) “Breakout” Miley Cyrus
2) “Love on the Inside” Sugarland
3) “Mamma Mia Soundtrack” Various Artists
4) “Rock & Roll Jesus” Kid Rock
5) “Tha Carter III” Li’l Wayne
6) “Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends” Coldplay
7) “Camp Rock Soundtrack” Various Artists
8) “Untitled” Nas
9) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 28” Various Artists
10) “Beautiful Eyes” (EP) Taylor Swift
11) “Good Girl Gone Bad” Rihanna
12) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
13) “The Slip” Nine Inch Nails
14) “One of the Boys” Katy Perry
15) “Jonas Brothers” Jonas Brothers
16) “Life, Death, Love & Freedom” John Mellencamp
17) “Indestructible” Disturbed
18) “Here I Stand” Usher
19) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
20) “The Greatest Story Ever Told” David Banner
Top 20 Singles
1) “I Kissed a Girl” Katy Perry
2) “Take a Bow” Rihanna
3) “Forever” Chris Brown
4) “Disturbia” Rihanna
5) “Viva La Vida” Coldplay
6) “A Milli” Li’l Wayne
7) “Lollipop” Li’l Wayne feat. Static Major
8) “Dangerous” Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon
9) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
10) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
11) “Burnin’ Up” Jonas Brothers
12) “When I Grow Up” Pussycat Dolls
13) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
14) “Closer” Ne-Yo
15) “Shake It” Metro Station
16) “American Boy” Estelle feat. Kanye West
17) “Bust it Baby Pt. 2” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
18) “7 Things” Miley Cyrus
19) “Get Like Me” David Banner feat. Chris Brown
20) “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)” Three 6 Mafia feat. Project Pat, Young D and Superpower
*It’s been mentioned in a couple of other columns, including on billboard.com itself, but this week’s chart marks a rare occurrence. With new singles from Jennifer Hudson, Meryl Streep and Jamie Foxx (as a featured artist) debuting on the Hot 100 Singles chart this week, three Oscar winners enter the chart simultaneously, which must be some kind of first. Somewhere, Russell Crowe is kicking himself for not touring more behind 30 Foot Odd of Grunts or whatever they were called.
*Rihanna has two singles in the top five, at #2 and #4. Chris Brown is sitting between the two songs at #3. I’ll let you write the joke/somewhat pervy leery comments yourselves.
*Despite the fact that it’s been out since early spring, Estelle’s bouncy “American Boy” has only just reached the Top 20 on the singles chart. Her “Shine” album is pretty good if you haven’t checked it out yet, sort of a junior varsity version of “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”.
*Also moving up the charts (where it just might land in the Top 20 next week) is the year-old “Paper Planes” by Sri Lankan (and supposedly retired?) rapper M.I.A. Thank Judd Apatow and the trailer for “Pineapple Express” for giving this song (from one of the best reviewed albums of 2007) some belated shine. It jumps to #36 this week.
*Nas’s “Nigg…”, er, “Untitled” does a belly-flop in his second week, sliding all the way down to #8 from the top spot. Might be time to go back to simply making music without all the publicity stunts, yes, Nas?
*”I Kissed a Girl” is now the year’s second longest running #1 single, behind Flo-Rida’s equally insipid “Low”. Can someone please explain this to me?
*Want proof that people still watch MTV? The rapper Shwayze, star of the network’s new series “Buzzin”, has two songs on this week’s singles chart. “Corona and Lime” (yay, product placement) debuts at #26 while what I can only assume is the theme song to his TV show (which features Cisco Adler…yikes!) moves up to #45.
*This week’s “Catch a Falling Star” award goes to a band whose star hasn’t even fully risen: The Hold Steady. Despite tons of glowing press, their new “Stay Positive” record tumbles from 30-75 in week two. Hard to say whether this is an extreme case of buyer’s indifference or whether traditional retailers are pissed because this album was made available digitally several weeks before its traditional release in record stores.
*Finally, we close this week’s column by welcoming back former grunge favorites Candlebox, whose new album debuts at #32, marking a return to the charts after a 10-year absence. Might as well jump in the wayback machine and give you the video for “Far Behind”, especially considering it was the only one of the two Candlebox songs I’ve ever heard that I liked. I had this on cassingle, y’all. Top that!
