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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Hope for Haiti

  • Stranded

    We’ve told you about the Haiti charity singles that are soon to be released such as the Simon Cowell All-Star version of Everybody Hurts and the 25th Anniversary 2010 version of We Are The World. I wanted to give props to another song that was put together for the same reason.

    While we haven’t heard the final update to the We Are The World remake, I’m going to guess that it won’t be able to match the perfect combination of Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Bono on Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).

    I didn’t watch the Hope For Haiti special live. But I did go on iTunes and download both the album and concert broadcast. I thought all of the songs performed by Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and others came straight from the heart. The performances were subdued and the artists let their voices shine as to not overshadow the goal of the evening, which was to raise money for Haiti.

    Save for Shakira’s I’ll Stand By You, which I simply couldn’t get into because of her wailing, I enjoyed everything. It was a perfect evening, not only for the money that was raised for Haiti, but also for how the music community showed that once again it can come together when needed.

    The best thing I heard that night, and maybe the best thing I’ve heard in a long time was Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour). From Jay-Z’s whispery delivery, “When the sky falls and the earth quakes, we gon’ put this back together, we won’t break,” to Rihanna and Bono complimenting each other on the chorus, it’s a song that I hope becomes timeless.

    If you haven’t heard it or seen the performance, it’s definitely worth checking out.

  • Chart Chat 1/27/10: History Has Been Made

    This week’s Billboard albums chart brings a historic first. The “Hope for Haiti” benefit album, featuring selections from the telethon last Friday, debuts at #1 with over 171,000 units sold. It is the first completely digital release to debut at the top of the charts. I assume it won’t be the last.

    It’s also the fourth album to hold the #1 spot this month (following Vampire Weekend, Ke$ha and Susan Boyle), which is also a record. Also, it’s scan total means that this is the first January on record in which every #1 album has sold at least 100,000 copies-at least some good news for a hurting music biz.

    Indie rock favorites Spoon debut at #4 with their latest album, “Transference”, selling 53,000 copies. Right behind it is the compilation “Grammy Nominees 2010” with 49K. The other debuts in the Top 50 come from Motion City Soundtrack at #15, and an actual motion picture soundtrack (from the Jeff Bridges film “Crazy Heart”) at #38.

    SuBo’s hanging in a lot tougher than I thought she would. “I Dreamed a Dream” holds at #2 this week with a 12% increase over the previous week’s sales. An “Oprah” appearance was the reason for this increase, similar to the increase Lady Gaga (who is right behind Boyle at #3) enjoyed last week (when I didn’t publish a Chart Chat column. Boo, me).

    The biggest percentage increase on the chart went to another Oprah guest, Adam Lambert. His “For Your Entertainment” jumps fourteen spots to #21, with a 60% increase in sales. Lambert is now a week or two away from Gold status, and airplay picking up for the new single “Whataya Want from Me” should continue to keep sales steady.

    Next week, country trio Lady Antebellum is expected to debut at the top with the biggest first-week numbers of the still young year. A strong move is expected for Michael Jackson’s “This is It” soundtrack (with the DVD release yesterday), and we should also expect a few bumps from Grammy Award coverage, although the true increases won’t really come into play until the following week.

    Here’s this week’s Top 20:

    1) Various Artists “Hope for Haiti”
    2) Susan Boyle “I Dreamed a Dream”
    3) Lady Gaga “The Fame”
    4) Spoon “Transference”
    5) Various Artists “Grammy Nominees 2010”
    6) Vampire Weekend “Contra”
    7) Alicia Keys “The Element of Freedom”
    8) Ke$ha “Animal”
    9) The Black Eyed Peas “The E.N.D.”
    10) Taylor Swift “Fearless”
    11) Lady Gaga “The Fame: Monster (EP)”
    12) Soundtrack “Alvin & the Chipmunks 2: The Squeaquel”
    13) Justin Bieber “My World (EP)”
    14) Mary J. Blige “Stronger Witheach Tear”
    15) Motion City Soundtrack “My Dinosaur Life”
    16) Lady Antebellum “Lady Antebellum”
    17) Michael Jackson “This is It Soundtrack”
    18) Michael Buble “Crazy Love”
    19) Rihanna “Rated R”
    20) Owl City “Ocean Eyes”