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Tag: Leona Lewis

  • Chart Chat 7/13/08: The Midyear Analysis (Oooohhh…)

    It’s a mellow Sunday morning. The sun is shining, I’ve got the next week off from my day job, and the relaxing, dulcet tones of Courtney Love are coming from my stereo. Nothing like a little Hole to smooth out the 7th day, eh?

    All that because I don’t really have an intro for this week’s Chart Chat. Here are the charts, as usual provided by the lovely ladies and gentlemen of Billboard Magazine.

    You know what? Screw that (partially because this week’s charts are dead boring and I can’t really find much to talk about beyond G-Unit scoring a mighty flop and putting yet another nail in the coffin of 50 Cent’s career).

    Even though we’re a week or so past the official halfway point of the chart year, now might be a good time to take a look at the Top Albums of the Year so far. Since I have no way of finding out what the year’s top singles are (I would imagine either “Lollipop” or “Low” tops the chart), I’m stretching the list from 20 to 40. Ooh, good times, right?

    Anyway:

    Lil Wayne's "The Carter III"

      The Top 40 Albums of 2008…so far

    1) “The Carter III” Lil’ Wayne
    2) “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson
    3) “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” Coldplay
    4) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
    5) “As I Am” Alicia Keys
    6) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
    7) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
    8) “Here I Stand” Usher
    9) “Juno Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Various Artists
    10) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 27” Various Artists
    11) “Growing Pains” Mary J. Blige
    12) “Alvin & The Chipmunks Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Various Artists
    13) “Exclusive” Chris Brown
    14) “Thriller” Michael Jackson
    15) “Trilla” Rick Ross
    16) “Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus
    17) “Little Voice” Sara Bareilles
    18) “Hard Candy” Madonna
    19) “Back To Black” Amy Winehouse
    20) “Coco” Colbie Caillat
    21) “In Rainbows” Radiohead
    22) “Jonas Brothers” Jonas Brothers
    23) “Daughtry” Daughtry
    24) “Carnival Ride” Carrie Underwood
    25) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 28” Various Artists
    26) “Just Like You” Keyshia Cole
    27) “Welcome To the Dollhouse” Danity Kane
    28) “The Ultimate Hits” Garth Brooks
    29) “Indestructible” Disturbed
    30) “Camp Rock Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Various Artists
    31) “Troubadour” George Strait
    32) “Good Time” Alan Jackson
    33) “Enjoy the Ride” Sugarland
    34) “Rock & Roll Jesus” Kid Rock
    35) “Good Girl Gone Bad” Rihanna
    36) “Jordin Sparks” Jordin Sparks
    37) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 26” Various Artists
    38) “Dreaming Out Loud” OneRepublic
    39) “Long Road Out of Eden” The Eagles
    40) “Discipline” Janet Jackson

    *A telling note on the state of the music business. At this point in the year: only 4 albums have crossed the million mark in sales, and only the Top 29 albums have crossed the 500,000 mark. Typically, 90-100 albums a year sell more than half a million copies.

    *Kid Rock’s one of the artists who will most likely jump over the half million mark next week, and his “Rock & Roll Jesus” has sold 1.1 million copies in it’s chart life (soon to surpass the 1.4 million that his last studio album pushed), and he has sold not one copy of this digitally (Jay-Z moved a million copies of “American Gangster” last year the same way). So there are still folks shuffling their lazy asses into record stores (or at least ordering hard copies through Amazon or wherever).

    *I love how Jack Johnson sells a shit-ton of records year-in and year-out without whoring himself. When was the last time you saw the dude on TMZ or even a morning talk-show? On top of that, he’s never on MTV, barely on VH-1, and can you say he’s ever really had a radio hit?

    *From the list of Top 40 albums, it’s pretty obvious what’s catching the public’s attention. Lots of soundtrack action this year, with all 4 of the titles in the Top 40 skewing to a younger audience (well, three of them appeal to straight-up kids, with “Juno” inappropriate for that age range, but attracting plenty of older teens and younger adults).

    *Also, plenty of country (6 titles, not including the country-esque Kid Rock & The Eagles), “Now That’s What I Call Music” compilations (3 of ’em), R&B divas (8, including R&B-esque Leona Lewis & Rihanna), “American Idols” (3), and somewhat, improbably after all these years, the kids of Joe & Katherine Jackson (2).

    *In this Top 40, you’ll see the artist who had the #1 album of 2004 (Usher), the artist who had the #1 album of 2005 (Mariah) and “Hannah Montana 2” and “Camp Rock”, Disney soundtracks just like the #1 album of 2006 (“High School Musical”). I bet ya if Josh Groban (who had the #1 album of 2007) releases an album this year, he’ll pop up on this list before December 31st.

    *Back to the Jacksons for a sec…Janet’s “Discipline” will most likely exit the Top 40 next week, but “Thriller”‘s numbers are pretty amazing, especially since Michael Jackson has not lifted a finger promotionally. I don’t know that a reissue album has ever finished a year in the Top 40 of a year-end chart, and it’s entirely possible that “Thriller” will hit the million mark by year’s end (right now, it’s about 3/4 of the way there with Michael’s 50th birthday a month and a half away).

    *And, OK, I’ve gotta admit that it’s funny seeing “Thriller” at #14 and Rick Ross’s “Trilla” at #15.

    *Nice year to be a female artist of mixed racial heritage, eh? In a year where we might see a mulatto get elected President of the United States, bi-racial honeys Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis are all in the Top 10, with Rihanna and Jordin Sparks also in the Top 40. Where’s Faith Evans when you need her?

    *With Lil’ Wayne and Coldplay hitting their marks in four and three weeks respectively, I’d imagine it’s a fairly safe bet that they’ll end the year in the top two spots, yes?

    *Not a bad time to be a new or developing artist, as of the 33 albums in the Top 40 that are not compilations, 9 are debuts (counting Winehouse, whose “Back to Black” was her first Stateside release), and another 5 are sophomore albums.

    *One thing to note is the surprising amount of flops from previously unassailable artists this year. Looking through the rest of the Top 100, you find rapidly sinking albums from the likes of Snoop Dogg (#49), Sheryl Crow (54), Panic at the Disco (63), and Counting Crows (82). This is in addition to the relative failures of the Madonna and Janet Jackson albums. Ahh…and we’ll soon be adding G-Unit to this list. Have I mentioned them before? God, I hate 50 Cent.

    Anyhoo, if you missed me actually talking about THIS week’s charts, you can find them over at http://www.billboard.com.

    Look for a list of my favorite albums of the year so far (screw sales) coming soon…

  • 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!!