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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Robin Thicke

  • Sending Out an APB for: Remy Shand

    remyshand

    What is it with neo-soul singers and their long-ass vacations? D’Angelo’s been missing since 2000. Maxwell just returned after an eight-year break. Let’s not even get into Lauryn Hill. But at least we know where these people are and what they’re up to. Canadian R&B singer/songwriter Remy Shand came onto the scene in 2001, blessed us with one album, and then fell into a musical Bermuda triangle of sorts, never to be heard from again.

    Shand’s first single, “Take a Message”, had an old-soul vibe that immediately resonated with “serious” R&B listeners. It was grown & sexy music before the term “grown & sexy” was invented. The multi-talented artist struck paydirt with his album “The Way I Feel”. Scoring Gold sales and earning a handful of Grammy nominations while still a bit under the radar, the future looked bright for Remy Shand.

    Nothing has been heard from the man since. In the meantime, he’s been swagger-jacked by Robin Thicke, who has become the Alpha Dog when it comes to fair-skinned soul men. His website has disappeared. No new music has surfaced at all. It’s almost time to stick this guy’s face on the side of a milk carton. Is it possible that Shand quickly grew sick of the machinations of the music industry and decided to fight bears in the woods of Winnipeg? Time will tell if the singer will ever make a return, but in the interim at least we have his (unjustly forgotten) first (and only) album to groove on.

  • Chart Chat 5/7/09: Chillin’ Like Bob Dylan

    dylanSurprising no one, Bob Dylan makes his second straight entry at the top of the Billboard charts with his latest album “Together Through Life”. The album scans just under 125,000 units in it’s first week. The remainder of the chart is pretty mellow, with a couple of baby bands (Playing for Change and Heaven & Hell) debuting at #10 and #8, respectively, and the remainder of the Top 10 remaining relatively static.

    Lady GaGa continues her upward momentum, as “The Fame” rises to #5 this week with a 1% increase to 40K scanned. With 775,000 copies having crossed record store shelves (or the virtual equivalent), GaGa should be crossing Platinum territory very soon.

    “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” continue to drive sales, as three of the four biggest increases of the week are due to performances on those shows. Taylor Hicks’ “The Distance” re-enters the chart at #180, with a 148% increase over the previous week’s sales. Robin Thicke and Jamie Foxx also make big increases, and Foxx’s “Blame It” single reaches a new peak on the singles chart, landing at #2 behind The Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow”.

    The biggest drop of the week comes from Depeche Mode, whose “Sounds of the Universe” falls from 3-18 on a 73% decrease to 22,000 units. However, this week’s epic fail has to go to Mike Jones (who??). The Texan rapper, who scored platinum sales several years ago with his debut, “Who is Mike Jones?” can only manage a #12 debut with his latest album, “The Voice”, which opens with a weak 25K.

    Next week, expect Ciara and Chrisette Michele to challenge for the #1 spot. Ciara might have an edge due to the fact that she’s performing on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend. The week after that, the real fireworks start, as Green Day’s album will hit the charts, followed by Eminem a week after that.

  • Chart Chat 4/30/09: Seriously, Rick Ross???

    rickross

    If you’ve been following our Twitter page lately, you’ve noticed that I’ve been wondering who the hell buys Rick Ross albums. ‘Cause I know folks who like all kinds of music, and not one person I talk to on a regular basis will admit to owning one of the dude’s records. But someone’s buying ’em right? For the third consecutive album, Rick Ross has debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album chart. “Deeper Than Rap” opens with 158,000 units, significantly ahead of the “Hannah Montana” soundtrack, which is #2 with 104K.

    If you are a Rick Ross fan, please step to the plate and let us know why you buy his records. Seriously. I won’t even laugh at you or question your musical taste in public.

    Then again, maybe he just has a lot of buddies at the corrections facility he was working in.
    There are two other debuts in the Top 10 this week. Depeche Mode is one of those bands that just never goes out of style (not to mention the fact that they should be in the R&R Hall of Fame), and they take the #3 spot on this week’s chart with “Sounds of the Universe”. Meanwhile, suburban rapper Asher Roth enters at #5 with “Asleep in the Bread Aisle”, an album that features my current guilty pleasure, “I Love College”.

    The Top 200’s biggest percentage increase this week goes to Jack Johnson, whose year old “Sleep Through the Static” moves to #170 on a 53% increase. Not far behind him is “Dancing with the Stars” performer Robin Thicke, whose “Something Else” jumps over the 400K mark on a 48% increase down at #180. The biggest drop comes from alt-rock band Silversun Pickups, who slide 7-33 on a 68% decrease to 14,000 units.

    Next week, it’s all but given that Bob Dylan will debut at the top of the charts for the second consecutive time. Better him than Rick Ross. And that will lead to a very interesting May, during which Eminem and Green Day will challenge U2 for the year’s biggest first-week total. Stay tuned!

    This week’s Top 20 Albums:

    1) “Deeper Than Rap” Rick Ross

    2) “Hannah Montana Soundtrack” Various Artists

    3) “Sounds of the Universe” Depeche Mode

    4) “Unstoppable” Rascal Flatts

    5) “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” Asher Roth

    6) “Twilight Soundtrack” Various Artists

    7) “The Fame” Lady GaGa

    8) “Forever in a Day” Day26

    9) “Now That’s What I Call Music 30” Various Artists

    10) “Last Kiss” Jadakiss

    11) “Fearless” Taylor Swift

    12) “Wide Open” Jason Aldean

    13) “Dark Horse” Nickelback

    14) “In a Perfect World…” Keri Hilson

    15) “Only by the Night” Kings of Leon

    16) “Shallow Life” Lacuna Coil

    17) “Defying Gravity” Keith Urban

    18) “Quiet Nights” Diana Krall

    19) “Lotusflow3r/MPLSound/Elix3r” Prince/Bria Valente

    20) “I Am…Sasha Fierce” Beyonce