Happy Sunday all. After skipping a week due to technical difficulties, we are back!! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the charts remain more or less the same. Read on, my friends…(all chart information courtesy of Billboard magazine)
Top 20 Singles
1) “Disturbia” Rihanna
2) “Forever” Chris Brown
3) “I Kissed a Girl” Katy Perry
4) “Take a Bow” Rihanna
5) “Paper Planes” M.I.A.
6) “Viva La Vida” Coldplay
7) “Dangerous” Kardinal Offishall feat. Akon
8) “A Milli” Li’l Wayne
9) “Burnin’ Up” Jonas Brothers
10) “Closer” Ne-Yo
11) “A Little Bit Longer” Jonas Brothers
12) “American Boy” Estelle feat. Kanye West
13) “When I Grow Up” Pussycat Dolls
14) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
15) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
16) “Get Like Me” David Banner feat. Chris Brown
17) “Lollipop” Li’l Wayne feat. Static Major
18) “Put On” Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West
19) “Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)” Three Six Mafia
20) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
Top 20 Albums:
1) Various Artists “Mamma Mia Soundtrack”
2) “Breakout” Miley Cyrus
3) “Love on the Inside” Sugarland
4) “Rock & Roll Jesus” Kid Rock
5) “Tha Carter III” Li’l Wayne
6) “Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends” Coldplay
7) “Lessons in Love” Lloyd
8) “Camp Rock Soundtrack” Various Artists
9) “Good Girl Gone Bad” Rihanna
10) “What Am I Waiting For” Heidi Newfeld
11) “Jonas Brothers” Jonas Brothers
12) “C’mon” Keith Anderson
13) “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 28” Various Artists
14) “Kids Bop 14” Various Artists
15) “Conor Oberst” Conor Oberst
16) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
17) “Untitled” Nas
18) “Only Through the Pain” Trapt
19) “Revelation” Third Day
20) “One of the Boys” Katy Perry (more…)
If I was Don Cornelius, I’d be really mad at the BET folks. In 2001, the cable network introduced it’s own show that essentially took the Soul Train Music Awards out of business. The shows themselves have been a mixed bag. There have been a couple of major moments-Michael Jackson & James Brown dancing together, Jay-Z & Beyonce tearing up “Crazy in Love”, a Destiny’s Child mutual lap-dance extravaganza on “Cater 2 U”. However, there have been just as many forgettable performances from (name untalented rapping one-hit wonder here). This year’s show promises to be a typical mixed bag. On the plus side, performances from Usher and Kanye West, and a Lifetime Achievement Award to Al Green. On the bad side? Lil’ Wayne. And I’m sure there’ll be a T-Pain performance somewhere. Keep your eye here, as we’ll be updating every half hour or so.
So, I had two choices this afternoon: go to Best Buy, pick up an air conditioner (and the new Weezer CD), lug it home on the T, or sit here in the sweltering heat (fully dressed) and finish this column. Guess which one I picked?
Here’s this week’s charts, y’all (courtesy of Billboard):
Top 20 Albums:
1) “Here I Stand” Usher
2) “Sex & The City Soundtrack” Various Artists
3) “3 Doors Down” 3 Doors Down
4) “II Trill” Bun B
5) “Spirit” Leona Lewis
6) “Nothing But the Best” Frank Sinatra
7) “Rockferry” Duffy
8) “E=MC2” Mariah Carey
9) “Lay it Down” Al Green
10) “Narrow Stairs” Death Cab for Cutie
11) “Hard Candy” Madonna
12) “Taylor Swift” Taylor Swift
13) “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” Jason Mraz
14) “35 Biggest Hits” Toby Keith
15) “Home Before Dark” Neil Diamond
16) “Julianne Hough” Julianne Hough
17) “Now That’s What I Call Music 27” Various Artists
18) “Fight With Tools” Flobots
19) “Carnival Ride” Carrie Underwood
20) “Rock & Roll Jesus” Kid Rock
Top 20 Singles:
1) “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major
2) “Bleeding Love” Leona Lewis
3) “Viva La Vida” Coldplay
4) “Take a Bow” Rihanna
5) “I Kissed a Girl” Katy Perry
6) “Love in This Club” Usher feat. Young Jeezy
7) “No Air” Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
8) “Sexy Can I” Ray J. & Yung Berg
9) “Time of My Life” David Cook
10) “4 Minutes” Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
11) “Pocketful of Sunshine” Natasha Bedingfield
12) “Damaged” Danity Kane
13) “Got Money” Lil’ Wayne feat. T-Pain
14) “Bust it Baby Pt. 2” Plies feat. Ne-Yo
15) “Leavin’” Jesse McCartney
16) “Forever” Chris Brown
17) “What You Got” Colby O’ Donis feat. Akon
18) “Touch My Body” Mariah Carey
19) “It’s Not My Time” 3 Doors Down
20) “Love Song” Sara Bareilles
*So…when can an album sell nearly a half-million copies in it’s first week and be considered a flop? When you’re Usher and your last album sold over 1 million copies in it’s first frame. “Here I Stand” scans enough to become the second highest debut of the year so far (after Mariah Carey), but one can’t help think that it’s kind of a disappointment. Let’s see how truclulent the already abrasive Usher becomes in the coming weeks and months. Let’s also see how the next two “big” event albums-Li’l Wayne and Coldplay-fare in it’s wake.
*I tolerate Lil’ Wayne. As something of a hip-hop purist, the easy way out would be just to hate the guy, which I don’t. Not that you’ll ever see me running to the store to buy a Lil’ Wayne album (unless there’s money enclosed). However, the man has a record in the Top 20 with T-Pain. Put those two together and someone’s gotta die.
*Reverend Al “The Ladies’ Pal” Green has his first top ten album in nearly 35 years with the solid “Lay it Down”. For those who haven’t heard it yet, this is definitely a worthwhile pickup if you’re an Al fan. The man has not lost a step since his glory days. Could he be the best soul singer of all time? Hmmm…I’d resisted that concept for a while, but I might be coming around…however, he better not bring this look back EVER…
*”Viva La Vida” is now the biggest hit of Coldplay’s career. As someone who feels Chris Martin and the boys take a lot of unnecessary shit, this makes me happy. I’m very interested to see what Brian Eno does with them on this new album, pretentious title be damned.
*”I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry? Hey folks, welcome to the first official novelty song of 2008. It wasn’t particularly good 15 years ago when Jill Sobule hit with a song by the same title (‘memba her?) and it’s not particularly good now. Aw, look at the video. She’s petting a PUSSYcat. Haha! It’s supposed to be ironic!! Katy, Pink called…she wants her sound back. And she probably HAS kissed…well, a LOT of girls. So there!!
*Serious staying power for Kid Rock, as “Rock & Roll Jesus” closes in on the million scanned mark and jumps back into the Top 20 something like eight months after it’s release. Out of the whole “rap/rock” scene that he kinda got lumped in with a decade or so ago, who’d have thought that he’d pretty much be the last man standing?
*That Flobots song still makes my ears bleed. Sorry guys.
