I left y’all scratching at the post a little last week because I took my ass on a little vacaycay to Brisbane.
Bitch, you should’ve seen me lounging on the beach in an island that was practically deserted on a Monday arvo. I was having a Mariah moment frolicking in the sand, trying to look cute for my Instagram photos. But hey, I am back now and here comes your chart feed – which might cover some things I didn’t get to touch on last week.
This has been a good week for Robbie Williams who scored his first simulatenous UK #1 album-and-single action in 11 years. Elsewhere, the following chart showboaters can’t complain either: Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris, Little Mix, Of Monsters and Men, The Wanted, and to a certain extent, Christina Aguilera. SAY!
Pull up a seat. The beginning of what’s set to be Taylor Swift‘s global chart massacre has begun.
The young country superstar has made clear she’s a force to be reckoned with on the Australian, UK and New Zealand album charts this week with her newest offering Red debuting straight at #1 in these territories. Check out the damage after the jump.
Elsewhere, it’s been a good week for Brandy, Mika, Labrinth and Emeli Sandé, Kelly Clarkson and – heck – even Girls Aloud is back on the charts.
You know when your parents start to recognise a internet viral music video that it’s well and truly time for everyone else to move on.
It has been a tremendous week for K-pop sensation PSY‘s ‘Gangnam Style’, not only is it officially the most ‘liked’ video in the history of the internet – the track has also successfully topped the Australian and UK charts to become the first Korean pop single to do so.
Its crossover chart success in the Western market is just mind-blowing, no doubt bringing a whole lot of national pride for South Koreans everywhere.
Elsewhere, it has also been a great week for Pink, Mumford and Sons, Conor Maynard, Brandy and Christina“I think you already know my weight!”Aguilera.
Can I just stop you for a second to inform you that this is the greatest Christina Aguilera music video since ‘Fighter’?
F’Aggies all over the world are probably still cleaning up the glittery discharge in their panties left after watching their queen slay – in every way – on screen.
Acclaimed director Melina Matsoukas – who is quickly becoming a solid authority on music video visual excellence – returns to us the sexually aggressive, untamed Christina Aguilera we love – but with a whole new look.
In ‘Your Body’, Aggie is pitching a thrilling collision of vintage Americana fashion with edgy trailer park trash glam.
We’ve never seen the Voice vixen combine youthful colours with old school prints and textures like this before. The excess, the hoarder-style approach to the styling, suits the popstar incredibly well. Subtlety is not an approach Xtina is known for.
Thematically-speaking, the music video sips on essences of Beyoncé‘s Lucille Ball-referencing ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ – which was also directed by Melina – and Lady Gaga‘s hi-camp ‘Telephone’ mini-movie.
Here we see Christina step out as a man-targeting, serial killer who terminates her suiters after casual sexual encounters.
The best part about this concept is how the director has – pardon the pun – executed it with such a playful tone.
Aggie gets to dress up in different guises each time she pulls: there’s the hitchhiking Aubrey O’Day-esque look, the pub-crawling vixen in braids and beanie, and couture mama in a figure hugging black dress.
The use of colour as a euphemism for her harsh acts of violence is cute and clever.
When Aggie blows up the car, the flames burn a Barbie hot pink. When she slaughters the man in a toilet cubicle, there’s baby blue paint splattered all over the wall instead of thick warm blood. When she takes a bat to some poor convenience store bloke’s head, it explodes glitter.
It’s precisely the kind of tongue-in-cheek tone we want to see for a song that could have so easily settled for a standard, sexually-charged video treatment.
Trust. We’ve seen Xtina do X-rated a thousand times before, for over a decade, in fact. This direction is actually kinda refreshing – and it looks like something that would speak to old fans and new ones alike.
Watch Christina Aguilera’s ‘Your Body’ music video:
The arresting Max Martin and Shellback-sculpted ‘Your Body’ is arguably the best lead single Christina has launched in 10 years, putting her squarely back in the game as a serious chart contender once again.
Do y’all reckon this new era could fare better than the sorely underrated Bionic?
Footnotes:
Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Your Body’ just debuted at #34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 this week. The song has yet to make a significant impact on Australian radios, failing to make our ARIA Top 100 in its first week.
Xtina‘s new album Lotus drops locally on Friday 16 November.
According to Billboard, this record will be a smattering of dancefloor-ready pop like ‘Your Body’ with some titan piano-driven ballads, and even a few rock-driven anthems.
We’ve seen the charts light up like it was Christmas this month, thanks to the heavy flow of new albums taking over the shelves.
For only the second time in history, the entire top six spots on the US Billboard 200 are filled with debut entries. Here in Australia, we have eight new albums scaling our ARIA Top 20, while over in the UK, they have six.
Y’all can obviously expect for it to get even more competitive in the coming months as all the strong sellers come out to play for your seasonal spendings.
This has been a good week for Pink, The Killers, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kanye West and – definitely more than ever – PSY, the K-pop icon responsible for ‘Gangnam Style’.
If The Wanted is desperately seeking a second colossal hit, they might just find it in this Xerox copy of ‘Glad You Came’.
The British lads premiered their new single ‘I Found You’, which is produced by Steve Mac – the man behind virtually all their singles, on BBC radios yesterday.
Take a listen to it here:
Look, I wasn’t immediately impressed by ‘Glad You Came’ when I first heard it because I found it to be painfully repetitive. However, with ‘I Found You’, I think The Wanted have definitely made more of an effort to deliver moments.
The inferno of a falsetto they rocked in the chorus rekindles all kinds of warmth in my loins usually reserved for a Scissor Sisters party record. Then there’s the soulful belting at the 2:16 mark, which totally takes you to dance floor church.
‘I Found You’ drops on 4 November and the boys will release their third studio album next year.
Meanwhile, here in Australia, The Wanted‘s 10-track EP of singles and notable album tracks to date have yet to make an impact on our ARIA Top 100.
