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A high brow look at pop music foolery.

Tag: Leona Lewis

20 December 2011

Chart Feed – 19.12.11

Reece Mastin was almost licking it on both sides this week with his winning single ‘Good Night’ returning to #1 and album debuting at #2 on our ARIA charts. Reece Mastin – a compilation of choons the kid purveyed on X Factor Australia – is the biggest new album in the country, instantly certified platinum for shipments of over 70,000 copies.

Needless to say, the fastest selling artist to ever come out of the local talent show franchise. The kid rocker’s cover of Maroon 5‘s ‘She Will Be Loved’ managed to break the ARIA Top 100 at #87 based on track downloads alone.

Timomatic‘s ‘Set It Off’ skyrockets to a new peak of #22 on our ARIA charts, marking another key success for Aussie pop this year. The man, who’s best known as the singer/dancer who came second on this year’s Australia’s Got Talent series, co-wrote ‘Set It Off’ with DNA – the same Sydney songwriting/production duo who’s responsible for Marvin Priest‘s ‘Own This Club’. DNA also currently has two songs in the ARIA Top 10 in Reece Mastin‘s ‘Good Night’ and Guy Sebastian‘s ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’.

Matt Corby‘s experiencing some chart wonder with his EP Into The Flame climbing to a new peak of #33. This is the strummy la la artist’s biggest commercial success yet. He really is the new Lisa Mitchell-style success story from our Idol franchise.

Watch Matt‘s video for ‘Untitled’, a track featured on his Into The Flame EP. Side bar: I would totally do him.


 
Pink‘s beige ballad ‘Bridge of Light’ plummets to #34 on our ARIA charts – not surprising given its diminishing radio rotation. Her last single to miss our Top 20 was ‘I Don’t Believe You’, which peaked at #23 back in 2009.

Ricki-Lee‘s glorious ‘Raining Diamonds’ is probably set to retire soon. The underrated smash falls to #39 this week after clocking six weeks in our ARIA Top 50. Our gurl can still probably treat herself to a few Gasp dresses this Christmas – ‘Raining Diamonds’ has been certified gold sales for selling over 35,000 copies.

Cher Lloyd‘s summery smash ‘With Ur Love’ rises to a new peak of #43 on our Aussie charts. Snaps to the ‘Swagger Jagger’ singer for snagging herself an American recording contract with L.A. Reid‘s label Epic Records. I’m sure you’ll agree that her seriously on point debut album Sticks + Stones deserve some proper Stateside attention – check out where it lands on my Feed Limmy Top 30 Albums of 2011 list.

Watch Cher Lloyd do one of my favourite tracks ‘Want U Back’ acoustic style:


 
will.i.am‘s ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ blasts back into the ARIA Top 100 at #57 this week, thanks to interest surrounding the A-grade music video. Over in the States, ‘T.H.E.’ sinks to #193 on the Hot Digital Songs chart but we’ll see this Thursday if it cops a resurrection there too.

Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way album returns to our ARIA Top 50, probably thanks to the Christmas rush. Same goes for Katy Perry‘s Teenage Dream. Y’all know there are loads of unimaginative grown ups buying these records for their nieces and daughters. Meanwhile at the singles bar, Gaga’s two recent singles ‘You and I’ and ‘Marry The Night’ exit the Top 100 while ‘Born This Way’ and ‘The Edge of Glory’ keep selling. Born This Way: The Remix sinks to #100 on our ARIA Top 100.

Little Mix‘s winner’s single ‘Cannonball’ debuts at #1 in the UK, clocking 210,000 opening week sales to become the fastest selling single of 2011. The recently crowned British X Factor champs made history this week as the first girl group to go #1 in the UK since Girls Aloud‘s ‘The Promise’ in 2008. Damien Rice‘s original ‘Cannonball’ rides on the coattails back to #19 on the UK charts this week.

Leona Lewis‘ new single EP ‘Hurt’ enters at #8 in the UK, making it the second biggest new release there this week. It is also incidentally Leona‘s eighth UK Top 10 placement.

Watch an acoustic performance ‘Hurt’, which was recorded on the star’s recent webchat:


 
Jessie J‘s ‘Who You Are’ is bowled out of the UK Top 20 this week, tumbling from #9 to #21. Speaking of drastic drops – the latest X Factor charity single ‘Wishing On A Star’ sinks from #2 to #17, and Emeli Sandé‘s ‘Daddy’ falls from #43 to #76.

Kelendria Trene Rowland‘s Here I Am nosedives from a tepid peak of #43 to #63 on the UK charts this week. Totally not surprised to see it go down that hard. Meanwhile, the smash single ‘Down For Whatever’ leaves the UK Top 20.

Take That‘s Progress Live tour DVD is still the biggest selling music DVD in the UK but over in the US and Australia, Adele‘s Live at The Royal Albert Hall continues to reign on top. Lady Gaga‘s The Monster Ball tour sits at #13 on the UK music DVD charts but does better at #2 in Australia and #3 in the US. Beyoncé’s Live at Roseland DVD falls from #8 to #18 in the UK and from #4 to #6 in Australia but stays strong at #2 in the US.

Check out Queen Bey performing the life-defining ‘I Was Here’:


 
Michael Buble‘s Christmas album continues to rake in the chips with a 64% sales increase in its third week on top of the US Billboard 200. The lucrative seasonal album sold 479,000 copies in America in the last week, making it the crooner’s biggest #1 album yet. You really wonder why he hadn’t put out a Christmas album before. Buble‘s Christmas is also simultaneously topping the UK and Australian album charts.

The Black Keys have the highest selling new album in America with El Camino debuting at #2. It’s remarkably the rock band’s biggest commercial success yet – clocking over 206,000 first week sales. This is very much an improvement on last year’s Brothers, which entered at #3 with 73,000 copies.

Amy Winehouse‘s posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures debuts at #5 in the US, off the back of 114,000 opening week sales. This is the late soul singer’s biggest chart debut ever. Mind you, Back to Black entered at #7 but eventually climbed to #2 on the Billboard 200.

Watch a mini doco about Amy Winehouse‘s Hidden Treasures:


 
Glee‘s season three Volume 7 album gives the franchise their lowest first-week sales yet for a regular compilation (ie. Volumes 1 – 7). The record comes in at #9 on the US Billboard 200 with 58,000 copies sold. The only other Glee releases to have opened with fewer copies were the Rocky Horror Glee EP (48,00) and The 3D Concert Movie soundtrack (20,000). We done here.

Robin Thicke‘s Love After War album debuts at #22 on the US Billboard 200, making this the sexy soul man’s first album to miss the Top 20 since his 2006 breakthrough. Love After War opened with 42,000 first week sales – a far cry from his last album Sex Therapy, which opened with 123,000 copies almost exactly two years ago.

Katy Perry‘s ‘The One That Got Away’ is starting to show its desperation to go #1. There’s the introduction of a rent-a-rapper remix featuring B.o.B. now impacting media – a trick she’s run up on with the last two singles (see: ‘Last Friday Night’ with Missy Elliott and ‘E.T.’ with Kanye West).

But then there’s also a drastic price slash on iTunes! All up, the discounted price managed to only push ‘The One That Got Away’ up to #6 on the US Digital Song chart with a 24% sales increase (117,000 copies). In the UK, ‘The One That Got Away’ rises to #20 but remains at its current peak of #27 in Australia for the second week in a row.

Listen to the odd new B.o.B remix of ‘The One That Got Away’:


 
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ enters the US Billboard 100 at #93. Meanwhile her next actual smash ‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’ drops to #200 on the US Digital Song charts.

That kinda fuckery’s not tolerated here in Australia because we evidently can’t get enough of the song. ‘Stronger’ has been all over radios and it’s also thankfully rising up the ARIA charts to a new peak of #37.

Estelle‘s ‘Thank You’ leaps to #47 on the US R&B/Hip Hop song chart. It’s obvious that the British hip hop/soul siren’s been struggling to make an impact recently. Her last few singles ‘Freak’, ‘Fall in Love’ and ‘Break My Heart’ have all flopped, relegating the album to be pushed back for a February 2012 release.

Listen to Estelle‘s amazingly personal ‘Thank You’:


 
Jennifer Hudson‘s uplifting new single ‘I Got This’ plonks itself at #91 on the US R&B/Hip Hop song chart this week. Apart from ‘Where You At’ which made a meagre #64, none of the other I Remember Me singles have cracked the US Billboard Hot 100. Don’t hold your breath for this one. At least she can lay claim to one more appearance in ‘Night of Your Life’ (with David Guetta), which peaked at #81 a few months ago.

Beyoncé‘s ‘Countdown’ reigns wild at #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts. I sense that this single – as amazing as it truly is – will never see the mainstream success it deserves. ‘Countdown’ is out of the US Billboard Hot 100, overshadowed by ‘Party’ which is placed at #55. Over in the UK and Australia, ‘Love On Top’ takes precedence.

Wynter Gordon‘s flawless ‘Buy My Love’ has risen to an exciting new peak of #2 on the US Dance/Club play charts. Fuck me, this is gonna be bigger than ‘Til Death’. I am so happy for my gurl. Hopefully this will lead to some long awaited mainstream crossover in the States. Over in the UK, ‘Dirty Talk’ moves up to #35 on the dance charts this week. Very interesting belated development given that the song’s already been moving all year round.

Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Hotel Nacional’ debuts at #29 on the US Dance/Club play charts – making it the highest new entry there this week. I am so glad they went with this as her next single. It should speak to lovers of ‘We Speak No Americano’ and hopefully drive more people to check out Miss Little Havana, which made Feed Limmy’s Top 30 Albums of 2011.

Listen to a preview of ‘Hotel Nacional (Ralphi Rosario Club Mix)’:

8 comments
3 October 2011

Chart Feed – 03.10.11

Rihanna becomes the clear biggest new entry on the world charts this week with ‘We Found Love’ (featuring Calvin Harris) entering Top 10 in the following places: Australia (#3), Canada (#10), New Zealand (#14) and US Billboard Hot 100 (#16). Over in the US, ‘We Found Love’ managed to sell 117,000 first week copies and even before its official radio release, the song has already made its mark at #75 on the airplay charts. The Barbadian beauty’s sixth studio album, which was originally slated for an early 2012 release, is now due 21 November.

Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Mr Know It All’ climbs to #12 on our ARIA singles chart after her quick promo stopover last week which include performances on X Factor Australia [Editor's note: she was so charming and sweet y'all] and the NRL Grand Final. The song is currently reigning at #1 on our Aussie iTunes chart so expect for it easily go Top 10 on the ARIAs by week end. Meanwhile over in the US, ‘Mr Know It All’ falls to #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. Radio support ain’t crash hot for it right now. The song isn’t even in the nation’s Top 30 airplay.

Watch Kelly Clarkson performing ‘Mr Know It All’ on X Factor Australia:


 
LMFAO‘s ‘Sexy and I Know It’ cracks a new peak of #13 on our Aussie singles chart this week, largely due to their X Factor Australia appearance once again, just like Ms Kelly. I have to say, their energetic show stopping performance of their #1 smash ‘Party Rock Anthem’ really did lift the atmosphere. The song, which is perched at #15 this week, is officially the longest staying single in our ARIA Top 50 right now. We’re talking 31 weeks and counting, racking up a “monstrous” eight times platinum sales certification (which equates to approximately 560,000 copies). The duo’s also double dipping in the US right now with two of the aforementioned hits simultaneously inhabiting the Top 10.

Sneaky Sound System‘s flawless ‘Big’ cracks the ARIA Top 100 at #78 this week. Look, I don’t understand why the underwhelming chart entry. Weren’t they also on X Factor like the two aforementioned international acts? I guess what’s standing between ‘Big’ and commercial success that lives up to its namesake is actually decent radio rotation. The new Kelly Clarkson and LMFAO singles will have no issues getting added across the nation but for some reason a SSS dance ballad’s missing out. The Aussie dance pop duo’s last release ‘We Love’ scraped in at #29 at best.

Watch Sneaky Sound System blow up ‘Big’ on X Factor Australia last Wednesday:


 
Foster The People‘s corker of a single ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ rises to #19 in Australia this week, making this a belated smash for the American indie rockers. The song first dropped in the States in September last year and look at it now, ascending to #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Fun fact: ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ was the first US Billboard Alternative Songs #1 hit to actually crossover to the mainstream Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 since Kings of Leon‘s ‘Use Somebody’ in 2009. Golf claps. You know this automatically translates to daft talent show covers now, right?

Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull‘s new collabo ‘I Like How It Feels’ crashes in at #47 this week on our ARIA charts. In terms of hit singles, the Euphoria era is actually the best Enrique’s ever performed here in Australia. Yes, even bettering that of his smash Escape album. Every song released here circa Euphoria has so far managed Top 50, see: ‘I Like It’ (#2), ‘Heartbeat’ (#5), ‘Tonight (I’m Loving You)’ (#2) and ‘Dirty Dancer’ (#24). I have no doubt that ‘I Like How It Feels’ will also reach Top 30 status in no time. The “Reloaded” repackage edition of Euphoria will arrive on Aussie store fronts on 11 November – featuring three new recordings including ‘Mouth 2 Mouth’ with Jennifer Lopez (a track that was co-written by UK X Factor’s Diana Vickers of all people).

Sophie Ellis-Bextor finally releases her stunning Make A Scene album in Australia last Friday and after a weekend of only playing two 40-minute sets in Melbourne and Sydney, the best I’ve clocked the album charting was #94 on iTunes (it’s currently at #136).

It was an absolute dream come true to finally see her live. Y’guys know that she’s one of my all time fave pop singers, right? Sure it’s not everything she could’ve given after nine long years away – and she knows it. But the “greatest hits” set featuring classics like ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’, ‘Groovejet’ and ‘Get Over You’ was a well worthwhile joy ride and Sophie utterly radiates warmth, joy and stage presence throughout her time on stage. You can tell she was just living to be there for her fans.

Check out this short recording I took of her Melbourne gig at GH Hotel last Saturday. This is ‘Heartbreak Make Me A Dancer’:


 
This has to be some kind of record for our ARIA charts so far this year. This week Australia saw nine new entries in its Top 30 albums chart but alas, none have been able to topple the almighty Adele who spends her 20th week at #1 with 21. The album is now equal eighth longest-running chart topper in ARIA history, sharing the record with Shania Twain‘s epic Come On Over.

In case you were wondering, the albums to have spent longer #1 in Australia include: The Sound of Music soundtrack (76 weeks), Dire Straits‘ Brothers in Arms (34 weeks), The Beatles‘ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (30 weeks), Neil Diamond‘s Hot August Night (29 weeks), Delta Goodrem‘s Innocent Eyes (29 weeks), The Original Broadway cast’s Hair soundtrack (28 weeks) and John Farnham‘s Whispering Jack (25 weeks).

The aforementioned nine new releases to crack our Top 30 this week include: Blink 182‘s Neighborhoods (#2), Tony Bennett‘s Duets II (#3), Kasabian‘s Velociraptor (#8), Machine Head‘s Unto the Locust (#10), Jason DeRulo‘s Future History (#11), Alice Cooper‘s Welcome To My Nightmare (#16), Mastodon‘s The Hunter (#18), Demi Lovato‘s Unbroken (#20), Kasey Chambers‘ Storybook (#21) and Wilco‘s The Whole Love (#23).

Watch the video for Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga‘s ‘Lady Is A Tramp’, taken from his new Duets II album:


 
Tony Bennett must be doing something right to score his first ever US #1 album this week after making music for six decades! His brand new Duets II compilation – which features some young gun collabos like Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Carrie Underwood, John Mayer and the late Amy Winehouse – managed to sell 179,000 first week copies to debut on top. Tony is now the oldest living artist to have an album debut at #1 on the US charts. Amazing.

Demi Lovato‘s third album Unbroken cracks the US Billboard charts at #4, making it the second biggest new album there this week. Tony might have the overall #1 but as far as digital sales are concerned, Demi reigns on top. Unbroken is also incidentally the former Disney pop princess’ best-charting album here, bettering the #40 peak of its predecessor Here We Go Again. This is a dawn of a new era for the girl. The project’s lead single ‘Skyscraper’ is already her biggest US hit since her debut ‘This Is Me’ and on the flip side, it also became her biggest smash in Australia – peaking at #45.

Havana Brown‘s ‘Get It’ cracks the ARIA club charts at #38 this week while over on the ARIA Top 100, the single sinks to #63 in its third week. Oh dear. Isn’t it baffling that we only have three Aussie artists represented in our ARIA Top 50? Perhaps Aussie artists are better at selling albums than singles? While we’re doing an Aussie pop head count, where’s Stan Walker‘s new one ‘Light It Up’, Darren Hayes‘ ‘Bloodstained Heart’ and Vanessa Amorosi‘s ‘Amazing’? The latter should have at least cracked the Top 100 by now but maybe we need to wait for sales to snowball after the Van Am‘s AFL grand final warble.

Preview tracks from Darren Hayes‘ forthcoming Secret Codes and Battleships album here:


 
Natalie Bassingthwaighte‘s ‘All We Have’ has arrived on our local iTunes store front and right now it’s sitting at #170. The digital bundle comes with two kick arse remixes – including the Khalid one that her label previewed early last month. Looks like the diva’s running in the same circles as Havana Brown these days – sharing the same producer More Mega and video directorial team Silo. The ‘All We Have’ video will be uploaded sometime this week on YouTube. Y’all can expect for her to perform the song for the first time on X Factor tomorrow night.

Nicola Roberts‘ amazing debut solo album Cinderella’s Eyes enters at #17 on the UK charts this week while the current single ‘Lucky Day’ disappears from the Top 100 altogether. Look, it’s pretty respectable if you ask me given the singles’ chart performance. Still better than Insatiable is not usually a consolation but it’ll have to do in this context.

Elsewhere, Will Young‘s ‘Jealousy’ leaves the UK Top 10, The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’ exits the Top 20 while Leona Lewis‘ underperforming ‘Collide’ drops out of the Top 30. The former two have singles raring to go next month but what’s the sitch with Leona? Will we simply  not hear anything until the new year? Her Glassheart album, which was originally slated for a November release, will now arrive on 26 March.

Rebecca Ferguson‘s much-anticipated debut single has appeared on the UK release schedule. ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’ is slated for a 5 December release (the same day as the album drop) and someone on the Popjustice forums have tentatively described the song as more Corinne Bailey Rae than Adele. Holy shit. I’m about to lose my mind.

Let’s reminisce a little on old Becky covering Corinne Bailey Rae‘s ‘Like A Star’ on UK X Factor last year. So on point!


 
Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Moves Like Jagger’ spends its fourth week at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 – already the longest staying #1 the band’s ever had. Having said that, I reckon Adele‘s ‘Someone Like You’ might rise from #2 to claim the top spot next week. ‘Someone Like You’ has picked up significant radio airplay in the States in the last week and its digital sales is not too far from what M5 is doing right now. ‘Moves Like Jagger’ sold 233,000 digital copies while ‘Someone Like You’ did 201,000. Speaking of impacts on the digital sphere, Jason Mraz‘s new single ‘The World As I See It’ debuts at #149 on the US Billboard Digital Tracks chart. Glad to have him back.

Beyoncé‘s ‘Party’ (featuring André 3000) cracks the US Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Top 20 while its predecessor ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ tumbles to #8 there. Speaking of tumbles, Kelendria Trene Rowland‘s ‘Motivation’ finally leaves the said Top 10 while its successor ‘Lay It On Me’ is taking its time, only inching up one spot to #46. Elsewhere on the urban scene, Mary J. Blige‘s new single ’25/8′ bullets to #53.

Luciana‘s ‘I’m Still Hot’ makes #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts. We can all thank Betty White for that, right? Other big gainers there include Lady Gaga‘s ‘You and I’ (reaching a new peak of #8), Jennifer Lopez‘s ‘Papi’ (#10) and Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Wepa’ – which by the way is one of my favourite jams right now. Her new Latin-dance album Miss Little Havana is good fun, y’guys. You need to check out the slightly ‘We No Speak Americano’ album highlight ‘Hotel Nacional’.

Watch Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Wepa’ music video. Glam ma’s mane is serving some volume and body, y’all.


4 comments
26 September 2011

Chart Feed – 26.09.11

Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is once again on the edge of chart-defining glory. As y’all know, I don’t usually care to report on serial #1 space invaders but when they clock a major milestone, it’s only polite to acknowledge and golf clap. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is now the longest staying #1 ARIA single by an Aussie artist since Savage Garden‘s ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ in 1997. If it remains at #1 this time next week, it’d be an equal tie with ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ which reigned for eight consecutive weeks at #1. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ has also gone #1 in Netherlands and New Zealand. Gotye‘s Making Mirrors is perched at #3 on the ARIA albums chart this week while Kimbra‘s own Vows slides to #8. The Kiwi songbird’s third single ‘Good Intent’ becomes the eighth most added new song to Aussie radios this week.

Adele has now clocked over 10 million sales worldwide for her defining 21 album. That’s 10 million copies in the nine months it has been out – three million of those coming from the US alone where she has experienced unprecedented chart success this year. It is quite easily the best selling album in the UK,US and Australia this year with Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way being the next best contender. 21 hangs on to #1 in Australia this week, beating off five new entries in the Top 20 who all fell in line accordingly: The Jezabels Prisoners (#2), Lady Antebellum Own The Night (#5), The Funkoars The Quickening (#11), Opeth Heritage (#12) and Pearl Jam‘s Twenty soundtrack (#14). Over on the Aussie singles chart, Adelegend is turning tables on her three Top 20 hits. The newest one ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ leaps to #11 while past glories ‘Someone Like You’ and ‘Rolling In The Deep’ slide off to #12 and #14 respectively.

I know I normally embed performances or music videos in my Chart Feed but today I’m feeling like a little Adele cacklefest. Y’all don’t mind, right? It’s Monday. Treat yourself to this side-splitting compilation of her funnies:


 

Coldplay‘s ‘Paradise’ rises to #37 on our ARIA charts this week but y’all can expect for shit to pick up because it was the third most added new track to Aussie radios this week. Over in the US, ‘Paradise’ is the biggest new entry debuting at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s much-hyped new album Mylo Xyloto arrives on 21 October in Australia – the same day as Darren Hayes‘ Secret Codes and Battleships, Kelly Clarkson‘s Stronger and Washington‘s I Believe You Liar/Insomnia repackage. It’ll be a hectic week for new releases, won’t it? Well, it depends on who you ask.

Darren Hayes‘ second Aussie single from this era – ‘Bloodstained Heart’ – is still a no show in the ARIA Top 100. I don’t see it slapped on the front of our iTunes store beside new releases from the aforementioned artists. Do people actually know it is out? ‘Bloodstained Heart’ is understandably not in our Aussie iTunes Top 200 and I am a little startled to see it overtaken by other new tracks like Demi Levato‘s ‘Fix A Heart’ and Emeli Sandé‘s ‘Heaven’. Well, if it’s any consolation, at least he’s still got a cracking loyal fan base.

Bryan Adams‘ new album Bare Bones enters at #38 this week after shocking the nation with his X Factor appearance last week. The general Twitter consensus was basically, a) “he hasn’t aged well” and b) “how good is ‘When You’re Gone’ – like, still?”

Jessie J‘s Who You Are album cops a surprise sales surge this week, possibly thanks to renewed interest via her current Top 10 single ‘Domino’ – which mind you, isn’t actually included on the album. We can also weigh in on the X Factor bump – remember Young Men’s Society performed her smash ‘Price Tag’ last Monday night? Meanwhile, if one is to forecast – ‘Who You Are’, her major tear jerker ballad, is set to impact UK markets on 7 November. It’ll serve as the album’s fifth overall single.

The Wanted‘s ‘Glad You Came’ breaks the Aussie Top 20, as I predicted last week. This is some well deserved success for the lads who came out on a promo trip two weeks ago, pretty much building mainstream awareness from scratch after a year of online buzz from the UK.

Check out the video for The Wanted‘s next single ‘Lightning’, which will arrive on British store fronts on 30 October:


 
David Guetta and Sia‘s ‘Titanium’ returns to our ARIA Top 5 this week after reigning as the most played song on Sydney radios last week. It’s funny how different Guetta tracks take precedence at different parts of the world. It seems like the US and UK crowds are losing their minds to the Usher collabo ‘Without You’ (which, mind you, is also a ARIA Top 10 smash here) but no one else seems to get ‘Titanium’ like we do. Sia is very much still an Aussie thing. Is she that much of an acquired taste? Nothing But The Beat clings to #4 position in Australia and #7 in the UK, but drops from #18 to #39 on the US Billboard Hot 200.

Vanessa Amorosi‘s ‘Amazing’ drops to #20 on the ARIA Australian singles chart. Well, we can expect for things to pick up after her AFL Grand Final warble this week, right? Meanwhile, ‘Amazing’ is nowhere to be found in the ARIA Top 100 and neither is another new smash ‘Big’ by Sneaky Sound System, which appeared at #15 on our ARIA Australian singles chart this week. At least the ‘Big’ remixes are tearing up the club charts. They just moved to a new peak of #4 there.

Altiyan Childs‘ new single ‘Ordinary Man’ – which was penned by Ryan Tedder – shows up at #159 on our Aussie iTunes chart. Was anyone actually notified of its release? This promo campaign really could be a whole lot better. Can I just say, I know the song’s sounding more contemporary than the old school rocker vibe he normally gives but I really dig it. ’Ordinary Man’ was despatched to Aussie radios last week alongside current Aussie X Factor judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte‘s new single ‘All We Have’ and Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s ‘Starlight’ [Editor's note: !!! at the latter].

Take a look at Altiyan‘s video for ‘Ordinary Man’, which was directed by Peter Ireland who has admittedly done far more exquisite clips for Aussie artists like Brendan Maclean (‘Cold and Happy’) and Scott Spark (‘Fail Like You Mean It’):


 
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Mr Know It All’ isn’t exactly moving in the right direction. The lovely new piece slips to #28 here this week while over in the US, it registers a worrying drop from its #18 debut last week to #35. You’ve all seen the nice-ish screen grabs from the forthcoming music video, right? Let’s hope the whole thing surfaces soon enough.

Dev‘s ‘In The Dark’ ascends to #46 in Australia this week, making this her first solo appearance here. The single also rose to #16 over in the US, which is probably sufficient to help the girl shed her feature creature persona. You wanna have hits of your own, don’t you? Meanwhile, a similarly styled track – ‘Mr Saxobeat’ by Alexandra Stan - makes a belated leap to #19 in Australia this week, carving itself a new peak while over in the States, success is mirrored in a new position of #29 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Side bar: call it premonition but I sense something wicked this way comes. If some Dev and Havana Brown collabo is to eventuate over the next 12 months, please remember you heard it here first. Dev‘s next appearance will be on Demi Levato‘s single ‘Who’s That Boy’.

Check out Dev‘s stylish video for ‘In The Dark’ here:


 
Havana Brown‘s bilious new single ‘Get It’ sinks to #47 in its second week. The unimaginative club stomper is once again produced by More Mega and co-written by Cassie Davis, the team who delivered excellence in her breakthrough single ‘We Run The Night’. The video for ‘Get It’ is set to drop this week and with any luck, the DJ-ing memaw might win me over with her stunning video vixenry once again. If these glowing words of review have inspired you to find out more about Ms Havana, please don’t hesitate to check out this interview she did with my friends at auspOp.

Alexis Jordan returns to our Top 50 via Sean Paul‘s ‘Got 2 Luv U’ this week at #48, almost a month ahead of its UK release. The single also managed to debut at #99 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Look, I’m really not wild about this song in any way shape or form. I still don’t get how the world slept on her stunning last single ‘Hush Hush’ but as far as I’m concerned, we’re done with Ms Jordan’s album. Well, apparently it’s not up to me because the project’s yielding its fourth single ‘How You Like Me Now’ in the next month or so. There you go.

Wynter Gordon‘s flawless ‘Buy My Love’ is set to hit the UK on 24 October while the long-awaited With The Music I Die album arrives 7 November. Both single and album are nowhere to be found in our Aussie Top 100 at the moment which is extremely tragic. Just like Alexis, Ms Diana Gordon found solo success in Australia with her first two singles, went to notch a Top 50 charting collabo, but failed to see their ace third singles do better. I refuse to believe it’s the end of an era for With The Music I Die here but I feel like I might be only one left stanning.

Florence + The Machine‘s roof-raising new single ‘Shake It Out’ becomes the fourth most added new song to Aussie radios this week. By the looks of things, this should have no problem bettering the success of its predecessor ‘What The Water Gave Me’. The flame-haired warbler will launch her sophomore Ceremonials next month.

Y’all can listen to ‘Shake It Out’ here:


 
N Dubz‘s Dappy enters the UK charts at #1 this week with his debut solo single ‘No Regrets’. He’s been fast working on his solo album while the group’s on hiatus [Editor's note: his cousin and band mate Tulisa is a judge on X Factor, in case you've been living under a boulder the size of Ghana]. The spanking new entry is yet another week of scorn for Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Moves Like Jagger’, who’s still fighting hard at #2 just like they are here in Australia. Will they ever ascend to the top?

Jason DeRulo‘s cringeworthy ‘It Girl’ enters at #4 in the UK, ahead of his sophomore album’s arrival. Future History will come out in stages around the globe – first arriving in Australia last Friday, then it’ll hit US stores tomorrow, before finally coming to UK audiences on 10 October.

The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’ tumbles to #15 in the UK this week. Look, I didn’t actually expect for it to stick around the Top 20 for this long, given the band’s reputation as front-heavy sellers. The girls’ next move is said to be a track titled ‘Heart Takes Over’. Meanwhile, Sugababes 4.0 seem to have given up on their ‘Freedom’ campaign, offering the single up for a free download. The tale of two British girl bands – watch this space.

Nicola Roberts‘ utterly irresistable new single ‘Lucky Day’ debuts at #40 on the UK charts, easily becoming the lowest charting solo Girls Aloud release since Nadine‘s ‘Sweetest High’ which by the way didn’t enter any Top 100 whatsoever. This embarrassing floppage really shouldn’t be happening. I see Team Ginge going hard on promo with various TV appearances but with virtually no radio support for ‘Lucky Day’, it’s no surprise that it charted where it did. Nicola’s Cinderella’s Eyes comes out in the UK today and despite being one of the best pop album’s I’ve heard all year, I’m really not holding my breath for a Top 20 entry. I don’t think my heart can handle charting this era any more. I’m just gonna excuse myself now and rock back ‘n’ forth in a corner listening to ‘Yo Yo’ on repeat.

Check out Nicola‘s G-A-Y performance of ‘Beat of My Drum’ last Saturday. It kicks in at the 1:30 mark or so.


 
UK X Factor has once again rejuvenated interest in some forgotten gems with their hit auditions. Damien Rice‘s ‘Cannonball’ bullets to #9 this week, Jennifer Hudson‘s Dreamgirls classic ‘Love You I Do’ charts for the first time at #80, while K-Ci and JoJo‘s 90′s anthem ‘All My Life’ returns at #89.

Kasabian‘s Velociraptor enters the UK charts at #1 this week, leading a string of notable new album entries – ie: Tony Bennett‘s Duets II (#5 – his much-hyped Amy Winehouse collabo ‘Body & Soul’ sits at #67 there and debuts at #97 in Australia this week), Christina Perri‘s completely forgettable Lovestrong (#9) and Tori Amos‘ rather orchestral Night of Hunters (#27).

Will Young‘s Echoes is still holding tight to the UK Top 10 as radio support for the album’s first smash ‘Jealousy’ still stays strong. Meanwhile, for those looking ahead, the project’s next single ‘Come On’ will arrive on 21 November. That gives us something to look forward to, right? I secretly want for Will to release ‘I Just Want A Lover’ as a sly club promo. Y’know, just as a little treat on the side while he satiates the adult contemporary crowd with stuff like ‘Come On’? Side bar: ‘Come On’ is a cover of a 2009 Kish Mauve single. The British electro pop duo’s last mainstream crossover was when Kylie covered their track ’2 Hearts’ some four years ago.

Melanie C appears to have picked the next single to set sail from The Sea [Editor's note: this album title is the pun-gift that keeps giving, innit?] ‘Weak’ has appeared on the UK release schedule with a drop date of 7 November. This whole era is floundering so bad and frankly, I feel that ‘Burn’ would’ve been the stronger choice of ballad. Why the ominous ‘Weak’?

Check out Old Sporty performing her current single ‘Think About It’ on Alan Tirchmarsh. So very plain.


 
The Wombats are set to release one of my favourite Modern Glitch tracks ’1996′ on 7 November in the UK, making it the sixth single launched from this era. What’s their motivation with multiple singles, really? The lead ‘Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)’ managed to go #23 in the UK last year but all its successors haven’t done any better. ‘Jump Into The Fog’ made #35, ‘Anti D’ peaked at #42, ‘Techno Fan’ went #60 and the last one ‘Our Perfect Disease’ was launched last month to no effect.

Leona Lewis scores her very first US Billboard Dance/Club play #1 with ‘Collide’. Meanwhile over in the UK, she drops to #18 on the singles chart and nope, she’s nowhere to be found in our Aussie ARIA Top 100. Thanks for asking, though. I know if it had been adult contemporary slash Ryan Tedder-aided Leona track then Aussie radios would have no problem spinning it but LeLew doing Ibiza-fashioned dance? It’s a tough pitch. Even though our Top 40 is arguably more dance inclined than ever before, it’s a certain sleazy and frenetic kind of dance music that thrives – not the wholesome, euphoric vocal pop variety that ‘Collide’ or even Kylie‘s ‘Put Your Hands Up’ (another US #1 dance smash) is. Side bar: Avicii is set to drop his “version” of ‘Collide’ titled ‘Fade Into Darkness’ next week in the UK – perhaps that will conquer the dance charts over there?

Jennifer Lopez‘s brilliant ‘Papi’ ascends to #19 on the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts. With all hopes dashed for a full scale tour after she signed on for another season of American Idol, I really don’t know what the future holds for ‘Papi’. Let’s hope her delightful set at the iHeartRadio festival yesterday inspired some kind of sales action.

Take a look at her first ever live performance of ‘Papi’. The jury’s still out on whether she’s just getting better with singing live or if it’s merely a pre-recorded live vocals we’re hearing here:


 
Rihanna‘s ‘California King Bed’ drops to #9 on the US dance charts, expect for it to quickly phase out of the scene now that she’s flogging a new dance pop piece in ‘We Found Love’ (featuring Calvin Harris). Love it or loathe it – that Rihanna reign won’t let up, ho! Elsewhere on the dance charts: Luciana‘s ‘I’m Still Hot’ rises to #3 thanks to buzz from that new Betty White remix, Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Wepa’ moves up to #4, and former Pussycat Doll glamazon Jessica Sutta‘s ‘Show Me’ ascends to #14.

Lady Antebellum‘s Own The Night debuts straight in at #1 in the US this week, dislodging the almighty Adele with 347,000 first week sales. This is the biggest first week sales for a country record America has seen since Taylor Swift‘s Speak Now dropped last year.

Beyoncé‘s gonna have to do something fast – her shit’s sinking like dead weight. The platinum-selling new album 4 took a major drop from #9 to #20 on the US Billboard 200 while the dazzling track ’Love On Top’ is anything but, plummeting to #96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after just three weeks. Looking on the US Hip Hop/ R&B charts – things aren’t nearly as dramatic: ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ clings to #4, ‘Party’ moves up to #33, ‘Countdown’ pretty much remains at #80 while ‘Love On Top’ charts at #86. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, ’Countdown’ and ‘Love On Top’ are both slated for UK release on 30 October.

First we saw a US Top 10 singles chart without Katy Perry for the first time in over a year, now the album’s Top 20 is clear of the pyro-titty popstar too with Teenage Dream plunging from #12 to #38. Her California Dreams tour just wrapped its first North American leg last week and now she’s almost through with her first ever concert dates in South America. The second leg of her US tour will kick off in November with a new opening act - Ellie Goulding – after Jessie J recently pulled out due to prolonged foot injury.

Kelly Rowland needs to motivate record buyers a little harder while she’s on tour with Chris Brown. Her current album Here I Am continues to tumble two months after it was released in the States, landing at #85 this week. She’s not opening for the F.A.M.E. tour at every single North American show due to X Factor commitments but damn, you’d think things would pick up now with ‘Lay It On Me’ on the up and coming, right? The new urban single moves up to #47 on the US Hip Hop/R&B charts.

On the flipside, Kelendria shan’t be denied of British chart action for too long. Her first international Here I Am single, ‘Down For Whatever’, will hit UK stores on 30 October. Let’s pray to Her Holiness Michelle Williams for some Aussie radio success. Speaking of Kelendria and Tenitra, y’all need to check this shot of them former children of Destiny backstage at Kelly‘s show with Ms Jennifer Hudson.

4 comments
20 September 2011

Chart Feed – 19.09.11

Katy Perry‘s ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ exits the US Billboard Top 10, making this the first week since May 2010 that the US Top 10 is free of the bitch. Yes, folks. We’re talking about a record breaking run of 69 weeks in the Top 10 – unprecedented for any artist. The next nearest contender is Ace of Base with 48 weeks. Are you starting to see the immensity of her Teenage Dream era? I mean, I always knew it was defining – especially after she equalled Michael Jackson with five consecutive #1 singles from one album. But this is too much.

According to Billboard, Katy’s also close to being the first artist ever to have six singles sell over 4 million downloads. Here are her biggest sellers to date: ‘Hot N Cold’ (5.01 million), ‘California Gurls’ (5 million), ‘Firework’ (4.9 million), ‘E.T.’ (4.6 million), ‘I Kissed A Girl’ (4.1 million) and ‘Teenage Dream’ is almost catching up with 3.9 million download sales.

As much as I love the song, with the announcement of single number six ‘The One That Got Away’, loads of people are saying it should’ve been ‘Hummingbird Heartbeat’ or ‘Peacock’ (which has so far only been issued as a dance/club promo). ‘Peacock’ has to date accrued over 403,000 download sales while ‘Hummingbird Heartbeat’ has over 82,000 in the States. ‘The One That Got Away’ only managed to pull over 74,000 but watch that all change as her team goes into full flog mode to achieve another Billboard chart topper.

Katy Perry is quickly solidifying her status as a consistent top single seller. I mean, it’s not the sheer immensity of the individual track but rather the volume from a mass of releases. Consider two other major downloads singles sellers – Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga (both have two singles that have sold over five million downloads). Perry’s best could never compete with the all-time top US download ‘I Gotta Feeling’ (over 7.4 million) and Gaga‘s personal best ‘Poker Face’ (6.3 million).

Watch Katy perform ‘The One That Got Away’ live with her acoustic guitar:


 
Adele isn’t just content with having the #1 album in the country – and best-selling one of the year so far – she will also send all three of its singles to our Top 20 because she fucking can. Her latest effort ‘Set Fire to The Rain’ leaps to #17 this week making it a holy trinity union with its predecessors ‘Someone Like You’ (#8) and ‘Rolling In The Deep’ (#9) – both respectively certified four times platinum sales. Over in the UK, all three are gradually waning gracefully bowing out of the Top 20. Meanwhile in the US, ‘Someone Like You’ registers the biggest increase in radio plays this week.

Jessie J‘s new piece – ‘Domino’ – leaps into the Aussie Top 5 this week. The last time she was up this far in Australia was when the almighty ‘Price Tag’ reigned at #2 – the thing is now certified four times platinum here. Despite all the Top 5 success here and in New Zealand where it has already reached a peak of #3, ‘Domino’ has yet to chart in the US where it really counts. Meanwhile over in the UK, her fourth single ‘Who’s Laughing Now’ is perched at #18.

Gym Class Heroes and Adam Levine‘s ‘Stereo Hearts’ managed a sizeable leap from #45 to #21 this week while Nicki Minaj and Rihanna‘s newbie ‘Fly’ soars from #38 to #23. Over in the UK, ‘Fly’ rises to #26 while ‘Super Bass’ quickly exits the Top 40 altogether this week. Onika’s other UK Top 100 appearances are also steady heading south – ‘Where Them Girls At’ with Guetta and Flo Rida plummets to #53 while her other Guetta album track ‘Turn Me On’ drops drastically from #23 to #43.

The Wanted also manage to propel themselves up the charts with ‘Glad You Came’ ascending to a new peak of #36 – thanks to their first promo stopover here last week. The lads managed to score several typical high profile appearances like Sunrise, where they flogged ‘Glad You Came’, and also some notable press interviews including one with Australian gay magazine DNA. We haven’t seen the last of ‘Glad You Came’ yet, fellas. The song is currently placed at #16 on our Aussie iTunes chart and I have a feeling it’ll go Top 20 on the ARIA charts over the next two weeks.

Take a listen to The Wanted‘s next single ‘Lightning’ which drops in the UK on 31 October:


 
Kelly Clarkson‘s brilliant new single ‘Mr Know It All’ enters the ARIA chart at #25, making it the highest selling new track here this week. Over in the US, the track enters at #18 – the highest new entry there as well, raking in over 107,000 first week downloads. This is Clarkson’s highest single debut since ‘Never Again’ blew up at #8 back in 2007. ’Mr Know It All’ is picking up significant airplay, competing well with other newcomers like David Guetta/Usher’s ‘Without You’ and Drake‘s ‘Headlines’. KFC (Kelly Fucking Clarkson) will premiere the ‘Mr Know It All’ video on her VeVo account on 26 September.

Havana Brown‘s utterly rancid follow up single ‘Get It’ debuts at #38 this week and becomes the fourth most added new song to Aussie radios. It’s such an uninspiring next step after something as defining as ‘We Run The Night’. I know that song technically shouldn’t have worked but Australia’s answer to Cascada really had me with that one. Y’all would be glad to know that the song’s writer – Cassie Davis (who did momentarily have a pop career) – is behind Natalie Bassingthwaighte‘s dance/pop comeback ‘All I Have’.

Listen to Havana Brown‘s ‘Get It (Krunk! Remix)’. PS – I love it that one can Google image “Havana Brown – Get It” and a bunch of cats will appear. Try it.


 
Gavin DeGraw‘s back on our airwaves and Top 50 with ‘Not Over You’ entering at #45 this week. The song has to date reached #76 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after four months on the digital shelves. Y’all should know that the single leapt to #8 on the New Zealand charts last week – somewhat of a surprise success but then again, aren’t most singles a surprise success on the Kiwi charts? [Editor's note: Shaznay Lewis' flawless 'Never Felt Like This Before' made #19 there, dammit!]

Beyoncé‘s euphoric ‘Love On Top’ does a death drop on the US Billboard charts from #20 to #70, while here in Australia it excels as the most added new song to local radios. ‘Love On Top’ manages to rise a little on our ARIA Top 50, carving a new peak of #32 while her last official 4 single ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ plummets to #43. ‘BTINH’ bows out of the UK Top 30 and the only other track Bey’s got waiting in the Top 100 in ’1+1′ at #72 this week. In the US Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts – her urban single ‘Party’ leaps to #38.

Looking over at US radios, ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ is still #2 on urban airplay charts while its sister tracks ‘Party’ pull up at #35, ‘Countdown’ rises to #76 and ‘Love On Top’ picks it up to #83. It’s not significant but with the laurels resting on ‘Party’ and so many strong contenders rivaling to be the next 4 smash, it’s hard to predict how the next few months will pan out for this album.

Stan Walker‘s club-ready new single ‘Light It Up’ (featuring Static Revenger) becomes the second most added new song to Aussie radios this week. This isn’t even half the power pop corker that ‘Loud’ was and the uninspiring music video’s another strike the former Idol darling didn’t need. It’s such a shame to see a decent video concept dampened by lazy and repetitive shots.

Take a look at Stan‘s new ‘Light It Up’ clip:


 
Elen Levon‘s breakout debut ‘Naughty’ (featuring Israel Cruz) is the seventh most added new song to Aussie radios this week. I just caught up with the ravishing 17-year old pop sensation this morning. Y’all can hear our interview chat on Diff’rent Strokes this Wednesday 7pm. We’ll be discussing the single, boys and find out whether she prefers Young Divas or Scarlett Belle.

A slew of new albums start sprouting up in our ARIA Top 30 this week, leading the pack is The Kook‘s latest Junk of My Heart (#9, #10 in the UK), Laura Marling‘s A Creature I Don’t Know (#12, #4 in the UK), Example‘s Playing In The Shadow (#14), Dream Theatre‘s A Dramatic Turn of Events (#17, likewise in the UK) and Grouplove‘s Never Trust A Happy Song (#21).

Nicole Scherzinger manages to not only sustain album sales here in Australia but claim two spots up the charts to #26. How is she doing it without any promo and new single on radio? I mean, her label’s gonna have to release ‘Wet’ or some other fourth single pretty soon because ‘Right There’ just left the Top 30 and ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ is now all the way down at #91. US X Factor just started and so the world’s got their eyes fixed on her – for regions yet to properly experience the glory of ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ (like the US), this is your moment. Everyone else, twiddle your thumbs.

One Direction‘s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ debuts straight in at #1 this week, simultaneously becoming the fastest selling single of 2011. The X Factor formed boy band managed to sell 82,000 copies in the first four days out and by the end of the week, they wrapped with a whopping 153,000 copies. It won’t be long before they achieve international success, I reckon. Meanwhile, other recent British chart toppers like Cher Lloyd‘s ‘Swagger Jagger’ and last week’s #1 Pixie Lott‘s ‘All About Tonight’ cop Aussie release dates. Cher’s amazing debut will arrive here on 14 October while Pixie’s party starter drops here this Friday. October, bitch? You have got to be kidding.

JoJo‘s long awaited comeback single ‘Disaster’ enters at #87 on the US Billboard Hot 100 this week. I can’t wait to hear this album of hers. Jumping Trains is currently slated for early 2012 release after countless set backs and returning to drawing boards.

Listen to JoJo‘s ‘Disaster’. She just shot the video last Wednesday in L.A., which was directed by Benny Boom – the man behind clips for Keyshia Cole and Busta Rhymes.


 
Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Lay It On Me’ continues to gain momentum on US urban and rhythmic stations – rising to #36 and #24 on their respective charts. Last week, the track was certified one of the fastest movers on the urban radio charts – y’all better watch out because this song has the potential to wipe out ‘Motivation’ with mass appeal.

Rihanna‘s ‘California King Bed’ ascends to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club charts. Something about this don’t sit right with me. None of the club cuts I’ve heard for this ballad has done it for me and I honestly think the gays have gone mad this time. Next thing you know Adele‘s ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ will become a massive rave anthem. Fuck me.

Other major movers in the dance/club Top 10 include: David Guetta‘s ‘Little Bad Girl’ (#2), Leona Lewis/Avicii‘s ‘Collide’ (her biggest club smash yet at #4), Luciana‘s ‘I’m Still Hot’ (#6) and Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Wepa’ (#8 – the greatest gainer).

Jennifer Lopez‘s ‘Papi’ makes a hot shot debut at #28 on the US Billboard Dance/Club charts. I’ll have you know the R3hab remix has been slaying my life for the past few weeks. Where the fuck is this video? Meanwhile, a few steps down, Lady Gaga‘s ‘You and I’ lands at #31. Wynter Gordon‘s ‘Til Death’ drops out of the US dance/club Top 40 after running its course for 15 weeks and other drastic drops on the floor also goes to Jason Derulo‘s heinous ‘Don’t Wanna Go Home’ (#46) and Britney‘s ‘I Wanna Go’, which sank from #8 to #21.

3 comments
12 September 2011

Chart Feed – 12.09.11

Kimbra lands the biggest selling new album in Australia this week with Vows debuting at #5 on our ARIA charts. The Kiwi indie pop siren kicked off her album tour last Friday with a show at Melbourne’s iconic Forum theatre and is set to take the country by storm over the coming weeks. On the ARIA singles chart – she’s still co-reigning on top with Gotye‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, which managed to once again keep Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Moves Like Jagger’ from claiming the crown. Kimbra‘s own new single ‘Good Intent’ creeps in at #98 this week but who gives when you’re selling that many albums?

If y’all are loving hard on Kimbra‘s Vows, you should treat yourself to this A-grade interview I did with her [Editor's note: so modest] where she elaborated on the album’s art direction and creative processes.

Pete Murray‘s new album Blue Sky Blue debuts at #6 in Australia this week. The new single ‘Always A Winner’ [the title reeks of an Adam Reilly co-write that was rejected by Idol hopefuls circa 2005] may not be in Aussie radio’s overall Top 10 most played but it’s certainly getting love in Geelong where it’s the fourth most played track. Bless. Geelong also bumps a lot of Michael Paynter. Again – bless.

Nicole Scherzinger‘s Killer Love finally pops on our ARIA charts, entering at an underwhelming #28 this week. Is it because Universal Music Australia didn’t tell a soul that this album was finally hitting shelves? I know the situation confused a few queens because the album technically had been on sale via JB HiFi for months now, but now that it is officially out physically and digitally (with the 50 Cent remix of ‘Right There’) – there’s something chartworthy to report on. Said single exits our ARIA Top 20 this week while over in the UK, her sexy RedOne stomper ‘Wet’ sinks to #27.

Y’all know US X Factor is gonna premiere on 21 September – featuring Nicole’s fabulous self behind the judging panel alongside her idol Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. Take a look at this dramatic extended preview here:


 
Sade‘s Ultimate Collection compilation re-enters our local chart at #35 this week, buoyed by excitement of their forthcoming Aussie tour in December. This will be the gang’s first trip to Australia in over 20 years, tickets are going on sale this Friday so expect for shit to be snapped up fast. Now just for comparison sake, here’s another tour/greatest hits package situation for you to chew on.

Roxette‘s Hits compilation enters our ARIA charts at #71 this week despite all this excitement about them finally touring Down Under for the first time in over 15 years. The ‘It Must Have Been Love’ pair recently added shows around the country for the month of February, so get with it. Speaking of flaming old duos getting down here – y’all can be Bananarama‘s back up dancers on stage when they play the Rewind 80′s Festival in Wollongong by simply entering this here JOY 94.9 competition. Trust the nation’s gay and lesbian radio station to be on board.

Jessie J‘s brand new single ‘Domino’ becomes the highest selling new single in Australia this week, debuting at #12. While stations all over the world continue to bump that, she’s still peddling the sinister ‘Who’s Laughing Now’ in the UK. The single dips to #21 this week. Check out her feisty performance on Red or Black?:


 
The girl’s ankle can now apparently tell when it’s going to rain, thanks to the foot injury she’s still nursing. Until X Factor peaks at its live show phase, Red or Black? really is the top-rating go-to show on UK telly if you got a single to flog. Leona Lewis premiered her first live performance of ‘Collide’ there last week and One Direction‘s also done a spot. We’ll address Leona’s little chart showdown further down the post so as they say in TV land – don’t go anywhere.

Adele‘s ‘Set Fire to The Rain’ bullets to #26 in Australia this week while the Moto Blanco remix re-enters our club charts at #25. Seriously, I wanna set fire to my scrotum every time I hear that housed up version. Why am I in such a foul mood over this? I mean, I should thank my lucky stars there weren’t any cheesy dance remixes commissioned for ‘Someone Like You’. Always try to look on the bright side, Limmy. Over in the States, ‘Someone Like You’ makes Billboard chart history for registering the biggest leap to #1 position ever on the Hot 100 (not including the obvious #1 debuts).

Dev‘s ‘In The Dark’ managed to debut at #64 here this week. For a more favourable outlook, it enters at #19 on our Australian dance charts and #20 on the US Billboard dance charts. Elsewhere, Israel Cruz‘s comeback single ‘Party Up’ sinks from #75 to #83 – perhaps a future as producer/record mogul will prove to be a more dignified option. The Potbelleez‘s ‘Midnight Midnight’ tumbles hard from its peak of #48 last week to #80. How embarrassment.

Sneaky Sound System‘s ‘Big’ remixes take a massive leap into the ARIA club charts Top 10 this week. The simple-yet-effective music video premiered sometime last week and it sees our Aussie dance duo hitting up Vegas. I started writing a blog post just for it but then I realised I only have approximately this much to say.

Let’s have Connie’s stunning sequined dress do all the talking for me:


 
Nicki Minaj and Rihanna‘s inspirational piece ‘Fly’ flutters in at #38 this week. I will allow you to roll your eyes discreetly re: pun. This really is one of my faves from the album and it’s just the kinda track you can bring home to meet mother, am I right? It highlights Nicki using rap for the powers of good and not evil. The latter is also perfectly acceptable if you’re down with tracks like ‘Did It On ‘Em’ and ‘Roman’s Revenge’. I secretly live for it when Mama Lim’s church prayer group aren’t watching. ‘Fly’ re-enters the US Billboard Hot 100 at #64.

Beyoncé‘s splendid ‘Love On Top’ cracks our ARIA charts at #40 this week thanks to the defining VMA’s performance and of course, swift radio additions. Somebody tell me what the fuck is going on with single number three campaign. I know ‘Party’ (featuring André 3000) is already clinking wine glasses with everyone on the US urban chart, so what about the rest of the world? Who’s gonna run this motha when ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ retires and the Queen Mother begins to seriously nurse her belleh? As much as I love ‘Countdown’ and ‘End of Time’ – and I see them waiting at the wings – I’m gonna have to let ‘Love On Top’ fly its course. How can you deny its excellence? The song managed to debut at #20 on the US Billboard chart on Thursday. This is evidently its time.

Watch part one of 4 Intimate Nights with Beyonce – Behind The Scenes. I am absolutely dying for the DVD:


 
Florence + The Machine is drowning a little with her new piece ‘What The Water Gave Me’. The song has yet to properly manifest itself on airwaves and on our charts, as it sinks to #43 this week. Meanwhile, past glories like ‘You’ve Got The Love’ and ‘Dog Days Are Over’ hit back at #51 and #60 respectively – the latter being the highest chart position recorded for ‘Dog Days Are Over’. I’mma chin stroke and say it might have something to do with X Factor Australia hopeful Tyla Bertolli‘s audition. If you’re following the series and are not already engaging with my wonderful corresponding blog posts – do you enjoy bashing puppies?

Speaking of the local X Factor touch, Usher‘s classic ‘U Got It Bad’ makes a comeback at #55 on this week’s ARIA singles chart and #16 over on the urban charts. Thanks again to another popular contestant – Josh Brookes – audition. Elsewhere, Tracy Chapman‘s ‘Talkin’ Bout A Revolution’ revisits at #66 after Zaachariaha Fielding‘s sublime performance. Meanwhile, X Factor judge Ronan Keating sees his compilation 10 Years of Hits leap from #81 to #66.

Wynter Gordon‘s ‘Buy My Love’ is nowhere to be seen, y’all. What the fuck is going on here? How can it be one of the Top 10 most added new songs to Aussie radio last week and not even see that reflected in an ARIA Top 100 entry? Gurl, it is not even in the iTunes Top 200. Now I’m pressed. Her Australian X Factor appearance (for two nights) presented a perfect opportunity to drum up some publicity but as far as I know, she hasn’t had any promo lined up for the local single release.

I recognise that my gurl is busy doing shows around the States right now but couldn’t her local label Warner/Neon have done something? I mean, Darren Hayes also got the same amount of time on X Factor but his team managed to put the word out and cross promote the Aussie single ‘Bloodstained Heart’. More could’ve been done to support ‘Buy My Love’.

Pixie Lott has earned herself another #1 smash with ‘All About Tonight’ pulling over 88,000 first week sales. Something tells me the devil was behind this. In fact, call it premonition but before the charts came in I received a random text from my ex with nothing but ‘All About Tonight’ lyrics. The song, which has been earmarked for an American release at some point, is Pixie’s third UK chart topper – following her first two releases ‘Mama Do’ and ‘Boys and Girls’.

Check out her performance of ‘All About Tonight’ on Red or Black? where she criminally tries to be The Saturdays. The nerve!


 
The Saturdays take silver for this weeks epic chart showdown between Pixie, Leona Lewis and themselves. The girls’ ridiculously catchy new single ‘All Fired Up’ comes in at #3 in the UK, the second biggest new release of the week. The race was well documented on pop music forums – turning into something of a spectator sport, really – when the midweeks came in. ‘All Fired Up’ managed over 40,000 sales by last Wednesday and ended the week with over 70,000 copies. Easily their best first-week sales yet but y’all know The Saturdays have always been headfirst sellers – their manic fans pre-order everything and rush out with massive campaigns on the release day/week itself. The last monster first-week seller they had was the charity single ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, pulling 65,000 copies.

Leona Lewis didn’t realistically have a chance against the former two female pop acts on this week’s chart. As much as I’m rooting for her Glassheart era, the diva is struggling to get adequate radio support for ‘Collide’ in the UK and honestly, if it weren’t for her legion of hardcore fans, the single wouldn’t even have come as far as #4 on this week’s charts.

Looking on the UK airplay charts – Pixie Lott‘s ‘All About Tonight’ edges up to #4, The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’ managed to climb to #18 but Leona/Avicii‘s ‘Collide’ is all the way down at #44. You see what I mean? ‘Collide’ becomes Leona’s seventh UK Top 5 smash – her biggest evidently being her #1 singles: ‘A Moment Like This’, ‘Bleeding Love’ and ‘Run’. Over on the US dance charts, ‘Collide’ ascends to a new peak of #6.

Melanie C‘s The Sea and accompanying single ‘Think About It’ was left choking in the dust this week with a debut of #45 and #95 respectively. Damn, #95 has to be her lowest chart effort yet, not far off from ‘This Time’ which floundered at #94. It’s no wonder the Spice memaw’s a little tentative about touring the UK with this album. I mean, she’s always gonna sell out random intimate shows here and there but I don’t think it’ll be anything as major as what we’d like.

The Sea was clinging to #35 at the midweeks but come Sunday, it finished outside the Top 40 with a total of 3,735 copies sold. The album washed in at #29 on the UK digital charts and #6 on the UK indie charts. ‘Think About It’ only managed to sell 2,630 copies.

Do yourselves a favour and look up her splendid G-A-Y set featuring acoustic and club-appropriate performances of her new material and classics. This is one of my faves of the night: ‘Burn’. Future single, anyone?


 
Will Young‘s Echoes slips under Joe McElderry‘s Classic this week, dropping to #5 while the latter moves up to #3. We really can’t compare the success of these two talent show pop stars, can we? Will’s ‘Jealousy’ picks up airplay to become the third most played song on UK radios this week but the single drops to #12. Meanwhile, Joe hasn’t got a single on the radios but like all covers album artists – think: Susan Boyle – he need not any to bring home bacon. Echoes managed over 24,890 copies this week while Classic picks up pace with over 29,700 sales.

Kelly Rowland is still surprising shoppers when they see her Here I Am album in stores, largely due to its under promotion over in the UK. How is it that Bey‘s barely there fetus can sell more records than a woman on prime time telly? The X Factor judge extraordinaire‘s album is nowhere in the UK Top 100 but across the Atlantic, it clings to #35 on the US Billboard Hot 200 and #8 on the R&B charts. Her latest single ‘Lay It On Me’ continues to pick up US rhythmic radio support and sees it fittingly slide up to #69 on the US Billboard R&B charts where ‘Motivation’ still holds tight to #2.

Kelendria is re-engaging the services of ‘Motivation’ director Sarah Chatfield for her next two videos: ‘Lay It On Me’ and ‘Down For Whatever’. Take a quick peek on the set of ‘Lay It On Me’ – Suzie the baby elephant is sadly not featured. The young pachyderm got to play with Kelly in another scene:


 
Cobra Starship‘s Night Shades debut at #50 in the US with a modest 9,000 first week sales. They’re faring a lot better in Australia and New Zealand where the lead single ‘You Make Me Feel’ reaches #6 and #1 respectively. Speaking of dance, Yoko Ono managed to smack Beyoncé well off the top of the US dance/club charts with ‘Talking To The Universe’ becoming her sixth consecutive #1 smash.

Here’s a lovely response from Yoko when Billboard asked about her connection to dance music and her recent slew of club chart toppers:

“Many of my songs were dance orientated from way back. That’s because I love dance! When I hear a dance number, just hearing the first eight bars, it immediately makes my bod start moving and dancing. That’s how I was from a long, long time ago. I can’t help it. But now that I am very involved with making dance tracks, I feel I finally came home!

One thing I didn’t know, and now I know: DJs are in incredible competition, musically. And they are the most musically creative and sensitive people in all the music charts. I am amazed how they are. Without their creativity, my songs could never have become #1. I have so much respect and love for the DJs on the dance chart, you just don’t know. One day, the dance charts will be the biggest chart in the music world. Because we all need to dance. This planet will be a fun planet when the judges in court will end the day with a dance!”

God I love her. Y’all noticed how I placed a Dolly Parton quote in last week’s post? I plan to keep planting these seeds of diva wisdom into my weekly Chart Feed because these memaws just have so much to offer. So much more than just their music.

Gloria Estefan‘s ‘Wepa’ continues to tear it up, moving to a new peak of #14 on the US dance/club charts – certified the “greatest gainer” of the week. The Latin pop mami’s comeback album Little Miss Havana will be released exclusively via Target in America on 27 September. I am slightly concerned to hear that she’s covered J.Lo‘s awful anthem ‘Let’s Get Loud’ for the deluxe edition. Speaking of old divas on the dance floor, Taylor Dayne‘s club comeback single ‘Floor On Fire’ bullets to #39 on the US dance charts. She has no business trying to sound like Cascada. In fact, no one does.

Jennifer Hudson has found herself a surprise dance smash in ‘No One Gonna Love You’. The single rises to #19 on the US dance/club charts, bettering what I thought would’ve been a stronger contender: ‘Night of Your Life’ (with David Guetta). It’s still early days for said track, given that the album just dropped two weeks ago. ‘No One Gonna Love You’ has had an enormous head start.

Elsewhere on the dance/club charts – Joe Jonas‘ fierce new piece ‘Love Slayer’ enters at #47, Taryn Manning‘s crunktastic comeback ‘Turn It Up’ breaks at #48 while Nicole Scherzinger‘s ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ bullets to #45.

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6 September 2011

Chart Feed – 05.09.11

Gotye featuring Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ clocks its fourth week on top of the ARIA singles chart while the album drops to #3 after last week’s triumphant #1 entry. I spoke to Kimbra on the phone this arvo to check in on her own fantastic new album Vows and ask her about getting nekkid with Gotye etc., and was surprised to learn that she’s not pocketing as much you’d think with this hit single. Simple fact – she didn’t write ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. She was merely invited to guest vocal on it. Having said that, her contribution to the track has been immense. Vocally she totally complements Gotye and I honestly don’t think the song would’ve done what it’s done without her input.

You can hear my interview with Kimbra on air this Wednesday 7pm on Diff’rent Strokes with Jade and Dave. As always, you can expect the full transcript to be posted on Feed Limmy after the radio premiere. There’s always an abundance of good shit we can’t fit on air that y’all can savour here. Kimbra‘s Vows is currently perched at #5 on our iTunes chart while the deluxe edition closes in at #10. Hello, Top 5 debut on the ARIA charts next week.

Watch Kimbra perform one of me album faves ‘Two Way Street’:

 

Red Hot Chilli Peppers has the biggest selling new album in the UK and Australia this week with I’m With You coming in at #1 and #2 respectively, beating off strong competition from David Guetta.

David Guetta sees his star-studded new album Nothing But The Beat debut at #2 in the UK and #4 in Australia this week. Over on the ARIA singles chart, the record spawns a whopping six Top 50 entries – ‘Titanium’ featuring Sia ascends to #5, ‘Little Bad Girl’ featuring Ludacris and Taio Cruz (#21), ‘Without You’ featuring Usher becomes the highest charting new single in Australia – entering at #25, ‘Where Them Girls At’ featuring Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj (#32), ‘Turn Me On’ featuring Nicki Minaj (#37) and last week’s charmer ‘Night of Your Life’ featuring Jennifer Hudson drops to #43.

The Usher aided ‘Without You’ happens to be the fifth most added song to national radios this week. Further demonstrating the label’s new game plan to service strong album tracks rather than just sticking to the designated singles. I mean, why not? ‘Titanium’ became an instant hit the minute it hit airwaves. Over in the UK, Guetta‘s new album serves seven Top 100 hits – ‘Little Bad Girl’ (#18), ‘Turn Me On’ (#20), ‘Where Them Girls At’ (#32), ‘Night of Your Life’ (#51), ‘Without You’ (#56), ‘Titanium’ (#93) and ‘Crank It Up’ (#96).

Beyoncé scores another US Billboard Dance/Club #1 with ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ displacing Kylie‘s ‘Put Your Hands Up’. Side bar: ‘Run The World (Girls)’ and club promo ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ were the two other recent solo Bey dance chart toppers. Meanwhile here in Australia, ‘Love On Top’ becomes the tenth most added new track to Australian radios this week. Obviously powered by the buzz from her stunning MTV VMA performance. The song is currently trekking at #35 on our local iTunes chart. Out in the UK, ‘Love On Top’ manages to debut at #75 and push the album 4 back up to #14. I think I speak for all of us when I say, Beysus is more likely to bag a global smash in ‘Love On Top’ right now than with ‘Party’, which by the way rose to a new peak of #50 on the US R&B charts this week.

Listen to ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ (Lil Jon and DJ Kontrol Remix) – a summery urban reimagination that slays over them generic house cuts in my opinion:

 

Florence + The Machine‘s ‘What The Water Gave Me’ debuts at #35 this week in Australia while over in the States, it emerges at #91 on the Billboard Hot 100. Elsewhere, The Wanted‘s ‘Glad You Came’ rises to #45 in Australia while The Potbelleez‘s ‘Midnight Midnight’ ascends to #48.

Wynter Gordon‘s brilliant third single ‘Buy My Love’ becomes the sixth most added new track to Aussie radios this week – racing ahead of Vanessa Amorosi‘s ‘Amazing’ (#7), Nicki Minaj/Rihanna‘s ‘Fly’ (#8) and Jessie J‘s ‘Domino (#9). ‘Buy My Love’ – the DJ Chuckie remix – finds its way back up the ARIA club charts this week, making a new peak of #38. I just got confirmation from a Warner Music Australia rep that the ‘Buy My Love’ video will premiere in Australia this Thursday. In the meantime, check out a few teaser snaps on the Wynter Warriors Tumblr fan page, which may or may not be run by someone you know.

Nervo sees their debut mainstream single – ‘We’re All No One’ – crack our ARIA club charts at #20, making it the biggest new track on the dance floor this week. The Australian twins have spent years writing smashes for the likes of David Guetta, Kelly Rowland and Kylie, and now comes their moment. Elsewhere, Sneaky Sound System‘s ‘Big’ remixes sashay into the local club charts at #24.

Melanie C‘s The Sea is currently reigning at #51 on our Australian iTunes chart. Pretty impressive given that she hasn’t got any singles on commercial radios at the minute and her local X Factor appearance isn’t scheduled to air until Wednesday or Thursday. This is just growing off the love of her fans Down Under. I made my purchase yesterday and I have to say, the standouts were as I called it: ‘Think About It’, ‘Stupid Game’ and ‘Burn’. Although, the ‘Think About It’ b-side ‘Cruel Intention’ is also quality. Probably more so than half the album.

The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’ rapidly scorched up the digital charts after it was released yesterday, reaching #2 on UK iTunes. This whole single campaign felt so dragged out, I can’t believe it’s only hitting retailers now. The video premiered almost a month ago and they’ve even flogged a performance or two on prime time telly. It seems like all that hype was probably designed to garner some decent pre-orders to ensure a chart blitz the minute the song is released. Mission accomplished.

Watch the ladies turn out ‘All Fired Up’ on This Morning in the lead up to the single release:

 

Expect for the midweeks to bear an interesting chart battle between The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’, Leona‘s ‘Collide’ and Pixie Lott‘s ‘All About Tonight’. Where last week was all about the British lads - Olly Murs, Will Young and Joe McElderry - simultaneously rushing out releases, next Monday should be all about them girls.

Nicole Scherzinger‘s Killer Love album is charting at #78 on our Aussie iTunes at the moment. Can she manage an ARIA Top 30 entry by this time next week? Over in the UK, her latest single ‘Wet’ finds itself knocking on the Top 20′s door again. I seriously wonder if it’ll ever cross the #21 mark.

Will Young‘s Echoes slips to #3 this week to make way for two titan new releases but the man is still sustaining well, especially if you consider that his Hits compilation’s re-entered the Top 40 thanks to the ITV special A Night With Will Young. The one-off television special – similar to one staged for Cheryl Cole‘s 3 Words album launch – sees the suave Pop Idol performing smashes from his back catalogue and material from Echoes, mingled with a bit of question time. The program strategically aired after X Factor, no doubt harvesting the bulk of its viewers who have long built a relationship with the beloved singer/songwriter.

Watch Will’s stunning performance of ‘Jealousy’ on the ITV special. I like to think he was winking at me at the 1:02 mark:

 

Dolly Parton‘s Better Day debuts at #9 in the UK this week, making it her highest charting album there to date. Maybe this really is what the world needs after all – an inspirational Dolly Parton album. If this quote about why she made the record doesn’t inspire you to find solace in her music then I don’t know what will.

“I don’t write just to relieve my own anxieties, I write for the people who can’t express themselves. I can’t save the world, but I might be able to save someone today if I can put them in a better mood. The music’s designed to be like a ray of sunshine for all those folks in the dark.” Oh Saint Dolly, you are precious.

Christina Aguilera scored her first US #1 hit in 10 years when her Maroon 5 collabo ‘Moves Like Jagger’ ascended to the top of the Billboard charts last Thursday. The last time Aggie kissed the crown was with her Grammy-winning smash ‘Lady Marmalade’ (with Pink, Mya and Lil Kim), which spent five weeks at #1. Her last solo US chart topper was 2000′s ‘Come On Over (All I Want Is You)’ – damn, gurl. I feel like a whole generation has slipped by since.

‘Moves Like Jagger’ owes its #1 Billboard Hot 100 success to the obvious two factors: consistent digital downloads and growing radio airplay. The track clocked its second consecutive week on top of the American digital charts, selling 217,000 downloads, which worked out to be a 6% sales increase. ‘Moves Like Jagger’ also earned “biggest airplay gainer” for three weeks in a row. Here in Australia, the single has gone double platinum but has yet to ascend beyond its current peak of #2. It remains as the biggest song on Australian radios with #1 placements in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airwaves.

If you care for an obscure chart achievement, which I know you do: Adam Levine became the first artist in Billboard history to achieve a #1 single with a band and also debut in the Top 10 as a soloist in the same week (see his appearance on Gym Class Heroes‘ ‘Stereo Hearts’). Golf claps all around.

Leona Lewis‘ much-hyped dance single ‘Collide’ rises to #13 on the US Billboard Dance/Club charts while over in the UK, the song’s struggling to compete with The Saturdays‘ ‘All Fired Up’ – another equally big new release that came out yesterday. Some early reviews have arrived for Leona’s forthcoming Glassheart album and it’s positively exciting shit. I mean, I’m hearing comparisons to Kate Bush, Massive Attack and one reviewer has even earmarked an epic ballad (‘Blank Page’) to be her very own ‘Someone Like You’. If this album is that foray into lush dance pop balladry that I hope it is, Glassheart should automatically assume a position in my Top 10 albums of the year. I have good reasons to jump the gun.

Check out Leona premiering ‘Glassheart’ live at G-A-Y. The track was written by loyal collaborator Ryan Tedder (who did her hit singles ‘Bleeding Love’ and Happy’). Hold on to your arm rest at the 0:53 mark because that bass is slamming!

 

Kelly Rowland‘s Here I Am exits the US Top 30 this week after five weeks. Her surprise smash ‘Motivation’ is still #2 on the American R&B charts, which really baffles me. But I can’t wait to see what happens when the more radio friendly follow up ‘Lay It On Me’ (featuring Big Sean) starts picking up momentum. The song rose to #70 on the R&B charts this week.

Lady Gaga‘s ‘Yoü and I’ makes a Top 20 breakthrough in Australia and the US – rising to #14 and #16 respectively. Over in the UK, the uptake has been a little slow but it’s definitely heading in the right direction, finally reaching #54. I was totally living when they bumped the Mark Taylor remix at my resident gay club on Saturday. Check out a bunch of new official ‘Yoü and I’ remixes here on Pop On and On. As expected, them Gaga remixes waver from the really experimental and dark through to the more commercial reimaginations. I personally prefer the aforementioned “Shania Twain” remix, which dare I say, trumps the original album version.

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4 September 2011

Leona Lewis ‘Collide’ (Live on Red or Black)

It goes without saying that Leona Lewis has never looked better. Her styling is utterly on point in this new era and with any luck, this new dance single of hers will chart just as favourably.

Here we have the three-time Grammy nominated X Factor siren performing ‘Collide’ for the first time on telly and of course, you wouldn’t expect the affair to be anything less than mega budget.

The concept of this Red or Black game show is still foreign to me so as you can imagine, I’m more fixated with the shuffling suitcases than I am on her performance. Not to shade the girl or anything but it’s a typical Leona live experience – flawless looks, (predominantly) brilliant vocals and just a pinch of shakiness.

Take a look at ‘Collide’ live on Red or Black:

The thing about Leona Lewis is that, she’s still evolving and growing as a performer. It’s endearing to watch but at the same time, it gets rather frustrating as well. I bought her Labyrinth Tour DVD and have to say, despite the immaculate sets and various razzle dazzle, she – as the star of the show – failed to connect and convey a decent amount of showmanship.

Let’s hope she steps up to the mark this time around because I believe the Glass Heart era could open up a bigger and bolder Leona. I just have a feeling about it.

Footnotes:

Leona Lewis releases ‘Collide’ in the UK today.

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