There is cause for much celebration in our Chart Feed this week.
Nicki Minaj is cockblocked from the #1 spot again, Jason Donovan is back in the Top 40 and there’s a new girl storming the charts and she goes by the name of Carly Rae Jepsen. Who?
Find out more in this week’s Chart Feed.
Let’s not get it twisted. This is not Madonna‘s finest and most on-point single in the history of herstory. But that’s not to say that we can’t all have a good time gushing over the fucking A-grade music video and the joy it brings to our world.
‘Give Me All Your Luvin” is the first single unleashed from the pop queen’s forthcoming “action-packed” album MDNA. Even though I feel like the cheerleader chants and robo-rocking Martin Solveig beats are serving enough freshness, there’s something despicably booger about her vocal performance here. For a beat that kicks as hard as it does, Madonna‘s reductive delivery is really underselling the song’s potential. And don’t even get me started on the redundant Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. rap verses.
Just like it was when ’4 Minutes’ opened her Hard Candy era, I feel like once the album arrives, nobody’s gonna be checking for ‘Give Me All Your Luvin”. This can’t possibly be the best and most addictive track MDNA has to offer.
But what’s really interesting about my ‘GMAYL’ experience is that, none of that shit about them basic ass vocals seem to matter when I watch the video.
French video director team Megaforce – who had done music videos for Tame Impala and Kid Cudi in the past – delivered a touchdown production that unfolds like a super captivating commercial you can’t take your eyes off. Yes, you’ll notice and rave on about the elaborate choreography and for the die-hard stans, there’s even a healthy dose of Madonna iconography to be spotted – but really, I reckon the biggest deal with ‘GMAYL’ is how fierce and rejuvenated the old girl is looking.
Who’s that girl?
First, there was that impossibly youthful single artwork where the 53-year old music veteran is somehow turning it out like a 19 year-old model in an American Apparel ad.
Now here she comes strutting like a boss in something surprisingly flattering, rocking fingerless gloves covering up them dinosaur claws and softened blonde tresses to accentuate her youthfully plump face. She literally looks about 20 years younger than what she really is. I am thoroughly living for this.
References to Old Testament Madonna.
You really don’t need a PhD in Madgology to pick up the references ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” is throwing to old school Madonna.
The idea of having men fuss about her and treat her like a queen is like a throw back to the ‘Material Girl’ video. The huge gold crucifix she’s rocking recalls a lot of the old religious symbolisms she exploited back in the day that established her as such a controversial pop music figure. And even the Monroe wig fiasco’s easily identifiable as a flashback to the Blonde Ambition era.
Fundonna.
If you don’t take anything away from this ‘GMAYL’ video experience, at least try to understand that this is the first properly fun and frivolous Madonna video we’ve had in years where she looks happy, isn’t actually oversexing her performance, or trying to pummel us with a political statement.
Watch the video for ‘Give Me All Your Luvin”:
Footnotes:
Madonna released ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” and opened up pre-orders for the exclusive iTunes edition of MDNA yesterday.
The deluxe edition will feature three additional tracks, one of them will be a remix of ‘Give Me All Your Luvin” featuring Nicki Minaj and LMFAO.
MDNA arrives in Australia on 27 March.
Happy new year, y’all. I don’t know who approved my time off last Monday but I’m sorry for leaving y’all without a Christmas week chart feed.
I am back on the grind tonight because I know we need to start this year right. It’s such a traditionally quiet time of the year for music sales, technically all your underachieving faves should be making the Top 10 with no effort at all. But of course, there aren’t ever any surprises when you’re expecting it.
This week’s chart highlights include Michael Buble‘s record-breaking Christmas sales that has cancelled everything he’s put out before this year, Sia‘s third consecutive Aussie Top 30 appearance in five months, Havana Brown‘s American crossover, and shit loads more.
Reece Mastin‘s ‘Good Night’ has been booted off the #1 spot by previous chart topper LMFAO‘s ‘Sexy and I Know It’. The teen X Factor winner’s been out promoting his mandatory cover’s album so we should see that effortlessly enter our Top 5 next Monday.
Watch them pitch Reece as just a regular rock band front man in the ‘Good Night’ music video:
Pink‘s ‘Bridge of Light’ is the biggest new single in Australia this week, debuting at #26. Just further proof that Aussies will lap up anything Pink these days, however beige and redundant the single may be.
Ricki-Lee‘s ‘Raining Diamonds’ isn’t seeing fortunes turn around after the music video finally dropped. She’s looking flawless as ever but the video has only garnered over 6,200 views in five days. Meanwhile, not that it’s necessarily fair to compare, Reece Mastin‘s video managed over 46,000 views in almost the same amount of time.
‘Raining Diamonds’ picks up to #34 on the ARIA singles chart this week but fails to secure any more radio support. The runaway smash sunk from #25 to #31 on the Aussie airplay charts (between 1 to 7 December).
Listen to ‘Raining Diamonds (Kreap’s Italo Disco Hammer Mix)’ done by Melbourne producer Kreap:
Timomatic‘s ‘Set It Off’ cracks our ARIA Top 50 at #39 this week. The Jason DeRulo-style dance/pop track is also the biggest gainer on our airplay charts (between 1 to 7 December), rising to #35.
Cher Lloyd‘s ‘With Ur Love’ (featuring Mike Posner) finally cracks our ARIA Top 50 at #48 this week. Meanwhile her series mates One Direction‘s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ holds on at #11 and their album Up All Night drops to #10. I wouldn’t have believed it if y’all told me this time last year that we’d have two UK X Factor contestants in our Top 50.
The Potbelleez‘s new single ‘Feed Off Me’ debuts at #42 on our ARIA club charts. Surely this would have to be it from the album, right? Watch the gang’s video for ‘Feed Off Me’:
Adele‘s 21 has now been certified 10x platinum sales in Australia, so that’s over 700,000 copies for those counting on fingers and toes. Her first tour DVD Live at The Royal Albert Hall is #1 on our ARIA Music DVD chart for the second week running.
Over in the US, Live At The Royal Albert Hall is now the best-selling music DVD of 2011, cancelling all its competitors after just one week on the shelves. Live At The Royal Albert Hall managed to sell 96,000 copies in the last week, making it the biggest one-week sales for a music DVD in four years. Coming in next best in this year’s music DVD race is AC/DC‘s Live at River Plate (73,000 copies) and Beyoncé‘s I Am… World Tour (63,000 copies).
Beyoncé‘s Live at Roseland debuts at #4 on our ARIA music DVD chart this week. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga‘s The Monster Ball Tour holds tight at #2, Kylie‘s Aphrodite Les Folies – Live in London drops from #3 to #7 and Britney‘s Femme Fatale Tour fizzes from #8 to #21.
Over in the US, Live at Roseland remains at #2 on the DVD charts while Gaga‘s The Monster Ball slides to #3 and Britney‘s Femme Fatale business dips to #5. Kylie‘s Aphrodite Les Folies has interestingly debuted at #17 to be one of the biggest new music DVDs out in the week.
Watch Kylie slaying ‘Cupid Boy’ with her pack of gays – this should’ve been a single:
Susan Boyle can probably put in a down payment for a private jet now with her album sales steadily climbing in the Christmas buying period. The new album Someone To Watch Over Me sits tight at #3 on our ARIA charts while her first album I Dreamed A Dream climbs back up to #52 and The Gift to #83.
Over in the US, Someone To Watch Over Me moves back up to #16 on the Billboard 200 while its predecessor The Gift leaps from #45 to #29.
Amy Winehouse‘s first posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures debuts at #8 in Australia this week. Further down, Back to Black re-enters at #89. Over in the UK, Lioness enters at #1 to become the fourth biggest debut this year, with 194,966 opening week sales. The project’s new single ‘Our Day Will Come’ debuts at #29.
Glee‘s Glee: The Music Volume 7 debuts at #18 in Australia this week, making this their lowest charting compilation yet of the seven. I am, of course, excluding their Christmas albums and other supplementary records. Over in the UK, Volume 7 debuts at a disappointing #58.
Meanwhile in the States, the Glee gang sent five new entries into the Billboard Hot 100 and it reads as such: ‘Perfect’ (originally by Pink) at #57, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ at #59, ‘I Kissed A Girl’ at #66, ‘I’m The Only One’ (originally by Melissa Etheridge) at #86 and ‘Constant Craving’ (originally by k.d. lang) at #89. Glee Cast‘s cover of ‘Perfect’ is the most downloaded new song on the digital charts. Check back next Monday to see where Volume 7 lands on the American album charts.
Check out Glee’s cover of ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’:
Kelly Clarkson‘s Stronger bows out of the ARIA Top 20 after seven weeks. Meanwhile over at the singles bar, ‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’ edges up to #41 while ‘Mr Know It All’ plummets to #35.
Elsewhere, Stan Walker‘s Let The Music Play nosedives from #27 to #61 on our ARIA Top 100 in its third week while Sade‘s The Ultimate Collection re-enters at #85 after playing several dates around the country last week.
Lady Gaga‘s ‘Marry The Night’ finally bounces back into our ARIA charts at, well, #100 this week. *Snortcackles* Her massively successful Born This Way album also made a move back up from #71 to #53 this week while the remix album slumps to #79.
Over in the US, ‘Marry The Night’ manages a mighty leap from #59 to #32 in its fourth week in the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile her live Christmas EP – A Very Gaga Holiday – tumbles from #52 to #135 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Born This Way: The Remix sinks to #188.
Listen to ‘Marry The Night (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix)’:
Rebecca Ferguson‘s Heaven made a formidable debut at #3 on the UK charts with 128,458 first week sales. Amazon has revealed that Rebecca‘s album has garnered more pre-orders than any other contestant from the UK X Factor 2010 cast. Heaven beat advance sales of Matt Cardle‘s Letters by 181%, One Direction‘s Up All Night by 11% and Cher Lloyd‘s Stick + Stones by 571%. Bam! Becca, you better werk.
Beyoncé‘s 4 picks up pace in the UK after ITV aired her amazing pre-recorded special: A Night With Beyoncé, sending the album from #49 to #26 with 24,115 copies sold during the week. Further down, I Am… Sasha Fierce also comes bolting back up at #81.
Looking at the singles bar, Bey‘s euphoric ‘Love On Top’ rises to a new peak of #22 in the UK while ‘Countdown’ ascends to #54 and ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ re-enters at #71.
Watch Bey deliver an emotional rendition of ‘I Care’ and ‘I Miss You’ for A Night with Beyoncé *crying and shaking*:
Kelly Rowland‘s Here I Am has thankfully picked up to a new peak of #43 on the UK charts before the end of her X Factor run. The smash single ‘Down For Whatever’ drops to #13 in its third week.
Olly Murs‘ moment of validation is finally here. His new single ‘Dance With Me Tonight’ finally claims the UK #1 slot after being cock blocked by Rihanna and the X Factor charity single in the last two weeks.
Mariah Carey‘s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ makes its annual appearance on the charts, rising to #12 in the UK this week. Further down there are a tonne of other seasonal numbers showing up too. Highlights include: Coldplay‘s ‘Christmas Lights’ entering at #66, Michael Buble‘s ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ shooting up to #99 and Kylie‘s old ‘Santa Baby’ debuting at #100.
Meanwhile, I’ve rewatched this like a thousand times in the last 24 hours. That’s Christmas spirit for ya!
Michael Buble‘s unbeatable Christmas album clocks its second week on top of the US Billboard 200, with overall sales now passing the 1 million mark. It’s now the seventh album to sell over a million copies in the US this year.
Mary J. Blige‘s My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1) [Editor's note: what a fucking indulgent album title] slides to #6 in its second week, suffering a 54% sales drop. Meanwhile, Mary‘s new singles move up the US R&B/Hip Hop chart: ’25/8′ rises to #39 and ‘Mr Wrong’ (with Drake) edges to #41.
Rihanna‘s Talk That Talk cops a 66% sales drop in its second week in the US. ‘We Found Love’ may still be the #1 single for six weeks running, but the album has slumped from #3 to #7, registering 68,000 second week sales.
‘We Found Love’ is the first song by any artist to stay at #1 for six or more weeks in both the US and UK since ‘Umbrella’. That’s two massive long-staying chart toppers for RiRi in this century. Could she possibly be the biggest singles artist in the Western world?
Meanwhile, ‘You Da One’ rises to #18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 while title track ‘Talk That Talk’ sinks from #31 to #77.
Listen to ‘You Da One (Liam Keegan Remix)’:
Robin Thicke‘s Love After War album should start charting on the US Billboard 200 later this week but if it’s any indication of interest, both its singles are steady rising up the R&B/Hip Hop charts: ‘Love After War’ making #20 and ‘Pretty Lil’ Heart’ featuring Lil Wayne at #70.
Katy Perry‘s ‘The One That Got Away’ drops to #7 this week after peaking at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Well, show’s over – I guess. Nothing left to see here. But wait, from what I’ve heard, the song has been discounted to 69 cents on the US iTunes store and if you couple this with the increased radio airplay, things should technically improve for ‘The One That Got Away’ in the coming week. Plus, Katy‘s hosting of Saturday Night Live should generate enough publicity to help this single get back its footing.
Listen to ‘The One That Got Away (R3hab Remix)’:
Bruno Mars‘ ‘It Will Rain’ sits at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but goes on to top the digital charts. The ballad, which was featured on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, is the first song from a movie soundtrack to go #1 on the US digital charts since Taylor Swift‘s ‘Today Was A Fairytale’ (which was launched from the Valentine’s Day soundtrack).
Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s ‘Ni**as in Paris’ leaps to #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after 17 weeks on the charts. Impressively, this is now Jay’s 18th US Top 10 hit. His first appearance was all the way back in 1997 as a feature rapper on Foxy Brown‘s I’ll Be’. Where is she now?
T-Pain featuring Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen‘s ’5 O’Clock’ rises to #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making this Lily Allen‘s first ever appearance in the American Top 10. I mean, it’s not like they don’t know who she is over there – her first album Alright, Still managed to go #20 and 2009′s It’s Not Me, It’s You made #5 on the US Billboard 200.
Watch the music video for ’5 O’Clock’:
Nicki Minaj‘s buzz single ‘Roman in Moscow’ may be a muhfuggin’ hot mess but it’s managed to debut at a decent #64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #84 in the UK. This is the first a few new material we can expect on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – the beefy repackaged edition of her hit album that’s due on 14 Febuary.
Will.i.Am‘s ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ nosedives from #36 to #90 in its second week on the US Billboard Hot 100. Here in Australia, it falls out of the Top 100 altogether after just a week. Bye, bitch.
Check out the big budget music video for ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’:
Enrique Iglesias clocks his fourth US #1 Dance/Club play smash from the Euphoria era with ‘I Like How It Feels’ (featuring Pitbull and The WAV.s) ascending to the top. Past club chart toppers include: ‘Dirty Dancer’, ‘Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)’ and ‘I Like It’.
Wynter Gordon‘s ‘Buy My Love’ ascends to #4 on the US Dance/Club play chart. This is now mah gurl’s third top five dance smash following ‘Til Death’s placement at #3 and of course, ‘Dirty Talk”s reign at #1.
Deborah Cox is back, bitches, and her new single ‘If It Wasn’t For Love’ is the biggest new entry on the dance/club play charts this week, entering at #27.
Listen to ‘If It Wasn’t For Love (Mixin Marc & Tony Svejda Original Mix)’:
Other notable debuts in this neck of the charts include Ultra Nate and Michelle Williams‘ ‘Waiting On You’ (#41). Fuck yeah, Tenitra! Plus, David Guetta and Sia‘s ‘Titanium’ crashing in at #42 while Britney‘s ‘Criminal’ remixes arrive at a lowly #50.
Can you believe it’s already been a year since ‘Whip My Hair’ went viral? Young Willow’s label - Roc Nation - sure wasn’t in a hurry to cash in.
The spunky 10-year old spawn of Will and Jada is ready to let these children have it again with her third single: ‘Fireball’ featuring hip hop superstar Nicki Minaj.
I am personally a little apprehensive about how Willow’s records will be received after her follow up single ’21st Century Girl’ majorly tanked everywhere. When that sunk quicker than you can say “high school diploma”, I think everyone was quick to dismiss the child as just another flash in the pan but no not me, not I. I, for one, am thoroughly thrilled to hear Willow’s full album and see her continue to swag hard.
‘Fireball’ hears Willow returning to the urban-persuasion of ‘Whip My Hair’, complete with a lyrical reference by Onika Maraj that goes something like, “When they come at you tell ‘em to ‘raise up!’. When it’s time to whip your hair, put your braids up!”.
Take a listen to the feisty track here:
Willow‘s debut album is expected to arrive very soon and producer Jukebox, who hemmed ‘Whip My Hair’, has said that it’ll be a kaleidoscopic take on pop, hip hop and rock done in a rather “international” fashion. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.
Footnotes:
Young Willow has released ‘Fireball’ to US iTunes and it has yet to crack the Top 200 there.
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.
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.
