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.
This is it, readers. Do you need me to put on my best impression of Steve Jones‘ woeful hosting antics to get y’all hyped for the finals?
Feed Limmy’s Top 10 songs of 2011 is finally here and this stage of the game, I’m throwing all caution to the wind and nominating my absolute faves. What you see here are songs that have defined my year – songs that will always remind me of where I was and my state of mind in 2011. We’re talking about the ten tracks I totally could not get enough of [Editor's note: True talk. Limoncé managed to play one of them 88 times in a day and he's still not over it].
Here is a quick recap of Feed Limmy’s Top 30 before I try to justify the final 10:
#30 – ‘Show Me’ by Jessica Sutta
#29 – ‘Loud’ by Stan Walker
#28 – ‘Glad You Came’ by The Wanted
#27 – ‘She Always Gets What She Wants’ by Florrie
#26 – ‘Until You’re Over Me’ by Zoë Badwi
#25 – ‘Going Crazy’ by Song Jieun feat. Bang Yongguk
#24 – ‘Bullet’ by Clare Maguire
#23 – ‘Asthma Attack’ by CockNBullKid
#22 – ‘After NYE’ by Rosaline Yuen
#21 – ‘Nu Shoes’ by Wonder Girls
#20 – ‘Believe’ by Jennifer Hudson
#19 – ‘Cameo Lover’ by Kimbra
#18 – ‘Come Back You Bad Person’ by Kahi
#17 – ‘Free’ by Natalia Kills
#16 – ‘Bloodstained Heart’ by Darren Hayes
#15 – ‘All Fired Up’ by The Saturdays
#14 – ‘Big’ by Sneaky Sound System
#13 – ‘Video Games’ by Lana Del Rey
#12 – ‘Who You Are’ by Jessie J
#11 – ‘The Edge of Glory’ by Lady Gaga
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.
Watch Bey deliver an emotional rendition of ‘I Care’ and ‘I Miss You’ for A Night withBeyoncé *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.
Reece Mastin‘s ‘Good Night’ checks off its second week on top of our ARIA singles chart, now clocking over 70,000 sales to become one of the fastest selling singles here this year. ‘Good Night’ is unsurprisingly also the biggest gainer on our Aussie airplay chart (between 24 to 30 November), rising to #23.
Guy Sebastian‘s ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ improves on last week’s debut, now rising to #4 on the ARIA chart in its second week. Probably thanks to some decent radio rotation too. ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ leaps from #54 to #27 on the Australian airplay chart.
Adele has the biggest selling music DVD in Australia this week with Live at Royal Albert Hall debuting on top of the charts, beating off two other new tour DVD releases: Lady Gaga‘s Monster Ball Tour (#2) and Kylie‘s Aphrodite Les Folies (#3). I suppose someone should mention that Britney‘s Femme Fatale tour DVD arrived at #8? Such a non-factor.
Over in the UK, Kylie‘s Aphrodite Les Folies Live in London debuts at #72 on the album charts. It should show up on the DVD charts next week.
Watch Adele performing ‘Turning Tables’ live at The Royal Albert Hall:
Hilltop Hoods featuring Sia‘s ‘I Love It’ is the biggest new single in Australia this week, debuting at #18. It is also the second most added new song to local radios. This is now Sia‘s second appearance in the ARIA Top 20 this year, following her other smash guest appearance ‘Titanium’ with David Guetta.
Jessica Mauboy and Stan Walker‘s redundant ballad ‘Galaxy’ sits at #20 on the ARIA Top 50 and registers the biggest drop on the Australian airplay chart in the last week, sinking from #17 to #31. The song has strangely appeared on the UK release schedule with a tentative 12 December launch date. Meanwhile, Stan‘s new album Let The Music Play worringly drops from #18 to #27 in its second week here.
Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’ leaps to #44 on our ARIA singles chart this week, while its predecessor ‘Mr Know It All’ falls to #29. All these lesser songs need to take note and move out of the way too. Kelly‘s hit album Stronger falls to #20 in its sixth week here.
Lana Del Rey‘s ‘Video Games’ breaks into a new peak of #56 on our ARIA charts. The gospel of Del Rey continues to spread across Europe – in fact, ‘Video Games’ is currently reigning in the iTunes Top 10 in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Watch Lana perform ‘Blue Jeans’ – a track featured on her ‘Video Games’ EP:
One Direction has the biggest selling new album in Australia this week with Up All Night making a strong debut at #5, simultaneously certifying gold sales of 35,000 copies shipped.
Olly Murs finally gets a UK #1 album with In Case You Didn’t Know debuting on top, selling 148,000 copies in its first week. His first album Olly Murs arrived at roughly the same time last year but only managed to sell 108,000 copies to debut at #2. Well done, you.
Take That’s Progress Live album enters at #12 in the UK this week, making sure Gary Barlow‘s not left penniless this Christmas while his X Factor cohorts all manage chart appearances. Progress Live remains as the biggest selling music DVD in the UK for the second week in a row, keeping Adele‘s Live At Royal Hall from claiming the throne.
Watch Take That performing one of my faves ‘Kidz’ live on their Progress tour:
Joe McElderry‘s Classic Christmas album debuts at #15 in the UK this week. This time next year, Craig Colton will be doing the same.
N-Dubz‘s Greatest Hits debuts at a humble #38 this week. It was such a pointless cash grab to coincide with Tulisa‘s X Factor gig and Dappy’s recent solo success. Tulisa‘s own solo album’s not slated for release until the first quarter of next year.
Kelly Rowland‘s Here I Am (International Version) cops a red-faced flop in the UK this week, entering at #56 despite all the promo she’s put in during the week including a mini concert for BBC 1Xtra – which was an utter hot mess, by the way. The album turns up at #23 on the UK digital charts, which doesn’t look too bad I guess. Kelendria‘s current single ‘Down For Whatever’ drops to #9 there while the sexy American urban smash ‘Lay It On Me’ starts charting at #81 in the UK.
Here I Am has a slight chance of faring better in its second week, especially after today’s X Factor performance. Look, I really don’t think it’s gonna significantly turn fortunes around for the diva but kudos for trying anyway.
Watch Ms Kelly turn out a medley performance of ‘When Love Takes Over/Down For Whatever’ on UK X Factor:
The Saturdays‘ On Your Radar sinks from its disappointing #23 debut to #53 this week. It’s officially a success of Sweet 7 proportions now, am I right – guys? The pop quintet has just kicked off their All Fired Up tour so with any luck, this should support sales a little.
X Factor Finalists‘ woeful charity single ‘Wishing On A Star’ did go #1 after all, making this the fourth consecutive year where the show has slapped a benefit release on top of the charts.
Jessie J‘s defining ballad ‘Who You Are’ races from #37 to #8 this week, thanks to her performance on the UK X Factor and not to mention a complimentary warble by axed contestant Misha B.
Rebecca Ferguson‘s debut album Heaven arrives in UK storefronts today and it’ll be interesting to see where it ends up given the lukewarm chart response to ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’. The slow-burning single does a death drop from #10 to #30 this week.
Emeli Sandé‘s second solo single ‘Daddy’ debuts at #21 this week, obviously gonna be a hard match for ‘Heaven’s peak at #2. The flawless singer/songwriter will drop her debut album Our Version of Events on 6 February.
Watch Emeli‘s video for ‘Daddy’:
Beyoncé‘s ‘Love On Top’ flies to #28 in the UK this week, making this Queen Bey‘s 19th solo Top 30 smash in the country. The last closest reach she had was with ‘Countdown’ just a few weeks ago, peaking at #35.
Michael Buble‘s Christmas album squeezes to the #1 spot on the US Billboard 200 with a marginal 0.18% lead over Nickelback‘s Here and Now, which debuted at #2. This is said to be the closest race to the top since November 2007.
Christmas is Buble‘s third US #1 album and with 227,000 copies sold, this is actually the biggest weekly sales he’s ever clocked. I’m thinking he’s gonna be doing seasonal records more often now. Interestingly enough with Justin Bieber‘s Under The Mistletoe and Michael Buble‘s Christmas going #1, 2011 is now the first year to yield two US #1 Christmas albums since 1957, when Elvis and Bing Crosby scaled such heights.
Watch Michael Buble recording ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’:
Nickelback‘s Here and Now is the band’s third consecutive album to make the US top two. Although, the opening week sales don’t quite match that of 2005′s All The Right Reasons (325,000) and 2008′s Dark Horse (326,000).
Rihanna‘s Talk That Talk debuts at #3 in the US, nabbing 197,000 first week sales. Last year’s blockbuster album Loud managed to debut at #2 with 207,000 copies sold. Over at the singles bar, ‘We Found Love’ continues to reign on top of the US Billboard Hot 100 while ‘Talk That Talk’ becomes the biggest new single in the country, debuting at #31. Elsewhere, ‘You Da One’ drops from #14 to #22 while ‘Where Have You Been’ cracks the Top 100 at #65.
In the UK, Talk That Talk drops to #3 in its second week. The pull downwards is also reflected on the singles chart with ‘We Found Love’ slipping to #3 and ‘You Da One’ dipping one spot to #40. The more drastic drops were felt by album tracks: ‘Talk That Talk’ (#25 to #47) and ‘Where Have You Been’ (#61 to #94).
Here in Australia, ’We Found Love’ is still securely seated in the ARIA Top 5 while its predecessor ‘You Da One’ ascends to a new peak of #31. Its other sister tracks ‘Where Have You Been’ and ‘Talk That Talk’ drop to #63 and #73 respectively, while the new album slides to #7 in its second week. Talk That Talk has now been certified gold sales for shipments of 35,000 copies in Australia.
Listen to Rihanna‘s fierce as fuck ‘Cockiness (Love It)’:
Lady Gaga‘s Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden is the biggest selling music DVD in the US, debuting straight at #1 ahead of two other major titles out in the same week: Britney‘s The Femme Fatale Tour (#2) and Beyoncé‘s Live at Roseland (#3).
A Very Gaga Holiday EP debuts at #52 on the US Billboard 200 while Born This Way – The Remix enters at a lowly #105. Over at the singles chart, ‘You and I’ sits at #29 while ‘Marry The Night’ ascends from #97 to #59.
In the UK, Born This Way – The Remix debuts at #77 while ’Marry The Night’ edges to a new peak of #16. Here in Australia, Born This Way – The Remix debuts at #62 on our ARIA charts but ’Marry The Night’ has yet to return to our ARIA Top 100.
Watch the hilarious Cooking with Gaga segment on Alan Carr‘s Chatty Man:
will.i.am‘s new single ‘T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)’ featuring Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez debuts at #36 on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling 70,000 first week downloads. Meanwhile here in Australia, ‘T.H.E.’ enters our ARIA charts at #68. The Black Eyed Peas frontman’s last solo hit here was last year’s ‘Check It Out’ (featuring Nicki Minaj), which made #21.
Monica‘s new ballad ‘Until It’s Gone’ moves up to a new peak of #26 on the US R&B/Hip Hop charts. There hasn’t been as much of a buzz with this new era for Mo so let’s hope things pick up in the new year. Her seventh studio album New Life is slated for a 21 February release in the States.
Selena Gomez & The Scene‘s ‘Love You Like A Love Song’ finally tops the US Billboard Dance/Club play charts with Beyoncé‘s ‘Countdown’ closing in at #2. Shout out to these key risers: Wynter Gordon‘s amazing ‘Buy My Love’ (#7), Nervo‘s ‘We’re All No One’ (#8) and Katy Perry‘s ‘The One That Got Away’ (#13).
Darren Hayes has the biggest selling new Aussie album here this week with Secret Codes & Battleships debuting at #10 on our ARIA charts. This is the ex-Savage Gardener’s first Top 10 placement since 2004′s The Tension & The Spark. Darren‘s current Aussie single ‘Bloodstained Heart’ also finally cracks our ARIA Top 100 this week at #80, after two months of languishing on the digital shelves. The man is set to kick off his three-date Australian Secret Tour this Wednesday in Melbourne and I absolutely can’t wait to be there, finally seeing my idol live and in the flesh. Over in the UK, Darren‘s Secret Codes & Battleships debuts at #29 this week, despite a promising placement of #11 in the mid-weeks.
Watch Darren Hayes performing ‘Bloodstained Heart’ on Sunrise last week:
Coldplay effortlessly topped the Australian and UK charts this week with Mylo Xyloto. The album was instantly certified gold sales in Australia (for shipments of over 35,000 copies – whatever that means) while over in the UK, Mylo Xyloto managed to pull 208,000 copies in its first week. This means that Coldplay now has the second biggest opening week sales of 2011 – only marginally trumped by Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way, which debuted with 215,639 copies. Mylo Xyloto is expected to also debut at #1 in the US later this week, scaling sales north of 450,000 copies. The album’s currently #1 on every iTunes store in the world – except Denmark, they just don’t get it.
Meanwhile over at the singles bar, Coldplay‘s current hit ’Paradise’ leaps to a new peak of #18 on the Australian ARIA chart and ‘Every Tear Drop Is A Waterfall’ re-enters at #32. Over in the UK, ‘Paradise’ belatedly debuts at #14. Even though it’s been released since mid-September, it wasn’t eligible to chart because the song was sold as a free download when you pre-ordered the album. The next Coldplay single – ‘Princess of China’ (featuring Rihanna) – debuts at #33 in the UK this week, making this RiRi‘s 27th UK Top 40 single all up.
Listen to Coldplay‘s ‘Paradise (Electrolightz Remix)’:
Kelly Clarkson‘s Stronger is the second biggest new album in Australia this week, debuting at #3. This is now Clarko’s fourth consecutive Top 5 album in this country, the only one to never chart as favourably was her debut album Thankful (which only made #33). Over in the UK, Kelly Clarkson‘s Stronger enters at #5 and later this week, we can expect for it to debut well in the US Top 10.
Washington‘s Insomnia EP debuts at #24 in Australia this week. A pretty unsurprising entrance, given the minimal promo and airplay for her stunning new single ‘Holy Moses’. Insomnia, the collection of eight new tracks, is meant to appease her Aussies while the Brisbane-born singer sets off to do an international release of her massive I Believe You Liar album. The international version of I Believe You Liar (featuring ‘Holy Moses’) will arrive in the UK on 7 November.
Watch Washington‘s defining ‘Holy Moses’ video, if you haven’t already:
Ricki-Lee‘s wig-snatching ‘Raining Diamonds’ rises to #55 in its second week. I think what’s obviously missing now is some well-placed television promo for the girl. She’s already started doing the odd live performances here and there for ‘Raining Diamonds’ – the word is well and truly out by now. In fact, if you’re not doing anything this Friday night, come join me at the GH Hotel to watch the ex-Young Diva perform this song with full force eleganza.
Havana Brown‘s ‘Get It’ rises to #57 this week on our ARIA charts, demonstrating surprising staying power beyond the realms of my comprehension. I suppose we can expect for it to go back into the Top 50 next week after this Tuesday’s X Factor performance? Hovana will be sharing the elimination episode line up with fellow Aussie popstars Jessica Mauboy and Stan Walker, who will both warble their new single ‘Galaxy’.
Altiyan Childs‘ new single ‘Ordinary Man’ drops to #61 after only two weeks in our ARIA Top 100. Is there no returning this man to the Top 50? Elsewhere, other Aussies on the way out include Shannon Noll‘s ‘Switch Me On’ (#59) and 360‘s ‘Killer’ (#91), while all of the following fall out of the ARIA Top 100 altogether: Elen Levon‘Naughty’, Vanessa Amorosi‘Amazing’, Short Stack ‘Bang Bang Sexy’, Stan Walker‘Loud’ and Israel Cruz ‘Party Up’.
The Wanted‘s ‘Lightning’ impressively debuts at #99 in Australia this week sans any promo or rapid radio addition. All I know is, they’ve now got a captive audience of teenage girls and the EP was plastered all over the iTunes home page. You do the math. Over in the UK, ‘Lightning’ drops from #2 to #9.
Check out The Wanted‘s ‘Lightning (Chuckie Remix)’:
Professor Green scores his first ever UK #1 smash this week with ‘Read All About It’ (featuring Emeli Sandé). The song managed opening week sales of 153,000 copies – just one per cent shy of One Direction‘s ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, which is currently the UK’s fastest-selling single of 2011. This is singer/songwriter Emeli Sandé‘s fourth UK chart appearance (third as a featured artist). The divine Ms Sandé will release her second solo single ‘Daddy’ (featuring Naughty Boy) in the UK on 21 November and her long-awaited album Our Version of Events will drop on 30 January.
Lana Del Rey‘s flawless ‘Video Games’ sinks from #9 to #15 in the UK this week. Amidst all the excitement surrounding her recent signing to Interscope Records, it would seem that her debut album and next single ‘Born To Die’ is now etched for an early 2012 release. Could she be the Adele of 2012? Or will she end up as a basic success like Rumer or Clare Maguire? ‘Video Games’ is in the iTunes Top 10 in three different countries right now.
Watch Lana Del Rey performing ‘Video Games’ live at The Premises:
Matt Cardle‘s ‘Run For Your Life’ continues its rapid exit from the charts, plummeting from #23 to #52 in its third week. Meanwhile, his album Letters slips from #2 to #6. You can see why his label is anxious to rush out another single before the year’s end, right? ‘Starlight’ is scheduled to drop in the UK on 5 December.
Florence + The Machine‘s ‘Shake It Out’ sinks to #57 after just four weeks on the UK charts. The flame-haired diva is expected to launch her third Ceremonials single – ‘No Light No Light’ – on 16 January in the UK. Fingers crossed for a favourable album chart entry on Monday.
Adele‘s back to ruling both the US singles and albums chart with ‘Someone Like You’ retaining the top spot and album 21 returning to #1. In the last week, Adele managed to sell 106,000 copies of 21 in America – pushing its total sales to 4.1 million. Most definitely the biggest album of the year now. Next in line is Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way, managing 1.9 million sales to date. That’s quite a gap there.
The British warbler will release her next single – ‘Rumour Has It’ – on 21 November in the UK. The song has already impacted Aussie radios to coincide with her first live CD/DVD set - Adele: Live at The Royal Albert Hall - which will arrive here on 25 November and 28 November in the UK.
Watch Adele performing ‘Rumour Has It’ – fuck, I love her banter:
Rihanna could actually lynch the US #1 spot from Adele this coming week. ‘We Found Love’ is currently the most downloaded song in America, racking up 231,000 digital sales in its fifth week. On the overall US Billboard Hot 100, ‘We Found Love’ has ascended to a new peak of #2 – the only thing realistically preventing it from toppling Adele‘s ‘Someone Like You’ is radio airplay. Here is where the gap widens between these two hits. ‘Someone Like You’ is the second most played song on American radios while ‘We Found Love’ is placed at #11 on the airplay charts. ‘We Found Love’ is currently the #1 iTunes single in 11 different countries including US, UK, France and Canada.
Justin Bieber‘s ‘Mistletoe’ is the biggest new single in the US, debuting at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 164,000 first week downloads. The teen pop sensation is set to film the music video for ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ with Mariah Carey this week in New York City. This’ll be Mimi‘s first music video appearance since she had her gorgeous twins.
Beyoncé‘s ‘Countdown’ rises to #77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 while the urban single ‘Party’ (featuring André 3000) fares better at #75. Meanwhile over in the UK, ‘Countdown’ flies to #39, making this the megastar’s 21st UK Top 40 smash (not counting the ones with Destiny’s Child).
Beysus‘ brand new live DVD package - Live in Roseland: Elements of 4 - lands in Australia on 2 December. Just in time for Christmas. On top of the live tour show, there’ll also be a bonus disc containing seven music videos – including one of the deluxe edition album track, ‘Dance For You’. Santa better come correct for me this year.
Listen to Beyoncé‘s ‘Countdown (Jochen Simms Club Remix)’:
Kelly Rowland‘s ‘Down For Whatever’ drops in Australia and some European nations today, complete with a slew of A-grade remixes. At the moment, this new release is not publicised anywhere on our iTunes store. I’ve checked the pop, dance/electronic and even R&B sections – tumbleweeds. Even Estelle‘s got a single on display but not Kelendria. ‘Down For Whatever’ is currently in the iTunes Top 10 R&B/Soul songs chart in Denmark and Norway.
It’ll be interesting to see if ‘Down For Whatever’ fares any better than her last solo single (‘Commander’) and whether people are any more motivated to buy her album. The international edition of Here I Am – which should technically contain more pop/dance inflected material – is set to drop on 2 December in Australia. Over in the UK, Kelendria will release ‘Down For Whatever’ on 21 November and the album will drop the following week. Seriously gagging to see how big they’ll make her X Factor performance. Trust me, you don’t wanna settle for less than what Cheryl Cole has delivered in the last two years.
Listen to Kelendria‘s ‘Down For Whatever (Max Sanna & Steve Pitron Club Mix):
Jennifer Lopez‘s ‘Papi’ finally ascends to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Club Play charts, making this her sixth consecutive solo single to do so. Basically, every song since 2007′s ‘Do It Well’ has been a dance chart topper – yes, even ‘Louboutins’. Meanwhile, ex-Pussycat DollJessica Sutta‘s ‘Show Me’ rises to #2 on the US Billboard Dance/Club Play charts. Nicole who? The Scherzingernator‘s ‘Dont’ Hold Your Breath’ pulls up to the bumper at #3.
Wynter Gordon‘s amazing ‘Buy My Love’ finally debuts at #45 on the US Billboard Dance/Club charts! I am extremely overjoyed for my gurl. Let’s hope this moves up to the Top 3 in the way that ‘Dirty Talk’ and ‘Til Death’ did. Wynter opened for The Wanted‘s New York city shows recently, so let’s hope this association strikes a chord with pop music lovers who are yet to discover With The Music I Die. ‘Buy My Love’ and the album will drop in the UK on 7 November, five months after it was first launched in Australia.
David Guetta has the #1 iTunes dance song in 16 different countries right now – 13 of them belong to ‘Without You’ (featuring Usher) and three to ‘Titanium’ (featuring Sia).
Gotye and Kimbra‘s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is currently the #1 single on Netherlands and Belgium iTunes. It feels like some European countries are more receptive to his stuff than others. Back in Australia, Gotye‘s next single ‘I Feel Better’ becomes the third most added new song to local radios.
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 JezabelsPrisoners (#2), Lady AntebellumOwn The Night (#5), The FunkoarsThe Quickening (#11), OpethHeritage (#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 Societyperformed 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, Sugababes4.0 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.
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 Chuckieremix – 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.
