Saturday, October 31, 2009

Rock-It! 11-1-09, Miley #1 in the U.S.A., Britney Spears Another Top 10 Hit

Miley Cyrus has been on stage for as long as she can remember and has been entertaining tweens for the past five years, but this week she scores her first ever #1 hit with “Party In The U.S.A.”. Miley nearly topped the chart in 2007 with “See You Again”. This summer she reached #4 with “The Climb”. But this week she scores her first chart topper with “Party In The U.S.A.” After three weeks at #5 and then three weeks at #2 she climbs to #1 this week.

When 23-year old New York club star Lady GaGa came onto the national music scene during the summer of 2008, not too many people took notice outside of the clubs. Her first single, “Just Dance” bobbed in and out of the Rock-It! Top 100 for the better part of three months. It was exactly a year ago this week though that “Just Dance” jumped from 88-57. A week later it moved another 29 spots to enter the Top 40 at #29. Two months later (in January) it was the #1 song in the country. GaGa was back at #1 in April with “Poker Face” and again in July with “LoveGame”. This week she is at #3 with what could become her fourth consecutive chart topper, “Paparazzi”. And even more GaGa news coming later.

Another youngster is holding at #4 this week. Florida native Jason DeRulo’s debut single, “Whatcha Say” is also closing in on #1. The 20-year old samples the title line of the song from Imogen Heap’s underground hit “Hide N Seek”.

Make it eight Top 5 solo hits now for Beyonce. She is up from 6-5 this week with “Sweet Dreams”. It is the follow up to her #2 hit “Halo”. The song also crashes the Dance Top 5 this week at #3.

Boys Like Girls first hit the Top 10 in 2007 with “The Great Escape”. Now they are trying to top the #6 peak of that song with “LoveDrunk” which is up from 8-7 this week after four consecutive weeks at #8.

Britney Spears notches her 14th Top 10 single this week by leaping from 13-9 with “3”. She will try to make it her third #1 hit from her album “Circus”. It would give her three #1 hits in 2009 tying Lady GaGa for most this year...that is if GaGa doesn’t reach #1 with “Paparazzi” first!

Closing in on the Top 10 are the Black Eyed Peas with “Meet Me Halfway” which is up from 12-11 and Owl City who is up from 13-12 with “Fireflies”. Iyaz, Colbie Caillat and Cascada, three completely different artists, all make one-notch moves as well in the bottom half of the Top 20. The big splash in this area of the survey though is made by Frenchman David Guetta who leaps from 27-20 with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon. The song is also #1 on the Dance chart this week.

The two biggest movers in the Top 40 this week are “If You Only Knew” by Shinedown which moves from 35-27 and “TiK ToK” by Ke$ha which is up from 38-30. Shinedown is following up their Top 5 hit “Second Chance” while Ke$ha is enjoying her first Top 40 solo hit. Also making moves of five or more spots include Jesse McCartney’s “Body Language” featuring T-Pain (30-25), Leona Lewis’s “Happy” (34-28) and Priscilla Renea’s “Doghouse” (36-30).

Two songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Rihanna is back with “Russian Roulette” at #35. This is her 16th Top 40 hit. And Lady GaGa bows at #37 with her fifth Top 40 single, “Bad Romance”. Jay-Z + Alicia Keys also re-enter the survey at #39 with “Empire State Of Mind”.

Katy Perry has the oldest song in the Top 40 this week with “Waking Up In Vegas”. It has been on the countdown for 27 weeks. 

My iTunes new picks of the week:
“Hungry”, Kutless
“It Is Well”, Kutless
“Every Morning”, Basshunter
“Forget And Not Slow Down”, Relient k
“According To You”, Oritanthi

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Rock-It! 10-25-09, Jay's Third Down, Kelly Already Back In The Top 10

28-year old British hip hop newcomer Jay Sean extends his run at the top of the pop chart to three weeks this week with “Down” featuring Lil Wayne. That makes “Down” the longest running hip hop song at #1 this year topping Flo Rida’s two week stay at the top back in April. This is Jay’s first American release although he has already had success in his homeland of England with two previous releases.

Miley Cyrus has never hit #1 but she has now reached #2 twice. In 2007 she reached the runner up spot with “See You Again”. And now the 16-year old superstar holds at #2 for a third straight week with “Party In The U.S.A.”

23-year old New York native Lady GaGa is closing in on her fourth consecutive #1 song to start her career which would put her in the ranks of legendary female stars like Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul and Whitney Houston. This week she jumps from 5-3 with “Paparazzi”. Her first three releases, “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “LoveGame” all reached #1.

Florida native Jason DeRulo is still gaining airplay and sales and holds at #4 this week with his debut single, “Whatcha Say”. The 20-year old samples the title line of the song from Imogen Heap’s underground hit “Hide N Seek”.

Beyonce is closing in on yet another Top 5 hit. Recently awarded Billboard’s Woman Performer of the Year, she continues to attack the survey with hit songs. This week she is up from 9-6 with “Sweet Dreams”.

Boys Like Girls first hit the Top 10 in 2007 with “The Great Escape”. Now they are trying to top the #6 peak of that song with “LoveDrunk” which holds at #8 this week.

It was hard to imagine a collaboration of Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West not having success. So it’s not a surprise that the three superstars continue to move up with “Run This Town”. This week the song jogs up from 10-9.

There is one new song in the Top 10 this week. It’s yet another Top 10 hit for Kelly Clarkson. “Already Gone” moves from 11-10 and becomes the third Top 10 single from her album “All I Ever Wanted”. That includes the #1 smash “My Life Would Suck Without You”.

Lots of news in the bottom half of the Top 20. Black Eyed Peas are back to back at 11-12. “I Gotta Feeling” slips out of the Top 10 this week to #11 but the quartet is poised to return with “Meet Me Halfway” which is up from 13-12. Britney Spears continues to move quickly. After having the biggest mover in the Top 40 last week, the 27-year old pop queen is up from 22-13 with “3”. Owl City’s “Fireflies” and Colbie Caillat’s “Fallin’ For You” also continue to move quickly up the Top 20.

Two songs join Britney Spears’ “3” in their Top 20 entrances this week. “Replay” by rapper Iyaz not only enters the Top 20 this week but is the biggest mover in the Top 40. The song rockets from 30-17. And European dance group Cascada scores its second Top 20 hit this week with “Evacuate The Dancefloor” which jumps from 23-19. Their first Top 20 hit was “Everytime We Touch” in 2007.

Songs making 5-plus moves in the bottom half of the Top 40 include Pink going from 29-24 with “Funhouse”, Sean Kingston jumping from 33-28 with “Face Drop” and Leona Lewis up from 40-34 with “Happy”.

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Los Angeles duo LMFAO follow up their #25 hit “I’m In Miami Trick” with “La La La” at #37. Florida pop-punk band Hey Monday score their first hit at #38 with “How You Love Me Now”. And 22-year old L.A. hip hop newcomer Ke$ha bows at #40 with “TiK ToK”. She appeared at #1 earlier this year featured on Flo Rida’s “Right Round”.

Katy Perry has the oldest song in the Top 40 this week with “Waking Up In Vegas”. It has been on the survey for 26 weeks. 

My iTunes new picks of the week:
“Slice”, Five For Fighting
“How You Love Me Now”, Hey Monday
“Heartbreak On Vinyl”, Blake Lewis
“The Listening”, Lights
“Kaleidoscope”, Tiesto
“Kings And Queens”, 30 Seconds To Mars
“Esclavo de Sus Besos”, David Bisbal
“Rain”, Creed
“The Spark”, Ramsey Lewis
“Forgiven”, Sanctus Real

For more Rock-It!, visit www.songerstudio.com.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Rock-It! 10-11-09, Down Means Up for Jay Sean, Beyonce's Latest Sweet Top 10

It is fairly rare that we have British acts at #1 on the American pop chart these days, but we have one this week. London-native Jay Sean is up from 2-1 this week with “Down” featuring Lil Wayne. The song is from his upcoming album “All Or Nothing” which will be his third but first to be released in the United States. The 28-year old is the first British act to hit #1 this year.

Miley Cyrus has never hit #1 but she has now reached #2 twice. In 2007 she reached the runner up spot with “See You Again”. This week the 16-year old superstar leaps from 5-2 with “Party In The U.S.A.”

Florida native Jason DeRulo was ready to join Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus as teens with Top 5 hits this week. There is one small problem though. The newcomer turned 20 years two weeks ago. That hasn’t slowed his ascent up the Top 40 with “Wahtcha Say” which moves from 6-4 to become his first Top 5 hit.

Lady GaGa has made it four straight Top 10 hits to start her career with“Paparazzi” which jumps from 10-6 this week. And now she is looking to make it her fourth consecutive Top 5 hit and #1 hit. Her first three releases, “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “LoveGame” all reached #1.

Boys Like Girls first hit the Top 10 in 2007 with “The Great Escape”. Now they are trying to top the #6 peak of that song with “LoveDrunk” which holds at #8 this week. And Mariah Carey gains airplay but still slips from 7-9 with “Obsessed”.

There is one new song in the Top 10 this week. Beyonce follows up her #2 smash “Halo” with yet another Top 10 single, “Sweet Dreams” which moves from 13-10 this week.

Four songs make 4-notch moves in the bottom half of the Top 20 this week led by the superstar trio of Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West who move from 15-11 with “Run This Town”. Michael Franti & Spearhead are up from 17-13 with “Say Hey (I Love You)”. Flo Rida moves from 19-15 with “Be On You” featuring Ne-Yo. And Kelly Clarkson jumps from 20-16 with “Already Gone”.

There is one new song in the Top 20 this week. 15-year old Canadian singer Justin Bieber is up from 21-19 with “One Time”.

No huge moves in the Top 40 this week. In fact the biggest move of the week is from Iyaz who jumps from 35-30 with “Replay”. Black Eyed Peas who had the biggest move last week are up from 25-21 with “Meet Me Halfway”.

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Dance DJ star David Guetta follows up his Top 40 hit “When Love Takes Over” with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon which enters at #33. Britney Spears is back at #36 with “3”. And the latest singer to come upon the scene due to YouTube is Priscilla Renea who debuts at #39 with “Dollhouse”.

Black Eyed Peas have the oldest song in the Top 40 this week with “Boom Boom Pow”. It has been on the survey for 30 weeks. 

My iTunes new picks of the week:
“Psychedelic Blues”, Poncho Sanchez
“Hang On”, Plumb
“Naturally”, Selena Gomez & The Scene

For more Rock-It! including complete charts and pics visit www.songerstudio.com

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Rock-It! 10-4-09, Somebody New at #1, Big Peas Move

After seven weeks at #1, the Black Eyed Peas finally vacate the penthouse of the pop chart and leave it open for Nashville, Tennessee rock band Kings Of Leon to take over with their first Top 40 hit, “Use Somebody”. The quartet had patiently been waiting. They debuted in the Top 10 the second week of August and had spent the past three weeks at #3 before reaching the top this week.

28-year old British rapper Jay Sean also breaks up the logjam at the top of the chart this week by busting up from 4-2 with his first hit, “Down”, featuring Lil Wayne. He had just spent three weeks at #4 before this nice move that puts him one notch away from putting a British artist at #1 in the U.S. for the first time this year.

Miley Cyrus has never hit #1 but she did reach #2 last year with “See You Again”. This week the 16-year old Nashville superstar spends her third week at #5 with “Party In The U.S.A.”

Florida native Jason DeRulo was ready to join Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus as teens with Top 5 hits next week. There is one small problem though. The newcomer turned 20 years old last week. That hasn’t slowed his ascent up the Top 40 with “Wahtcha Say” which moves from 9-6 a week after making the biggest move in the entire Top 40 (16-9).

Mariah Carey is also looking for her biggest hit since she scored two chart toppers in 2005. She is up from 10-7 with “Obsessed”. And despite gaining airplay, Boys Like Girls slip from 7-8 with “LoveDrunk”.

There is one new song in the Top 10 this week. Lady GaGa has made it four straight Top 10 hits to start her career as “Paparazzi” leaps from 13-10. But she has larger goals. She is looking for her fourth straight #1 hit.

The remainder of the Top 20 has a few songs closing in the Top 10. The Fray are up from 12-11 with “Never Say Never” which could become their fourth Top 10 single. Beyonce is up from 16-13 with “Sweet Dreams”. And Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West leap from 20-15 with “Run This Town”.

There is one new song in the Top 20 this week. Kelly Clarkson scores her third Top 20 hit from her album “All I Ever Wanted” as “Already Gone” moves from 22-20. The first two singles from that album, “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up” both went Top 10.

Two huge moves in the bottom half of the Top 40. The Black Eyed Peas have the biggest move of the week with “Meet Me Halfway” jumping from 36-25. Their first two hits from their album “The E.N.D.” both spent seven weeks at #1 so there are high expectations. Falling one notch short of tying for that biggest move is Pink who rockets from 40-30 with “Funhouse”.

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Fabolous is back with The-Dream on “Throw It In The Bag” which bows at #33. Rapper Iyaz is in at #35 with ‘Replay”. And Jay-Z and Alicia Keys round out the Top 40 at #40 this week with “Empire State Of Mind”.

Black Eyed Peas have the oldest song in the Top 40 this week with “Boom Boom Pow”. It has been on the survey for 29 weeks. 

My iTunes new picks of the week:
“Burning The Days” (album), Vertical Horizon
“Salvation Is Here”, Lincoln Brewster
“Let The Waters Rise”, MIKESCHAIR
“What Faith Can Do”, Kutless
“Live Like We’re Dying”, Kris Allen

For more Rock-It! including charts and pics, visit www.songerstudio.com