New Picks of the Week January 30, 2011

Once again, I have no new picks this week. I have not been too impressed with the new music coming out so far in 2011. The new Script album is probably the best thing I've heard so far.

But, I do have a weekly chart update this week:


You can almost count on Bruno Mars holding down the #1 position every other week with “Grenade”. Four weeks ago he ascended to the pole position only to be knocked out of the top spot by Katy Perry’s “Firework” a week later. Two weeks ago he returned to the top but found himself at #2 last week when Britney Spears debuted at #1 with “Hold It Against Me”. Now Bruno is back at #1 this week. We’ll see if he can old on to the top or if he drops to #2 for the fourth time in seven weeks. It is Bruno’s second #1 hit. He went to the top last year with “Just The Way You Are” which slips to #12 this week.

It’s not too surprising that Katy Perry returns to #2 with “Firework” which was holding down the top two spots with Bruno until Britney’s big debut last week. The latest two songs threatening to crash the Top 2 party are “Black And Yellow” by 23-year old North Dakota rapper Wiz Khalifa which moves from 5-3 and “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You) by Enrique Iglesias featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E which is up from 6-4.

The two biggest moves in the bottom half of the Top 10 are from Britney Spears dropping from 1-6 with “Hold It Against Me” and Pitbull scoring his first ever solo Top 10 hit by rocketing up from 20-10 with “Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) featuring T-Pain.

That 10-notch move is not the biggest in the Top 40 though. P!nk soars up 19 spots from 30-11 with “F**kin‘ Perfect”. She is after her 12th career Top 10 hit.

There are two debuts in the Top 40 this week. 26-year old rapper Nicki Minaj has her third Top 40 hit song with “Moment 4 Life” featuring Drake at #37 and 33-year old country star Jason Aldean has his third pop Top 40 single with “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson at #39.

For more, visit my website at www.songerstudio.com

New Picks of the Week January 16, 2011

No new picks again this week. It's been a slow start to 2011. Here is a chart update though.


A week after slipping from #1, 25-year old native Hawaiian Bruno Mars returns to #1 on the pop chart with “Grenade”. He and Katy Perry’s “Firework” (now at #2) have been knocking each other out of the #1 post three weeks in a row now. It is Bruno’s second #1 hit. He went to the top last year with “Just The Way You Are” which holds at #9 this week.

Not much movement in the Top 10 with no songs moving up and down more than one spot. Rihanna re-enters the Top 10 this week with her former #1 smash “Only Girl (In The World)” at #10. That means there are seven songs in the Top 10 that have hit #1. In addition to the songs already mentioned, the others are Rihanna’s “What’s My Name?” featuring Drake at #3, Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R” at #4 and P!nk’s “Raise Your Glass” at #5.

There is a little more movement in the 11-20 area of the chart. Lil Wayne ties for the second biggest move in the entire Top 40 this week by leaping from 17-12 with “6 Foot 7 Foot” featuring Cory Gunz. The dance mega hit “Stereo Love” by Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina makes a nice move from 21-17 this week.

The biggest move this week is clearly Far*East Movement’s “Rocketeer” which shoots up from 34-23 in its third week on the survey.

Debuting on the Top 40 this week is 24-year old Philadelphia singer-songwriter Christina Perri with “Jar Of Hearts” at #30. It’s her first hit song. Taio Cruz scores another Top 40 hit this week with “Higher” featuring Travie McCoy at #36. And Flo Rida is back at #39 with “Who Dat Girl” featuring Akon.

For more, visit www.songerstudio.com

New Picks of the Week January 9, 2011

It’s hard to believe that the Toronto Christian rock band Manic Drive has been around for 15 years now. They just came across my radar a couple years ago. Last year, they had one of my picks of the week with “Walls”. Their latest to make the cut is “Music”. It has a fun ascending scalar hook line along with strings and horns. The message is basically how worship is not about the music, it’s about our Lord God. As musicians, we struggle with this probably more than anybody listening to the music. And even though we love making the music, it’s more about making the music for God than anything else. Way to go Manic Drive!

Chart Highlights:


It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve done my usually-weekly chart highlights column. But Katy Perry is still holding down the #1 spot with “Firework”. Actually she gave up the spot for a week last week when Bruno Mars soared to the top with “Grenade”. But this week, the two flip flop back. Three other former #1 songs wrap up the Top 5 this week. Holding at #3 is “We R Who We R” by Ke$ha. Rihanna is still at #4 with “What’s My Name?” featuring Drake. And P!nk makes it two straight weeks at #5 with “Raise Your Glass”.

So who is going to have the next make #1 hit. Look out for Enrique Iglesias who inches up from 7-6 a week after a big 6-notch move with “Tonight (I’m Lovin‘ You)” featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E. The Black Eyed Peas might still make a run as well as they move from 9-7 with “The Time (Dirty Bit)”.

The chart is usually slow moving the first couple weeks of the year. And it’s no different here in 2011. The biggest jump in the Top 20 is actually from one of the biggest hits of 2010, “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz which moves from 16-13. Katy Perry also makes a 3-notch move from 21-18 with “Teenage Dream”.

Two other older songs also tie for the biggest move in the Top 40. Flo Rida is up from 36-30 with “Club Can’t Handle Me” featuring David Guetta. Enrique Iglesias is up from 38-32 with “I Like It” featuring Pitbull.

There are no debuts this week, just one re-entry. Taylor Swift is back in at #31 with “Mine”.