New Picks of the Week March 20, 2011

Tijs Michiel Verwest, Dutch DJ who has hit in Europe and the clubs here in the U.S., has a great dance track called “Zero 76” that keeps the party jumpin’. He goes simply by Teisto. He was the first DJ to play at the Olympics back in 2004 in Athens, Greece. In 2007, he first reached #1 in the U.S. on the Electronic Album chart with “Elements Of Life”. The album also received a Grammy nomination a year later. His album “Kaleidoscope” became even a bigger success in 2009. His fame has increased due to his contributions to the games DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2. His fame will continue to grow with this single.

Keeping the dance theme going, you have to check out “Religious” by Gravitonas. The Swedish rock band that has been around for less than two years includes vocalist Adreas Ohrm and songwriter Alexander Bard. Their first release in Sweden was an instant success. Last year they released the EP, “The Hypnosis” which included the lead single “Religious” which has already dominated the dance scene in Europe. Now here it is in the U.S. This is a fun upbeat dance song with all sorts of cool hooks and songwriting fun.

Let’s just make this an all-dance new music week here on Rock-It! New York R&B dance singer/songwriter Kat DeLuna is back. You might remember her from 2007 with the hit “Whine Up”. Well now here she is getting feet moving again with “Dancing Tonight”. There is nothing too fancy about this song. Just a very upbeat feel-good dance song. The 23-year old star has also had success in Europe given her dance feel.

Chart Update:

Lady GaGa sits atop the pop chart again for a fifth week with “Born This Way”. This is her fourth chart topper following “Just Dance”, “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance”.

While GaGa is only in her fifth week in the Top 40, Cee Lo Green has been hanging around in the Hot 100 for 29 weeks with “Forget You”. And he is patiently hanging around the #2 spot. Not so patient is Katy Perry’s “E.T.” which rockets from 8-3 this week. She is looking to make it her fifth #1 hit song along with “I Kissed A Girl”, “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream” and “Firework”.

Britney Spears is on the move again. She just debuted at #1 not too long with her fourth chart topper “Hold It Against Me”. Now she is up from 20-9with “Till The World Ends”. It’s the second biggest mover in the Top 40 this week matching the 11-notch move made by Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Coming Home” featuring Skylar Grey which is up from 22-11.

The biggest move this week is made by The Black Eyed Peas which roll up from 38-22 with “Just Can’t Get Enough”.

One notch lower is this week’s highest debut. No surprise it’s by the Glee Cast as they roll in with a remake of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” at #23. There is only one other debut this week. Zac Brown Band notch their fourth pop Top 40 hit with “Colder Weather” at #38.

Rock-It! 6-19-10, A New Gurl On Top, Drake & Taio Cruise To High Debuts

25-year old Katy Perry has returned to #1 for the first time since 2008 when she reached the top with her very first hit, “I Kissed A Girl”. She returns to #1 again this week with another girl, “California Gurls” featuring Ludacris. This week the Santa Barbara, California girl moves from 2-1. It’s her fourth Top 10 appearance. She also reached the Top 10 in 2008 with “Hot N Cold” and again last year with “Waking Up In Vegas”.

28-year old Travie McCoy has hit the Top 5 before but not as a solo star. In 2007, his New York hip hop band Gym Class Heroes reached #4 with their debut single “Cupid’s Chokehold”. Three years later, Travie jumps from 11-5 with his first solo hit, “Billionaire” featuring Bruno Mars.

The Black Eyed Peas make it five Top 10 hits from their blockbuster album “The E.N.D.” This week they leap from 16-9 with “Rock That Body”. Two of the previous four releases from the album made long runs at #1 last year: “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling”. Previous to this album the L.A. quartet had only had three hits in their entire 9-year chart career.

Making the week’s highest debut in the Top 40 and entire Hot 100 is Canadian actor and hip hop star Aubrey Drake Graham. The 23-year old Toronto native goes simply by his middle name, Drake. This week he is in at #15 with “Miss Me” featuring Lil Wayne. It’s from his brand new album, “Thank Me Later”. It becomes Drake’s seventh Top 10 hit in his short chart career which began a little over a year ago.

For the second week in a row, the Top 40’s biggest moving song is from 22-year old MIchigan newcomer Mike Posner. Last week he moved from 40-31 with “Cooler Than Me”. This week he makes even a bigger leap by rocketing from 31-19.

Four other songs debut in the Top 40 this week. British electro hop star Taio Cruz is in at #26 with “Dynamite”. It is the follow up to his #1 smash “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris which slips from 5-6 this week. The 27-year old also debuts on the Top 200 Album chart this week with “Rokstarr”.

20-year old Miami, Florida hip hop star Jason DeRulo is looking for his third Top 10 hit. He debuts at #34 with “Ridin’ Solo”. He has already gone to #1 with “Whatcha Say” and Top 10 with “In My Head”.

Two chart veterans round out the list of new songs. Atlanta rapper T.I. scores his 14th Top 40 hit this week at #38 with “Got Your Back” featuring Keri Hilson. And Canadian chart veterans Nickelback rack up their 10th Top 40 U.S. hit with “This Afternoon” at #39.

Best of the New Releases

Streetlight-Joshua Radin, 36-year old singer/songwriter Joshua Radin has enjoyed a career of hearing his music played in TV shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy”, “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance”. More recently he has hit the pop charts in the U.K. This may be the breakout single in the U.S. for the Ohio native. Clever lyrics teamed up with a catchy melody has this song on my radar.

Higher State-Bailey, Another fun dance hit that has reached the club scene.

Home-The Goo Goo Dolls, They have a sound that they know hits home with their listeners. So their latest single does not wade very far in the deep end. Just another classic Goo Goo Dolls single.

After being knocked out of the #1 spot after his first week at #1 by Eminem, Usher manages to hold down the top spot after returning to #1 a week ago with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. This makes three weeks at the top for Usher. All of the 31-year old superstar’s #1 hits have spent multiple weeks at the top. This matches his three-week run 2008 with “Love In This Club”. His longest run was 12 weeks back in 2004 with “Yeah!” featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon.

Ludacris is featured on two of this week’s Top 5 hits. He slips a notch from 2-3 on Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”. And he is up from 5-4 on Taio Cruz’s former #1 hit “Break Your Heart”.

This week’s highest debut is the first hit from Miley Cyrus’s upcoming album. She is in at #8 with “Can’t Be Tamed”. It is her sixth Top 10 hit. European electronic band LaRoux makes a nice move from 19-14 with “Bulletproof”.

Three other Top 40 debuts this week. Two are from Glee. At #26 is a cover of the 1976 Top 10 smash “Dream On” by Aerosmith. And at #31 is “I Dreamed A Dream” from the classic Broadway smash “Les Miserables”. The other debut is “Cooler Than Me” by Mike Posner. The biggest move in the Top 40 this week is “Un-Thinkable” by Alicia Keys which jumps from 35-27 in its second week on the survey.

There is a new look to Rock-It! this week as I start to focus on the brand new songs and albums that are the making the biggest impressions on me.

Blackout In Wonderland-Jackie Siebert, Love this new dance club hit by Jackie Siebert who was discovered by pop queen Mariah Carey. It combines a retro sound which includes 80s synth stabs with a catchy chorus. The standard techno dance beat makes this song a dance smash.

Something Holy-Stellar Kart, As many of you know, I get very tired by the easy listening Christian pop that we are inundated by with KTIS here in the Cities. That is why groups like Stellar Kart are so refreshing. The Christian pop punk band from Phoenix opened my eyes a couple years ago with “Jesus Loves You”. There latest, “Something Holy” is even better. What is funny is that KTIS might even play this song. It borders on easy listening pop, but is definitely middle of the road rock with a great message.

Light Outside-Wakey!Wakey!, Different yet the same explains this band which is mainly just singer/songwriter Michael Grubbs. He plays piano and sings and finds some outstanding backing musicians. This song from his debut album “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You” which debuts in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 this week has fun string parts and fun lyrics. It is refreshing.

Growing Up-The Maine, Another Arizona band with a perfect song for graduation time. The message is nostalgic and perfect for everyone finishing school or for that matter any of us who have ever finished school.

Safety Dance-Glee Cast, It took me a long time to buy a Glee song after “Don’t Stop Believin’” but it seems like lately I am buying two per month. And I couldn’t pass up the Men Without Hats cover. “Safetydance” is a classic that has been forgotten by many. The remake is adequate but I mostly like it because it brings back a song that people should never forget.

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

Rock-It! 5-22-10, Eminem Not Afraid Of Heights, 3Oh!3 and Glee Also Debut

For the first time in 2010, a song has debuted at #1. 37-year old Kansas City rapper Eminem makes his entrance on top this week with “Not Afraid”. It’s the first song to debut at #1 since Britney Spears did it last year with “3”. The song becomes Eminem’s second career chart topper. He reached #1 for twelve weeks back in 2002 with “Lose Yourself”. It is his 16th Top 40 hit and first since 2006 when he hit #12 with “You Don’t Know”.

The incredible debut of “Not Afraid” pushes Usher down a notch to #2 after making a 6-1 leap last week with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. Usher will look to return to #1 next week. All of his first eight #1 hits spent at least two weeks at the top. Four of them have spent at least six weeks at #1: “U Got It Bad” (6 weeks) in 2001, “Yeah!” (12 weeks) in 2004, “Burn” (8 weeks) in 2004 and “My Boo” (6 weeks) in 2004.

This week’s top four songs and five of the top six all are #1 hits. That includes Taio Cruz’s debut single “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris which holds at #4 with a bullet this week. The song reached #1 back in March and has been hanging out in the Top 5 nearly every week since.

Hip hop newcomer B.o.B. has two songs in the Top 5 this week. He slips from 2-3 with “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. The song spent the first two weeks of May at #1. He also climbs two spots from 7-5 this week with his follow up “Airplanes” featuring Eminem and Haley Williams of Paramore. The 21-year old Atlanta native debuted at #1 on the album chart last week with “B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”.

Another young star looking for her second #1 hit is 23-year old Ke$ha. She topped the chart for nine weeks at the beginning of 2010 with “TiK ToK”. This week she holds at #8 for a third week with her third Top 10 smash, “Your Love Is My Drug”.

Ke$ha’s second Top 10 hit was “Blah Blah Blah” which featured Colorado alternative band 3Oh!3. This week, Ke$ha returns the favor by contributing to 3Oh!3’s latest hit, “My First Kiss” which is the week’s second debut on the Top 40 coming in way up at #9. 3Oh!3 reached #1 last year with “Don’t Trust Me”.

There are five songs in the 11-20 range of the survey with bullets. One is yet another debut in the Top 40. It is the latest Glee Cast song to hit the chart. This time it is a cover of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”. This is the third time this song has been on the Top 40. The original by Bonnie Tyler hit #1 in 1983. A dance remake by Nicki French reached #2 in 1995. This week the Glee Cast debuts at #16 with the song.

Another one of the fast movers in this section of the survey is Lady GaGa’s “Alejandro” which jumps from 16-11. She is hoping to make it her seventh Top 10 hit to start her career. The other three bulleted songs all drop this week, partly due to the high debuts in the Top 40 this week. Jay-Z + Mr. Hudson hit the Top 10 last week with “Young Forever”. This week they slip from 10-12. Drake slides from 14-17 with “Over”. And Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber are down from 15-18 with “Eenie Meenie”.

Two songs make a move of 5 more spots in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. Former Gym Class Heroes’ frontman Travie McCoy is up from 28-22 with “Billionaire” featuring Bruno Mars. And British electropop duo LaRoux consisting of singer Eleanor Jackson and keyboardist Ben Langmaid move up six spots for the second week in a row with “Bulletproof”. It’s up from 29-23 this week.

Three additional songs debut in the Top 40 this week to make a total of six. British rapper Drake scores his sixth Top 40 hit in the past year to start his career at #34 with “Find Your Love”. 32-year old rapper Young Jeezy returns to the Top 40 this week at #35 with “Lose My Mind” featuring Plies. And the Black Eyed Peas have their 11th Top 40 hit this week with “Rock That Body” bowing at #36. 

My iTunes pick of the week:
“Speak To Me”, Remedy Drive
“Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, Glee Cast
“Keep Faith”, Dresden & Johnston

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

Rock-It! 5-8-10, B.o.B. Two For "You" at One, Ushering in More Big Hits

21-year old Bobby Ray spends a second week on top of the pop charts this week with his first hit “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. Under his stage name B.o.B., the Atlanta hip hop artist holds at #1 with his first hit song which is from his brand new album which was released this week from T.I.’s label Grand Hustle. B.o.B. also has some other chart success this week with a brand new Top 10 hit. More on that later.

Another hip hop chart newcomer, Taio Cruz is also doing well this week. The English singer-songwriter already reached #1 in March with his first hit, “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. This week the song moves from 4-3 in its attempt to return to the pole position. The song also ascends to the #1 spot on the dance chart this week.

Lady Antebellum is in no hurry to leave the Top 5. Their latest hit, “Need You Now” has been on the Hot 100 since last August. This week the country trio moves from 5-4 with the song that they have already taken to #2.

Usher remains red hot by moving from 8-6 with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. It is the 31-year old superstar’s 13th Top 10 hit. Of those 13 hits, eight have gone all the way to #1 including “Yeah!” which spent 12 weeks at #1 in 2004 and “Burn” which spent eight weeks on top that same year. His last chart topper was in 2008 with “Love In This Club”.

23-year old Kesha Rose Sebert who goes simply by Ke$ha is doing well with her third Top 10 hit this week by moving from 9-8 with “Your Love Is My Drug”. Ke$ha has had two mega-chart toppers over the past couple years. She was featured on FloRida’s “Right Round” in 2009 and then topped the pop chart for first two months of 2010 with “TiK ToK” which is up from 18-17 this week.

B.o.B. is not only topping the pop chart this week, he also has the one lone new song in the Top 10. A week after debuting in the Top 40 at #12, the newcomer moves from 12-9 with “Airplanes” featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.

Four songs hold down bullets within the 11-20 spots this week. Ludacris is up from 13-11 with “My Chick Bad” featuring Nicki Minaj. Jay-Z + Mr. Hudson make a nice 17-12 move with “Young Forever”. Irish band The Script hold at #14 with “Breakeven”. And Canadian rapper Drake moves from 20-16 with “Over”.

There is one new song in the Top 20 this week and it is also the biggest mover within the Top 40. Lady GaGa is up from 28-20 with “Alejandro”. It is the New York superstar’s seventh Top 20 hit song. All have come in the past 18 months and include the #1 megahits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”. She also has two of those other seven hits still in the Top 40 this week. “Telephone” featuring Beyonce is at #10 and “Bad Romance” is at #28.

Two songs make moves of 5 more spots in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber leap from 31-26 with “Eenie Meenie”. And Iyaz is up from 39-32 with “Solo”.

There are four new songs in the Top 40 this week. At #27 is the Glee Cast version of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” featuring Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer & Amber Riley. It is part of the new #1 album in the country “Glee: Music Of Madonna” which is an EP collection of the songs performed on the “Glee” episode that aired a couple weeks ago. “Like A Prayer” in one of four Glee remakes of Madonna hits that debut in the Hot 100 this week. This also comes a week after the Glee Cast entered the Hot 100 with numerous hits from their last episode “Hell-O”.

26-year old Texas country star Miranda Lambert scores her first Top 40 pop hit this week. She debuts at #30 with “The House That Built Me”. Miranda came close to the Top 40 two years ago when she peaked at #52 with “Gunpowder & Lead” but this is her first entry. Yet another country star, 33-year old Arkansas native Joe Nichols also enters the pop chart this week. He is in at #34 with “Gimmie That Girl”. It is Joe’s fourth Top 40 hit joining “The Impossible” in 2002, “Brokenheartsville” in 2003 and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” in 2005.

And rounding out the Top 40 is Usher at #40 with “Lil Freak” featuring Nicki Minaj. It is Usher’s 17th Top 40 hit.

My iTunes pick of the week:
“Strong Enough To Save”, Tenth Avenue North
“Shine (Love Is An Action)”, Luminate
“Walls”, Manic Drive

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

Rock-It! 5-1-10, Nothin' On B.o.B., Gleeful Debuts

21-year old Bobby Ray has reached the top of the pop charts for the first time this week with “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. Under his stage name B.o.B., the Atlanta hip hop artist moves from 2-1 with his first hit song which is from his brand new album which will be released this week from T.I.’s label Grand Hustle. B.o.B. also has some other chart success this week with the highest debut. More on that later.

Another hip hop chart newcomer, Taio Cruz is also doing well this week. The English singer-songwriter already reached #1 in March with his first hit, “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. This week the song holds at #4 with a bullet in its attempt to return to the pole position.

While the top portion of the Top 10 includes many songs that are beginning to go into reverse, the bottom three slots consist of hits that are red hot. Usher leads that charge at #8 with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. The 31-year old superstar moves from 10-8 with his 13th Top 10 hit. Of those 13 hits, eight have gone all the way to #1 including “Yeah!” which spent 12 weeks at #1 in 2004 and “Burn” which spent eight weeks on top that same year. His last chart topper was in 2008 with “Love In This Club”.

23-year old Kesha Rose Sebert who goes simply by Ke$ha scores her third Top 10 hit this week by rocketing from 19-9 with “Your Love Is My Drug”. Ke$ha has had two mega-chart toppers over the past couple years. She was featured on FloRida’s “Right Round” in 2009 and then topped the pop chart for first two months of 2010 with “TiK ToK” which slips from 15-18 this week.

Making the biggest move in the Top 40 this week is 2009 American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert. He leaps from 23-10 and scores his first ever Top 10 hit with “Whataya Want From Me”. The song’s big move was spurred by his recent appearance on the latest season of American Idol.

A year-high six songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Four of those are brand new to the entire Hot 100 this week including B.o.B. who has a huge week highlighted by his first trip to #1. B.o.B. jumps in at #12 this week with “Airplanes” featuring Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams. More on the Top 40 debuts in a moment.

Canadian rapper Drake scores his fourth Top 20 hit this week by moving from 22-20 with “Over”. His other three Top 20 efforts all came at the end of 2009 with “Best I Ever Had”, “I Can Transform Ya” and “Forever”.

Back to this week’s new hits. There are five more. It’s been nearly a year and a half since Christina Aguilera was in the Top 40. This week the 29-year old superstar debuts at #23 with “Not Myself Tonight”. It becomes her 15th Top 40 hit and first since she hit #7 with “Keeps Gettin’ Better” in 2008. Four of those hits have gone all the way to #1 although the last time she was at the top was back in 2001 with “Lady Marmalade”.

Make it seven Top 40 hits now for New York pop queen Lady GaGa. She bows at #28 with “Alejandro”. It’s the follow up to “Telephone” which holds at #7 this week. The 24-year old diva is also still at #24 this week with “Bad Romance”.

This week marked the beginning of the second season of the TV smash “Glee”. The premiere episode entitled “Hell-O” featured covers of many popular songs featuring the word “Hell” or “Hello” in the title. Two of them debut in the Top 40 this week. “Gives You Hell” originally by All-American Rejects comes in at #32 and a remake of Lionel Richie’s 1984 classic “Hello” is in at #35.

And finally, dance group LaRoux scores its first hit at #36 this week with a Top 10 Dance hit, “Bulletproof”.

My iTunes pick of the week:
“The Living Years”, Straight No Chaser
“If It’s Love”, Train

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

Rock-It! 4-24-10, Rihanna's Fifth Week for "Boy", Johnson's Heartfelt Debut

Barbados superstar Rihanna is on top of the pop chart again this week with “Rude Boy”. This is her fifth career #1 hit. Her run started in 2006 with “SOS” which spent three weeks at the top. That was follwed by “Umbrella” in 2007 and “Take A Bow” and “Disturbia” in 2008. Only “Umbrella” had a longer run at #1 (seven weeks) than “Rude Boy” which is in its fifth week at #1. The 22-year old singer also reached #1 as a featured artist on T.I.’s 2008 hit “Live Your Life”.

Rapper Bobby Ray Simmons was born the same year as Rihanna and is finding his way up the pop chart very nicely as well. This week, the Atlanta rapper who goes by B.o.B. holds at #2 for a fourth straight week with his first hit, “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars.

The band at #3 has a little more experience than our top two artists this week. The San Francisco band headed by lead man Patrick Monahan formed way back in 1994. They scored their first hit in 1999 with “Meet Virginia”. Two years later they scored their first Top 10 appearance with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. That remained their only Top 10 hit until now. They have scored the biggest hit of their career with “Hey, Soul Sister” which holds at #2 for a third week this week.

British hip hop artist Taio Cruz is trying to rebound after a couple drops down the chart. He has already reached #1 with “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. This week the 26-year old newcomer rebounds from 6-4.

Another artist who has rebounded nicely with his latest hit is 2-year old Jason DeRulo. It appeared that he had peaked at #8 a few weeks back with “In My Head”. But this week he leaps from 9-5. It is his second straight Top 5 hit to start his career. Jason went all the way to #1 last year with “Whatcha Say”.

Last week, R&B legend Usher had the week’s highest debut at #14. This week the 31-year old superstar moves from 14-10 with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. It is from his brand new album “Raymond v. Raymond” which debuted at #1 on the album chart last week. This is Usher’s 13th Top 10 hit dating back to 1997 when he first broke onto the scene with the #2 smash “You Make Me Wanna...”. Of those 13 hits, eight have gone all the way to #1 including “Yeah!” which spent 12 weeks at #1 in 2004 and “Burn” which spent eight weeks on top that same year. His last chart topper was in 2008 with “Love In This Club”.

Three songs move into the Top 20 this week. Jay-Z scores his 16th Top 20 hit this week with “Young Forever” which moves from 21-17. The song is also headlined by Mr. Hudson. Making the biggest move of the week is Ke$ha who leaps from 32-19 with “Your Love Is My Drug”. It is her third Top 40 hit. Her other two are currently in the Top 40 as well: “Tik ToK” at #15 and “Blah Blah Blah” at #36.

The highest debut in the Top 40 is “You And Your Heart” by Jack Johnson at #20. It is the first Top 20 hit for the 34-year old Hawaiian native. He has one other Top 40 hit to his credit, “Upside Down” which peaked at #38 in 2006.

Three other songs make their Top 40 debut this week as well. Jamie Foxx bows at #28 with “Winner” featuring Justin Timberlake and T.I. The 42-year old actor/singer is looking for his third #1 appearance. The first two times came with Kanye West with “Slow Jamz” in 2004 and “Gold Digger” in 2005. Maine native Ryan Peters who goes by Spose scores his first Top 40 hit this week. The 24-year old newcomer enters the survey at #37 with “I’m Awesome”. And Virgin Islands rapper Iyaz has his second hit song this week. “Solo” debuts at #39. It is the follow up to his Top 5 smash “Replay”.


My iTunes pick of the week:
none this week

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

Rock-It! 4-10-10, Rihanna's Rude Run, Bieber Big Week

Rapper Bobby Ray Simmons was born the same year as Rihanna and is finding his way up the pop chart very nicely as well. This week, the Atlanta rapper who goes by B.o.B. holds at #2 for a second straight week with his first hit, “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars.

The band at #3 has a little more experience than our top two artists this week. The San Francisco band headed by lead man Patrick Monahan formed way back in 1994. They scored their first hit in 1999 with “Meet Virginia”. Two years later they scored their first Top 10 appearance with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. That remained their only Top 10 hit until now. They have scored the biggest hit of their career with “Hey, Soul Sister” which leaps from 7-3 this week.

The country trio Lady Antebellum nearly achieved a great feat when they got to #2 two weeks ago with “Need You Now”. Not very often do country artists reach #1 on the pop chart. But don’t count these guys out yet. The song has dropped to #4 but holds onto a bullet.

British hip hop artist Taio Cruz is also hoping to rebound after a drop. However, he has already reached #1 with “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. This week the 26-year old newcomer slips from 5-6 but still holds a bullet.

16-year old teen heartthrob Justin Bieber is moving quickly with his third Top 10 hit. He is up from 10-8 this week with “Baby” featuring Ludacris. It is the follow up to “One Less Lonely Girl” which reached the Top 10 earlier this year.

20-year old star Jason DeRulo rebounds back up from 12-11 this week with “In My Head”. The Miami hip hop/pop singer hit #1 with his first single, “Whatcha Say” last year. His current hit has already reached #8.

Irish band The Script continues to move up the American pop chart. They move from 18-15 with “Breakeven”. The song has already gone to #1 in their native Ireland.

Barbados superstar Rihanna is on top of the pop chart again this week with “Rude Boy”. This is her fifth career #1 hit. Her run started in 2006 with “SOS” which also spent three weeks at the top. That was follwed by “Umbrella” in 2007 and “Take A Bow” and “Disturbia” in 2008. Only “Umbrella” had a longer run at #1 (seven weeks). The 22-year old singer also reached #1 as a featured artist on T.I.’s 2008 hit “Live Your Life”.

Denver rock quintet OneRepublic is also heading in the right direction. They move from 20-18 with “All The Right Moves”. They area looking to make it their second Top 10 hit. They reached #2 in 2007 with “Apologize”.

28-year old American Idol finalist Adam Lambert scores his second Top 20 hit this week with “Whataya Want From Me”. The song moves from 21-20. Adam first reached the Top 20 last May after finishing second to Kris Allen on American Idol. He peaked at #19 with “Mad World”.

Jay-Z has this week’s biggest moving song. “Young Forever” featuring Mr. Hudson is up from 33-27. It is the 40-year old hip hop star’s 20th Top 40 hit.

Two songs debut in the Top 40 this week. 17-year old Miley Cyrus has another song climbing fast. She has the week’s highest entry with “When I Look At You” at #25. It is her tenth Top 40 hit in her short three year chart career. And bowing at #30 is the all star teaming of Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber with “Eenie Meenie”. 

My iTunes pick of the week:
“Lead Me”, Sanctus Real
“All I Ever Wanted”, Kelly Clarkson
“I Hope You Find It”, Miley Cyrus
“Alejandro”, Lady GaGa

For more, visit www.songerstudio.com

Rock-It! 3-13-10, Peas Two Be, Rihanna's Rude Awakening

The Black Eyed Peas’ first two #1 hits were not interested in making a short appearance at the top. “Boom Boom Pow” spent 12 weeks at #1 and “I Gotta Feeling” racked up nine weeks at the top in 2009. So are we in for another marathon run at the top with the quartet’s third career chart topper? We’ll find out as winter changes into spring. This week, their latest, “Imma Be” holds at the top for a second week after ending another long-running chart topper’s streak, Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK”.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they move from 3-2 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

One of the top country bands of 2009 was Nashville trio Lady Antebellum. The group made their first Top 10 appearance last fall when they reached #7 with “Need You Now”. This week they move back up from 5-3 with “Need You Now”. The song already reached #3 three weeks ago. Both hits reached #1 on the country chart.

San Francisco rock trio Train is up from 7-6 with “Hey, Soul Sister”. They are looking to make it their biggest hit ever. That occurred back in 2001 in their only other Top 10 appearance when they reached #5 with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. Their current hit is also #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.

Watch out for 22-year old superstar Rihanna. Her 14th Top 40 hit, “Rude Boy” debuted in the Top 40 last week at #23. This week she has the biggest jumping song of the week as she rockets from 23-8. Rihanna is looking to return to #1 for the first time since 2008 when she topped the chart with “Take A Bow” and “Disturbia” and also was featured on T.I.’s #1 single “Live Your Life”.

Trey Songz had peaked at #14 twice in his career to this point. The 25-year old Virginia R&B star reached #14 in 2007 with “Can’t Help But Wait” and visited the position two years earlier when featured on Twista’s 2005 hit “Girl Tonite”. He now has topped both those song with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous which has become his first Top 10 hit and moves from 10-9 this week.

21-year old Haitian singer-songwriter Jason DeRulo slips from 9-10 this week with “In My Head” despite a bullet. Jason’s first hit, “Whatcha Say” hit #1 last year.

Ke$ha fell a week short of a 10-week run at #1 with her debut single “TiK ToK”. But she is one the verge of a Top 10 run to #1 with a follow up. She holds at #11 for a third week with “Blah Blah Blah” featuring another top new act, 3Oh!3 who hit the Top 10 last year with “Don’t Trust Me”.

Lady GaGa is looking for her sixth Top 10 hit as she moves from 14-12 with “Telephone” featuring Beyonce. Her fifth hit, “Bad Romance”, slips from 4-5 this week.

Justin Bieber’s third Top 40 hit, “Baby” featuring Ludacris holds at #13 this week. The 16-year old star already reached #5 a month ago with the song. Ludacris who is featured on the song also moves up from 8-7 this week with “How Low” but loses a bullet.

38-year old producer and hip hop star Timbaland regains a bullet this week as he holds at #15 with “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake. He’s looking for his first Top 10 hit since “The Way I Are” and “Apologize” both reached the Top 3 in 2007.

21-year old Atlanta rapper B.o.B. leaps from 21-16 this week with “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. The artist who also goes by Bobby Ray is following up a 38-21 move that he made in his second week ever in the Top 40.

Spending a second week at #17 this week is 25-year old Orianthi Panagaris. She simply goes by Orianthi. Originally from Australia, the singer-guitarist got her big breakthrough playing guitar for Michael Jackson on his last comeback concert attempt before his passing. Her first hit is “According To You”.

2009 American Idol champion Kris Allen cracked the Top 20 last year after he won the competition with two hits, “No Boundaries” and “Heartless”. This week his third Top 20 hit, “Live LIke We’re Dying” moves from 19-18.

Irish band The Script scores their first Top 20 U.S. hit this week as they move up from 22-19 with “Breakeven”.

Three songs make moves of five spots or more in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week: OneRepublic’s “All The Right Moves” (34-25), Timbaland’s “Say Something” featuring Drake (32-26) and Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet” (33-28).

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. All are by artists who have had long careers. 40-year old rap legend Jay-Z scores his 20th Top 40 hit this week with “On To The Next One” along with Bronx rapper Swizz Beatz who scores his first headlined Top 40 hit. Jay-Z’s chart career now stretches eleven years. He first hit the Top 40 in early 1999 with “Can I Get A...” 32-year old Connecticut native John Mayer notches his eighth Top 40 hit this week with “Heartbreak Warfare” at #39. John first hit the Top 40 in 2002 with “No Such Thing”. He is still looking for his first Top 10 hit. And 31-year old Usher has his 15th Top 40 hit this week at #40 with “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” featuring Plies. His career stretches back to the #2 hit “You Make Me Wanna...” in 1997. 

My iTunes pick of the week:
“Heads/tails”, Hotspur
“Strobe”, Deadmau5
“Pyramid”, Charice
“All Of Creation”, MercyMe

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

Rock-It! 3-6-10, Peas Be #1, Rihanna's Not So Rude Interruption

After a nine week run at #1, Ke$ha has finally been bounced from the top spot by a familiar foe, the Black Eyed Peas. The quartet has returned to #1 for the third time in less than a year this week with “Imma Be”. Last year they had long runs at the top with “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling”. Both songs ranked as two of the top songs of 2009. This week “Imma Be” leaps from 3-1 to become the group’s third career #1 hit.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they move back up a notch to #3 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga. Lil Wayne also debuts in the Top 10 on the album chart this week with his latest solo album “Rebirth”.

One of the top country bands of 2009 was Nashville trio Lady Antebellum. The group made their first Top 10 appearance last fall when they reached #7 with “Need You Now”. This week they move back up from 6-5 with “Need You Now”. The song already reached #3 two weeks ago. Both hits reached #1 on the country chart.

San Francisco rock trio Train holds at #7 for a third week this week with “Hey, Soul Sister”. They are looking to make it their biggest hit ever. That occurred back in 2001 in their only other Top 10 appearance when they reached #5 with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. Their current hit is also #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.

Atlanta rapper Ludacris holds at #8 for a third week with his seventh Top 10 hit “How Low”. It’s his first Top 10 hit since reaching #2 in 2007 with “Runaway Love” featuring Mary J. Blige. The 32-year old star has hit #1 twice with “Stand Up” featuring Shawnna in 2003 and with “Money Maker” featuring Pharrell in 2006.

21-year old Haitian singer-songwriter Jason DeRulo also holds this week with his second Top 10 hit “In My Head”, from his debut self-titled album which is due out this week. This is his second week at #9. Jason’s first hit, “Whatcha Say” hit #1 last year.

Trey Songz had peaked at #14 twice in his career to this point. The 25-year old Virginia R&B star reached #14 in 2007 with “Can’t Help But Wait” and visited the position two years earlier when featured on Twista’s 2005 hit “Girl Tonite”. He now has topped both those song with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous and scores his first Top 10 single by moving from 12-10.

Ke$ha fell a week short of a 10-week run at #1 with her debut single “TiK ToK”. But she is one the verge of a Top 10 run to #1 with a follow up. She holds at #11 with “Blah Blah Blah” featuring another top new act, 3Oh!3 who hit the Top 10 last year with “Don’t Trust Me”.

Justin Bieber’s third Top 40 hit, “Baby” featuring Ludacris is making a nice run up the Top 40. This week the teen star celebrates his 16th birthday by moving from 19-13. The song already reached #5 a month ago.

Lady GaGa is looking for her sixth Top 10 hit as she moves from 15-14 with “Telephone” featuring Beyonce. Her fifth hit, “Bad Romance”, also moves up a notch from 5-4 this week.

Moving from 20-17 this week is 25-year old Orianthi Panagaris. She simply goes by Orianthi. Originally from Australia, the singer-guitarist got her big breakthrough playing guitar for Michael Jackson on his last comeback concert attempt before his passing. Her first hit is “According To You”.

2009 American Idol champion Kris Allen cracked the Top 20 last year after he won the competition with two hits, “No Boundaries” and “Heartless”. This week he scores his third Top 20 hit, “Live LIke We’re Dying” which moves from 21-19.

The biggest mover in the Top 40 this week is “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars by 21-year old Atlanta rapper B.o.B. The artist who also goes by Bobby Ray leaps from 38-21 in his second week in the Top 40.

Two other songs make moves of five spots or more in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week: The Script’s “Breakeven” (28-22) and Taylor Swift’s “Today Was A Fairytale” (30-24).

Two songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Rihanna celebrated her 22nd birthday this past week and leaps into the survey at #23 with “Rude Boy”. This is her 14th Top 40 hit. And Denver band OneRepublic bow at #34 with “All The Right Moves”. This is their third Top 40 appearance. 

My iTunes pick of the week:
“Secret Love”, Kim Sozzi

Rock-It! 2-21-10, Ke$ha's Nine O'Clock Jump and a not so Blah move

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her ninth consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. Her nine-week run is the longest run on the top of the chart since the Black Eyed Peas’ run with “Boom Boom Pow” last summer. The run is also a week short from the longest stretch at #1 to start a year. That happened just two years ago when Flo Rida spent the first ten weeks at #1 with “Low”. In 2005, Mario spent the first nine weeks at #1 with “Let Me Love You”.

25 years after USA For Africa recorded the ground-breaking single “We Are The World”, the song has been brought to life by several of today’s top artists to help benefit the country of Haiti after the terrible earthquake that devastated the country last month. “We Are The World 25: For Haiti” by Artists For Haiti debuts at #2 this week. The original record which helped the suffering people of Africa spent four weeks at #1 in 1985 and became the top selling single of the 1980s.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they hold at #4 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga. Lil Wayne also debuts in the Top 10 on the album chart this week with his latest solo album “Rebirth”.

This isn’t big news over the past 14 months but we must mention it. Lady GaGa has a big week on the charts. She returns to #1 on the dance chart with “Bad Romance”. The song also regains a bullet as it holds at #5. The Yonkers native also climbs from 16-15 with “Telephone” featuring Beyonce.

One of the top country bands of 2009 was Nashville trio Lady Antebellum. The group made their first Top 10 appearance last fall when they reached #7 with “Need You Now”. This week they slip from 3-6 despite holding a bullet with “Need You Now”. Both hits reached #1 on the country chart.

San Francisco rock trio Train holds at #7 this week with “Hey, Soul Sister”. They are looking to make it their biggest hit ever. That occurred back in 2001 in their only other Top 10 appearance when they reached #5 with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. Their current hit is also #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.

Atlanta rapper Ludacris is back with a bullet this week as he holds at #8 with his seventh Top 10 hit “How Low”. It’s his first Top 10 hit since reaching #2 in 2007 with “Runaway Love” featuring Mary J. Blige. The 32-year old star has hit #1 twice with “Stand Up” featuring Shawnna in 2003 and with “Money Maker” featuring Pharrell in 2006.

21-year old Haitian singer-songwriter Jason DeRulo is up from 11-9 this week with his second Top 10 hit “In My Head”, from his debut self-titled album which is due out next week. Jason’s first hit, “Whatcha Say” hit #1 last year.

Ke$ha is on the brink of setting all sorts of records with her debut single “TiK ToK”. And now she is burning up the Top 40 with a follow up. She rockets from 22-11 with “Blah Blah Blah” featuring another top new act, 3Oh!3.

Trey Songz had peaked at #14 twice in his career to this point. The 25-year old Virginia R&B star reached #14 in 2007 with “Can’t Help But Wait” and visited the position two years earlier when featured on Twista’s 2005 hit “Girl Tonite”. He now has topped both those song with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous which moves from 15-12 this week.

Timbaland also is gaining this week despite falling from 12-13 with “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake.

Joining “We Are The World” and “Blah Blah Blah” as entries in the Top 20 is Justin Bieber’s third Top 40 hit, “Baby” featuring Ludacris. The song has already reached #5 but is heading back up this week from 25-19.

And holding at #20 this week is 25-year old Orianthi Panagaris. She simply goes by Orianthi. Originally from Australia, the singer-guitarist got her big breakthrough playing guitar for Michael Jackson on his last comeback concert attempt before his passing. Her first hit is “According To You”.

The biggest mover in the Top 40 this week is “Breakeven” by Irish rock trio The Script. This is their first American hit song.

Two songs make moves of five spots or more in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week: Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet” (30-25) and Taylor Swift’s “Today Was A Fairytale” (39-31).

There are two other debuts in the Top 40 this week. It’s been four years since South Carolina country star Josh Turner has cracked the pop Top 40. Back in 2006 he hit #38 with “Your Man”. This week he is back at #35 with “Why Don’t We Just Dance”. And 21-year old Atlanta rapper B.o.B. also known as Bobby Ray scores his first hit this week at #38 with “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. 

My iTunes picks of the week:
“Tonight”, tobyMac
“Broken Tonight”, Armen Van Buuren
“Rocket”, Godfrapp
“Get Back Up”, tobyMac
“Beautiful History”, Plumb
“Let It Go”, Cavo
“You”, Collective Soul

Rock-It! 2-14-10, Ke$ha's run clocks week eight, Peas Lead Grammy Charge

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her eighth consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also holds at #1 this week on the dance chart with that same hit. Ke$ha’s debut album “Animal” also debuted at #1 last month on the album chart. Her eight-week run is the longest run on the top of the chart since the Black Eyed Peas’ run with “Boom Boom Pow” last summer.

The second week after the Grammys always results in big gains for those acts that performed and won at the awards event. One of those big winners are The Black Eyed Peas. They came out and got the place moving with their mega-hit “I Gotta Feeling”. Their former #1 smash leaps back into the Top 10 this week from 16-9. This week, their fourth Top 10 hit from their current album “The END” with “Imma Be” also moves from 4-2. Those four Top 10 hits exceed the number of Top 10 singles they had their entire career up until this point. They are looking to make this their third #1 single joining “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow” which both reached #1 last year.

One of the top country bands of 2009 was Nashville trio Lady Antebellum. The group made their first Top 10 appearance last fall when they reached #7 with “Need You Now”. This week they leap from 8-3 with “Need You Now”. Both hits reached #1 on the country chart.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they slip from 3-4 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga. Lil Wayne also debuts in the Top 10 on the album chart this week with his latest solo album “Rebirth”.

San Francisco rock trio Train regains a bullet this week and moves from 9-7 with “Hey, Soul Sister”. They are looking to make it their biggest hit ever. That occurred back in 2001 in their only other Top 10 appearance when they reached #5 with “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. Their current hit is also #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.

21-year old Haitian singer-songwriter Jason DeRulo is up from 14-11 this week with his second Top 40 hit “In My Head”, from his debut self-titled album which is due out in a couple weeks. Jason’s first hit, “Whatcha Say” hit #1 last year.

Trey Songz has peaked at #14 twice in his career to this point. He reached #14 in 2007 with “Can’t Help But Wait” and visited the position two years earlier when featured on Twista’s 2005 hit “Girl Tonite”. He’s one notch away from that spot again as he moves from 17-15 with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous.

Yonkers, New York singer/songwriter Lady GaGa kicked off the Grammy Awards last week with a ground breaking performance that included pop icon Elton John. GaGa slipped from 2-5 this week with “Bad Romance” but climbs from 19-16 with “Telephone” which features another of the Grammy performers from two weeks ago, Beyonce.

The highest debut of the week comes from Pink. Her performance of “Glitter In The Air” at the Grammys did not include much clothing which may have prompted her debut at #18 this week. It is Pink’s 16th career Top 40 hit.

Also new in the Top 20 this week is 25-year old Orianthi Panagaris. She simply goes by Orianthi. Originally from Australia, the singer-guitarist got her big breakthrough playing guitar for Michael Jackson on his last comeback concert attempt before his passing. She moves from 21-20 this week with her first hit, “According To You”.

Three songs make moves of five spots or more in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week: Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah” featuring 3Oh!3 (27-22), Drake’s “Forever” featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem (34-26, biggest jump of the week) and Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet” (36-30).

There are two other debuts in the Top 40 this week. Singer-producer Timbaland who turns 39 years old next month scores his eighth Top 40 hit this week at #36 with “Say Something” featuring Drake. And scoring their first American Top 40 hit is Irish rock trio The Script with “Breakeven” at #40. Selena Gomez also re-enters the Top 40 this week at #37 with “Naturally”. 

My iTunes picks of the week:
“They All Laughed”, Amanda Carr & The Kenny Hadley Big Band
“Shark In The Water”, VV Brown
“Every Other Way”, BT
“You And Me”, Dave Matthews Band

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

Rock-It! 2-6-10, Seven Tiks For Ke$ha, Timberlake's Haiti Benefit Debuts

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her seventh consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also holds at #1 this week on the dance chart with that same hit. Ke$ha’s debut album “Animal” also debuted at #1 last month on the album chart. Her seven-week run is the longest run on the top of the chart since the Black Eyed Peas’ seven week run with “I Gotta Feeling” last summer.

Yonkers, New York singer/songwriter Lady GaGa kicked off the Grammy Awards last week with a ground breaking performance that included pop icon Elton John. GaGa is demonstrating some of the same chart success that Sir Elton had throughout his career by moving up a notch to #2 with her fifth consecutive Top 10 hit, “Bad Romance”. She is still trying to make it her third #1 to go along with her first two hits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”. She has a ways to go to catch Elton who has scored 56 Top 40 hits including eight #1 singles.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they move from 4-3 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

Another Grammy performer last weekend was The Black Eyed Peas. They came out and got the place moving with their mega-hit “I Gotta Feeling”. This week, they score their fourth Top 10 hit from their current album “The END” with “Imma Be” which leaps from 11-4. Those four Top 10 hits exceed the number of Top 10 singles they had their entire career up until this point. They are looking to make this their third #1 single joining “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow” which both reached #1 last year.

32-year old Atlanta rapper Ludacris rebounds back into the Top 10 this week in a big way by jumping from 12-6 with “How Low”. Two weeks ago the song became Luda’s seventh Top 10 single when it reached #10. After slipping to #12 last week it makes a nice rebound and regains a Top 10 spot.

The third of this week’s new songs in the Top 10 comes from Nashville country trio Lady Antebellum. The group made their first Top 10 appearance last fall when they reached #7 with “Need You Now”. This week they rocket from 18-8 with “Need You Now”. Both hits reached #1 on the country chart.

Almost cracking the Top 10 this week is 38-year old producer/hip hop star Timbaland. A week after leaping from 32-14, he moves up another three spots with “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake. This would become his fourth Top 10 single as a headline artist. It would also become his fourth Top 10 collaboration with Justin Timberlake. Justin appeared on Timbaland’s 2007 #1 smash “Give It To Me”. And Timbaland was featured on Justin’s 2006 chart topper “SexyBack”. Both were featured on 50 Cent’s 2007 #5 hit “Ayo Technology”.

Speaking of Justin Timberlake, he has this week’s highest Top 40 debut. He along with Matt Morris who has written hits for Justin bow at #13 with “Hallelujah” featuring singer/guitarist Charlie Sexton. The song is from the #1 album “Hope For Haiti Now” which benefits the recent tragic earthquake in Haiti.

Right behind Justin is teen star Jason DeRulo making the biggest move of the week in the Top 40. Jason is up from 28-14 with “In My Head”. It is the follow up to his debut #1 single “Whatcha Say”.

Also earning bullets in the Top 20 this week are Trey Songz with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous (19-17), Lady GaGa’s “Telephone” featuring Beyonce (20-19) and Boys Like Girls’ “Telephone” featuring Taylor Swift (22-20).

There are no big movers in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. The biggest move in the 21-40 positions is three notches done by three songs: Orianthi’s “According To You” (24-21), Kris Allen’s “Live Like We’re Dying” (26-23) and New Boyz’ “Tie Me Down” featuring Ray-J (32-29).

Michael Buble re-enters the Top 40 this week at #36 with “Haven’t Met You Yet” which reached #40 two weeks ago before slipping to #41 last week. And there is one other debut along with Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris’s “Hallelujah” this week. 32-year old Georgia country star Jason Aldean scores his second pop Top 40 hit this week with “The Truth” at #40. Jason’s first hit was “She’s Country” early last year. 


My iTunes pick of the week:
“World Behind My Wall”, Tokio Hotel

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

Rock-It! 2-6-10, Six Weeks Current Time For Ke$ha, Timbaland's Long Carry

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her sixth consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also rebounds this week to #1 on the dance chart with that same hit. Ke$ha’s debut album “Animal” also debuted at #1 two weeks ago on the album chart and featured several tracks that debuted in the Hot 100 chart that week. One of those, “Blah Blah Blah” featuring 3Oh!3 is at #21 this week.

Two absolutely gigantic debuts in the Top 40 this week. The first is from Taylor Swift as she sweeps into the Top 40 was up at #2 with “Today Was A Fairytale.” This is Taylor’s 14th Top 40 hit but her biggest hit to date. “Love Story” reached #3 for the 20-year old country superstar almost a year ago this week. She currently has two other appearances in the Top 40 this week. She is at #22 with Boys Like Girls with “Two Is Better Than One” and at #40 with “Fifteen”.

The other big debut this week is from another young star. 14-year old Justin Bieber is in at #5 with “Baby” featuring Ludacris. This is Justin’s fourth Top 40 appearance. These two debuts are the highest debuts of the young year topping Ke$ha’s #7 entry two weeks ago with “Blah Blah Blah” featuring 3Oh!3.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they hold at #4 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

Only one other song achives a bullet this week in the Top 10. St. Michael, Barbados superstar Rihanna slips from 8-9 with “Hard” featuring Jeezy. The 21-year old singer is in the Top 10 for the 12th time in her career which includes four #1 songs: “SOS” (2006), “Umbrella” (2007), “Take A Bow” (2008) and “Disturbia” (2008). She also reached #1 a couple years back featured on T.I.’s “Live Your Life”.

There are a lot of songs doing well in the 11-20 slots this week. Last week’s biggest mover was “Imma Be” by the Black Eyed Peas which jumped from 34-15. This week the Peas’ ninth Top 20 hit jumps from 15-11 to move it one notch away from becoming the fourth Top 10 hit from their current album, “The END”.

Slipping from 10-12 but maintaining a bullet is Ludacris” “How Low”. He will look to rebound back into the Top 10 next week and possibly have two songs in that part of the chart to go along with his appearance on the aforementioned Justin Bieber hit.

The biggest mover in the Top 40 this week is the latest by producer/hip hop star Timbaland. He jumps from 32-14 with “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake. This is the 38-year old’s seventh Top 40 hit and first since “The Way I Are” and “Apologize” in 2007.

The recent tragic events in Haiti have resulted in a benefit album which debuts at #1 on the Top 200 this week. One of the singles from that album, “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge & Rihanna debuts at #16 this week.

There is only one song in the bottom half of the Top 40 that makes a move of five or more notches this week. Newcomer Jason DeRulo leaps from 37-28 with “In My Head”. It is the follow up to his debut #1 single “Whatcha Say”.

With all the high debuts this week there is not a lot of big news on the bottom portion of the Top 40. The only other debut this week comes from 2009 American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert. He debuts at #37 this week with “Whataya Want From Me”. 


My iTunes pick of the week:
none this week

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

Rock-It! 1-30-10, Time Stands Still For Ke$ha, Speeding Train Delivers Soul

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her fifth consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also has topped the dance chart with that same hit. Ke$ha’s debut album “Animal” also debuted at #1 last week on the album chart and featured several tracks that debuted in the Hot 100 chart last week. One of those, “Blah Blah Blah” featuring 3Oh!3 slips from 7-12 this week.

It’s not often that an entire record label is credited with a hit song but Lil Wayne’s creation Young Money has done it twice now. They reached #10 last year with “Every Girl” and this week they leap from 8-4 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Both singles have included Lil Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Drake and Jae Millz. This one also includes Young Money artists Nicki Minaj and Tyga.

French DJ David Guetta holds onto another bullet this week and holds at #6 for a third straight week with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon. David has been a force on the dance chart over the past four years reaching #4 in 2006 with “Love Don’t Let Me Go”, #1 in 2007 with “The World Is Mine and “Love Is Gone” featuring Chris Willis, #4 in 2008 with “Baby When The Light” with Steve Angello and #1 last year with “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland which became his first Top 40 crossover hit. And this week he is at #4 on the dance chart with “One Love” featuring Estelle. But “Sexy Chick” is by far his biggest hit to date.

It’s been nine years since the San Francisco rock band Train scored their first Top 10 hit, “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)”. This week they return for the second time with “Hey, Soul Sister” moving from 25-7. The band led by vocalist Pat Monahan made one other Top 40 appearance during that nine-year drought. That was in 2003 with the #19 hit “Calling All Angels”.

St. Michael, Barbados superstar Rihanna climbs from 9-8 with “Hard” featuring Jeezy. The 21-year old singer is in the Top 10 for the 12th time in her career which includes four #1 songs: “SOS” (2006), “Umbrella” (2007), “Take A Bow” (2008) and “Disturbia” (2008). She also reached #1 a couple years back featured on T.I.’s “Live Your Life”.

Joining Train with a new Top 10 hit this week is Atlanta rapper Ludacris with “How Low”. The song moves from 14-10. This is the 32-year old’s seventh Top 10 hit but first since 2007 when he went to #2 with “Runaway Love” featuring Mary J. Blige. His run includes two #1 hits: “Stand Up” (2003) and “Money Maker” (2006). Ludacris has also been featured on two #1 hits: “Yeah!” by Usher in 2004 and “Glamorous” by Fergie in 2007 which was his last appearance in the Top 10.

The biggest mover in the Top 40 this week is “Imma Be” by the Black Eyed Peas. The quartet’s fourth Top 40 hit from their latest album “The END”, rockets from 34-15. They are trying to make it their fourth Top 10 hit from that album which includes two mega #1 hits from last year “I Gotta Feeling” and the #1 song of 2009, “Boom Boom Pow”. This is the Peas’ ninth Top 20 hit.

Three other songs make their Top 20 debut this week. Massachusetts pop-punk band Boys Like Girls finally cracked the Top 20 for the first time last year with “LoveDrunk”. And now they are back moving from 24-18 with “Two Is Better Than One” featuring Taylor Swift. 25-year old R&B star Trey Songz also scores his second Top 20 hit with “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous which jumps from 28-19. His first Top 20 appearance was in 2007 with “Can’t Help But Wait”. And rocketing from 31-20 is Lady GaGa with her sixth consecutive Top 20 hit, “Telephone” featuring Beyonce. GaGa is also holding at #2 this week with “Bad Romance”.

Three songs make moves of five or more spots in the bottom half of the Top 20 this week. Newcomer Orianthi is up from 26-21 with “According To You”. American Idol champion Kris Allen leaps from 33-25 with “Live Like We’re Dying”. And Disney star Selena Gomez & The Scene is up from 36-29 with “Naturally”.

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. 38-year old producer and superstar collaborator Timbaland scores his seventh headlined Top 40 hit and thirteenth appearance overall with “Carry Out” featuring Justin Timberlake at #32. It’s his first Top 40 hit since “The Way I Are” in 2007. Newcomer Jason DeRulo went all the way to #1 in 2009 with hit first hit “Whatcha Say”. Now he is starting a run with his follow up at #37, “In My Head”. And the top jazz crooner of our day, Michael Buble scores his first pop Top 40 hit this week at #40 with the adult contemporary hit “Haven’t Met You Yet”. 


My iTunes pick of the week:
Remember (La Di Da), Lucas Prata
Love Keeps Calling, AnnaGrace
The Time Of Our Lives, Miley Cyrus
Horchata, Vampire Weekend
Suddenly, BT

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

Rock-It! 1-23-10, Ke$ha's Clock Doesn't Stop, Leaping Songz

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her fourth consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also tops the dance chart this week with that same hit. Ke$ha’s debut album “Animal” also debuts at #1 this week on the album chart and features several tracks that debut in the Hot 100 chart this week, a couple of which will be featured later here in Rock-It! She seems to be the Lady GaGa of 2010 so far.

French DJ David Guetta holds onto another bullet this week and holds at #6 with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon. David has been a force on the dance chart over the past four years reaching #4 in 2006 with “Love Don’t Let Me Go”, #1 in 2007 with “The World Is Mine and “Love Is Gone” featuring Chris Willis, #4 in 2008 with “Baby When The Light” with Steve Angello and #1 last year with “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland which became his first Top 40 crossover hit. But “Sexy Chick” is by far his biggest hit to date.

Ke$ha’s biggest entry of the week and the highest debut of the young year is “Blah Blah Blah” featuring another young act that scored their first big hit last year, 3Oh!3 out of Colorado. The song rockets in at #7 this week. It is one of three new songs in the Hot 100 this week by the Nashville newcomer from her new album “Animal”.

Two songs make their Top 10 debut this week. Young Money is up from 12-8 with “BedRock” featuring Lloyd. Young Money is Lil Wayne’s record company and the group of musicians that record under the name score their second Top 10 hit this week.

St. Michael, Barbados superstar Rihanna is the other artist to notch another Top 10 hit under her belt. She is up from 15-9 with “Hard” featuring Jeezy. The 21-year old singer is in the Top 10 for the 12th time in her career which includes four #1 songs: “SOS” (2006), “Umbrella” (2007), “Take A Bow” (2008) and “Disturbia” (2008). She also reached #1 a couple years back featured on T.I.’s “Live Your Life”.

Rihanna ranked as one of the top ten acts of the decade that just ended. Another one of those top ten acts makes a nice move from 21-14 this week. Atlanta rapper Ludacris is in with “How Low”. This is the 32-year old’s tenth Top 20 hit but first since 2007 when he went to #2 with “Runaway Love” featuring Mary J. Blige. His run includes two #1 hits: “Stand Up” (2003) and “Money Maker” (2006). Ludacris has also been featured on two #1 hits: “Yeah!” by Usher in 2004 and “Glamorous” by Fergie in 2007 which was his last appearance in the Top 20.

Three songs make moves of five or more spots in the bottom half of the Top 20 this week. San Francisco band Train is up from 29-23 this week with “Hey, Soul Sister”. It is their first Top 40 hit since “Calling All Angels” hit #19 in 2003. Newcomer Orianthi is taking her guitar driven pop sound up from 33-26 with “According To You”. And the biggest move in the Top 40 this week belongs to 25-year old R&B star Trey Songz. He leaps from 40-28 with “Say Ahh” featuring Fabolous. It is his first Top 40 hit since his first chart single, “Can’t Help But Wait” in 2007 which peaked at #14.

There are three songs in addition to Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah” that debut in the Top 40 this week. Ke$ha also enters the survey at #27 with “Your Love Is My Drug”. The Black Eyed Peas pick up their fourth Top 40 hit from their album “The END”. This week “Imma Be” bows at #34. It is their 11th Top 40 single overall. They will look to make it their seventh straight hit to make the Top 20. And Disney star Selena Gomez & The Scene debut this week at #36 with “Naturally”.

Snoop Dogg also re-enters the Top 40 this week at #40 with “Gangsta Luv” featuring The-Dream. The song originally peaked at #35 last month. 


My iTunes pick of the week:
Animal, Ke$ha

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

Rock-It! 1-16-10, Ke$ha Keeps Time At #1, Leon's Noble Leap

Nashville pop star Ke$ha has gotten off to a great start this decade by spending her third consecutive week at #1 with “TiK ToK’. The 22-year old newcomer also tops the dance chart this week with that same hit. And even though this is her first chart appearance as a headlined artist, Ke$ha has been at #1 before. That came almost a year ago when she was featured on Flo Rida’s chart topper “Right Round”.

The #1 newcomer of 2009 was Lady GaGa and she is up from 3-2 this week with “Bad Romance”. The New York superstar had the #2 song of 2009 with “Poker Face” and the #3 song of the year with “Just Dance” featuring Colby O’Donis. She also had three other Top 10 hits in 2009 including her latest. She is one notch away from making this her third #1 hit song.

French DJ David Guetta picks up some steam again this week and leaps from 9-6 with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon. David has been a force on the dance chart over the past four years reaching #4 in 2006 with “Love Don’t Let Me Go”, #1 in 2007 with “The World Is Mine and “Love Is Gone” featuring Chris Willis, #4 in 2008 with “Baby When The Light” with Steve Angello and #1 last year with “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland which became his first Top 40 crossover hit. But “Sexy Chick” is by far his biggest hit to date.

Apparently the Black Eyed Peas aren’t satisfied with a #4 placement on the year end list of 2009 with “I Gotta Feeling”. This week the Peas regain a bullet by leaping from 14-9. Meanwhile, the follow up, “Meet Me Halfway” continues to slowly slip from 11-13 this week. The fourth hit from their album “The END”, titled “Imma Be”, inches closer to the Top 40 at #46 this week.

Two songs make huge Top 20 entries this week. One is the highest debut in the Top 40 as well. It’s yet another hit for all star rapper Lil Wayne. He is in at #18 this week with “Drop The World” featuring fellow rap superstar Eminem. And up from 22-20 is the first hit for Nashville country trio Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”. The song already hit #5 late last year and now is making its way back up the Top 40.

Two songs in the bottom half of the Top 40 make moves of five or more spots: Kings Of Leon’s “Use Somebody” (35-25) and Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” (34-29). “Use Somebody” is the biggest mover in the Top 40 this week. It already hit #4 in 2009 and was one of the biggest hits of the calendar year. Many believe it has a great shot at being named Song of the Year by the Grammys. Maybe this is a last push to try to get that honor. The song has been on the Hot 100 for 49 weeks now, 19 more than the closes competitor “I Gotta Feeling”.

There are no other new songs in the Top 40 this week although Trey Songz re-enters at #40 with “Say Ahh” featuring Fabolous. 

My Top 10 Songs of 2009:
Shake Me Like A Monkey, Dave Matthews Band
My Life Would Suck Without You, Kelly Clarkson
Heartbreak On Vinyl, Blake Lewis
Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns
First Train Home, Imogen Heap
When Love Takes Over, David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
Trying, Eleventyseven
Just Say Yes, Snow Patrol
Hang On, Plumb
Middle Ground, Vertical Horizon

My iTunes picks of the week:
Breaking My Heart, Robert Pierre
Safe In Your Arms, Abandon
The Power Of Music, Kristine W
Ain’t Leavin’ Without You, Jaheim

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

As the clock struck midnight this New Year’s Eve, Nashville pop star Ke$ha appropriately topped the charts with “TiK ToK”. And she is there again this week with her first Top 40 hit. The 22-year old newcomer has hit the top before though. She was featured on Flo Rida’s chart topper “Right Round” from early last year. Ke$ha can also be found featured on Pitbull’s latest album and with songwriting credits on Miley Cyrus’ latest as well.

The year starts with two newcomers in the top two spots on the pop chart. Virgin Islands native Keidran Jones is at #2 this week. The young rapper goes by the name Iyaz and moves up from 4-2 this week with “Replay”. Iyaz is yet the latest artist to get his start on MySpace. His music was discovered by fellow Caribbean star Sean Kingston.

The #1 newcomer of 2009 was Lady GaGa and she holds at #3 this week with “Bad Romance”. The New York superstar had the #2 song of 2009 with “Poker Face” and the #3 song of the year with “Just Dance” featuring Colby O’Donis. She also had three other Top 10 hits in 2099 including her latest.

Keep the newcomer theme going at #4 this week. Owl City regains a bullet by moving from 5-4 with his former #1 hit “Fireflies”. The Minnesota star also re-enters the Hot 100 this week with “Vanilla Twilight”.

Two songs enter the Top 10 this week. One already had a nice run in the Top 10. MIley Cyrus leaps from 19-8 with “Party In The U.S.A.” The hit peaked at #2 this past fall. the 11-notch climb makes it the biggest mover in the Top 40 this week. It’s one of many songs to rebound nicely after the holiday season as once again music fans turn away from Christmas music and back to their mainstream favorites.

British hip hop star Jay Sean has the Top 10’s other new hit. He is up from 14-10 with “Do You Remember” featuring Sean Paul & Lil Jon. The 26-year old London native has now scored two American Top 10 hits. His first was “Down” which went all the way to #1 last year.

Three songs enter the Top 20. Two of which have been in the Top 20 before and two of which are by the #1 country artist of 2009. Leaping back into the Top 40 is 15-year old Canadian star Justin Bieber. He leaps from 47-17 with “One Time” which now has reached its highest peak. This is the first hit for Justin who also re-enters the Top 40 with his former #16 follow up “One Less Lonely Girl”. The song leaps from 60-30.

The other two new entries in the Top 20 are by Taylor Swift, the #1 country artist of 2009. Taylor also had the #5 song of the year with “Love Story”. This week she rebounds from 22-19 with “You Belong With Me” which hit #2 in 2009. And she reaches the Top 20 for the first time as a featured artist on Boys Like Girls’ “Two Is Better Than One” which moves from 23-20.

Four songs in the bottom half of the Top 40 make moves of five or more spots: Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” (30-25), New Boyz’ “Tie Me Down” featuring Ray J (31-26), Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova” (39-29) and Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West’s “Run This Town” (37-31).

In addition to Justin Bieber’s two hits, Colbie Caillat also rebounds back into the Top 40 this week with “Fallin’ For You” at #44. And there are two debuts this week. The first is from 24-year old singer/guitarist Orianthi at #36 with “According To You”. Orianthi was Michael Jackson’s final guitarist. And bowing at #39 is 17-year old Disney actor and singer Selena Gomez with her band The Scene with her first hit, “Naturally” at #39. 

My Top 10 Songs of 2009:
Shake Me Like A Monkey, Dave Matthews Band
My Life Would Suck Without You, Kelly Clarkson
Heartbreak On Vinyl, Blake Lewis
Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns
First Train Home, Imogen Heap
When Love Takes Over, David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
Trying, Eleventyseven
Just Say Yes, Snow Patrol
Hang On, Plumb
Middle Ground, Vertical Horizon

My iTunes picks of the week:
Fine Without You, Armin van Buuren
Belle Of The Boulevard, Dashboard Confessional
Hello Seattle, Owl City
Desperate, Fireflight

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

Rock-It! 12-27-09, Peas-GaGa-Swift Lead Top 100 of 2009

What an incredible year for the Black Eyed Peas. They set the rock era record for most consecutive weeks at #1 when “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling” sat the top for over five months in 2009. Their album, “The E.N.D.” ranks as one of the top ten albums of the year and they score the #1 song of 2009 with “Boom Boom Pow”. They also come in at #4 with “I Gotta Feeling”. For the Peas, it is their best end of the year showing since “Where Is The Love” finished in the Top 10 of 2003.

Sandwiched between the Black Eyed Peas’ hits, was the top newcomer of 2009. Lady GaGa has the #2 song of 2009 with “Poker Face” and the #3 song of the year with “Just Dance” featuring Colby O’Donis. She also placed at #35 with “LoveGame” and at #53 with “Paparazzi”. She was the #3 artist of the year finishing one notch ahead of the Black Eyed Peas. Her album, “The Fame” finished #8 of 2009. She sold more songs digitally than any other artist in 2009.

The #1 artist of 2009 was Taylor Swift who finishes with the #5 song of 2009, “Love Story”. That big smash also finishes as the #1 airplay hit of the year. Her album “Fearless” is the #1 album of 2009. Taylor Swift also finishes at #11 on the year end survey with “You Belong With Me” and at #76 with “White Horse”. She ranks as the #1 country artist of 2009 as well.

Flo Rida finishes with the #6 song of 2009 with “Right Round”. He ranked as the #3 male artist of the year behind Kanye West and T.I. The rapper also places as #58 with “Sugar” featuring Wynter. This is Flo Rida’s second straight year with a Top 10 year end hit. Last year it was his debut single “Low”.

Jason Mraz set a rock era record this year for longest run in the Hot 100 when he topped 70 weeks breaking Leann Rimes’ “How Do I Live” record. That great run is enough to make “I’m Yours” the #7 song of 2009.

The #2 artist of 2009 is Beyonce who also ranks as the #1 female artist of the decade. The superstar places at #8 with “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”. She also is in at #24 with “Halo”, #48 with “If I Were A Boy”, #66 with “Sweet Dreams” and #82 with “Diva”. Beyonce’s album “I Am...Sasha Fierce” is the #2 album of 2009 and she ranks as the #1 hip hop artist of the year.

The top male artist of 2009 is Kanye West. He has the 9th biggest song of 2009 with “Heartless”. He also is in at #31 with Jay-Z and Rihanna with “Run This Town”, #44 with “Love Lockdown” and featured on Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” at #15 and Drake’s “Forever” at #88. His album “808s & Heartbreaks” is the #7 album of 2009.

Rounding out the Top 10 is All-American Rejects with “Gives You Hell”. The song became the biggest hit of their career. They finish as the seventh biggest group of 2009.

The second biggest male artist of 2009 is T.I. He comes in at #12 on the year end survey with “Dead And Gone” featuring Justin Timberlake. T.I. also ranked as the top rapper of the year. He also places at #18 with “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna and #40 with “Whatever You Like”.

The Fray rank as the fourth best band of 2009 behind Black Eyed Peas, Nickelback and Kings Of Leon. They also place at #13 on the year end top songs with “You Found Me”. They come in at #100 as well with “Never Say Never”. That third best group, Kings Of Leon, are at #14 with “Use Somebody”.

Keri Hilson places as the third best newcomer behind Lady GaGa and Drake. She is at #15 with “Knock You Down” featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo. She is also in at #49 with “Turnin Me On” featuring Lil Wayne.

The #1 hip hop song of 2009 is “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain. It ranks as the 16th biggest song overall of the year. And Pitbull is in at #17 with “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”. He also is at #46 with “Hotel Room Service”.

Rounding out the Top 20 is “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” by Soulja Boy Tell ‘em featuring Sammie at #19 and “Down” by Jay Sean at #20. Soulja Boy Tell ‘em is also at #79 with “Turn My Swag On”.

Other points of interest on the year end Top 100:

Miley Cyrus places as the fourth best female artist of 2009 and has the #5 album of the year with “Hannah Montana: The Movie”. She has the 21st biggest song of the year with “The Clim” and the #29 song of the year with “Party In The U.S.A.”

Drake places as the second best newcomer of the year and the #2 rapper. He is at #22 on the year end songs chart with “Best I Ever Had” and at #88 with “Forever” featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem.

Kelly Clarkson is at #23 with “My Life Would Suck Without You”, #91 with “I Do Not Hook Up” and #95 with “Alread Gone”. Katy Perry is at #25 with “Hot N Cold” and #36 with “Waking Up In Vegas”.

Britney Spears has the sixth biggest album of 2009 with “Circus”. On the year end songs chart she places at #27 with the titled track as well as #39 with “Womanizer”, #74 with “If U Seek Amy” and #87 with “3”. Britney is the #5 female artist of 2009.

“Run This Town” by Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West is at #31. Jay-Z also places with Alicia Keys at #62 with the current #1 song, “Empire State Of Mind”. And Rihanna is also at #77 with “Disturbia”.

Lil Wayne is featured on multiple songs in the year end Top 100: Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock” at #32, Keri HIlson’s “Turnin Me On” at #49, Young Money’s “Ever Girl” at #69 and Drake’s “Forever” at #88.

Other artists with multiple songs in the Top 100 of 2009:
Pink: “Sober” (#38), “So What” (#45), “Please Don’t Leave Me” (#52)
Ne-Yo: “Mad” (#42), “Miss Independent” (#59)
Nickelback: “Gotta Be Somebody” (#51), “If Today Was Your Last Day” (#70)
Akon: “Beautiful” (#54), “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (#56)
Zac Brown Band: “Chicken Fried” (#81), “Whatever It Is” (#94) 

My Top 10 Songs of 2009:
Shake Me Like A Monkey, Dave Matthews Band
My Life Would Suck Without You, Kelly Clarkson
Heartbreak On Vinyl, Blake Lewis
Major Tom, Shiny Toy Guns
First Train Home, Imogen Heap
When Love Takes Over, David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
Trying, Eleventyseven
Just Say Yes, Snow Patrol
Hang On, Plumb
Middle Ground, Vertical Horizon

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

Rock-It! 12-13-09, Jay-Z's Has Keys To The Toop, Biggest Move Is Money

Jay-Z has been at #1 three times before, but never as a headlined artist. This week the 39-year old Brooklyn rapper holds at #1 for a fourth straight week with “Empire State Of Mind”. He is joined by fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys who as also been to #1 three times previous but unlike Jay-Z, she was the headliner. The run started in 2001 with “Fallin’”. She returned to the top in 2004 with “My Boo” with Usher and then again in 2007 with “No One”.

Lady GaGa made a huge move from 11-2 two weeks ago with “Bad Romance” and this week holds at that #2 spot. This is her fifth straight Top 10 hit to start her career. That includes two #1 hits, “Just Dance” featuring Colby O’Donis and “Poker Face”.

L.A. hip hop star Ke$ha is also closing in on another trip to #1. She was featured on Flo Rida’s chart topper “Right Round” earlier this year. Now she holds at #3 with “TiK ToK”, her first headlined Top 10 single.

Rapper Kiedran Jones continues to move up with his first Top 10 hit, “Replay”. This week Kiedran who goes by the name Iyaz moves up from 5-4 where he initially peaked three weeks ago.

French DJ David Guetta rebounds from 8-7 to match his highest career peak that he set two weeks ago with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon.

The bottom three spots of the Top 10 are occupied with singles with bullets this week. French DJ David Guetta slides from 7-8 with “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon. British rapper Jay Sean is up from 10-9 with “Down” featuring Liil Wayne. And American superstar Britney Spears slides from 9-10 with her former #1 smash “3”.

There is only one song in the bottom half of the Top 20 that achieves a bullet this week. It is the second Top 20 hit for British hip hop artist Jay Sean. He moves from 25-19 this week with “Do You Remember” featuring Sean Paul & Lil Jon. It is the follow up to his debut #1 smash “Down” featuring Lil Wayne which is at #10 this week.

The biggest mover in the Top 40 this week comes from Young Money Entertainment which is Lil Wayne featuring Drake, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda, Mack Maine and Lloyd. The group of hip hop stars rocket from 36-24 this week with “Bedrock” in their second week in the Top 40.

One other song makes a move of five or more spots in the Top 40 this week. That one is “Money To Blow” by Birdman featuring Lil Wayne & Drake which moves from 31-26.

There are two debuts in the Top 40 this week. Snoop Dogg scores his 11th Top 40 hit as a headliner and 17th overall with “Gangsta Luv” featuring The-Dream at #39. It is the first Top 40 hit for the 38-year old west coast hip hop superstar since reaching #7 early last year with “Sensual Seduction”.

Virginia R&B singer/songwriter Trey Songz just celebrated his 25th birthday over Thanksgiving and celebrates a little late with his second Top 40 hit, “Say Aah” featuring Fabolous at #40. His first chart single came in 2007 when he reached #14 with “Can’t Help But Wait”. 

My iTunes new picks of the week:
“You Are The Reason”, Shawn Starbuck
“Odd One”, Sick Puppies
“If We Ever Meet Again”, Timbaland featuring Katy Perry
“Breakeven”, The Script

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