Chart Watch

  • [Photo: John Shearer/WireImage]The sophomore slump is real. Just ask such short-lived phenomena as Vanilla Ice and Men at Work. But it certainly hasn't affected Adele, whose sophomore album 21 logs its 21th week at #1 on The Billboard 200. That puts the album in a tie with M.C. Hammer's 1990 album Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em for the longest run at #1 by any artist's sophomore album.

    Sixteen sophomore releases have logged seven or more weeks at #1 since The Billboard 200 became a weekly feature in 1956. It's easy to see why so many sophomore albums have done so well. Having an album under their belts, the artists are warmed up. Their creative juices are flowing. They know what they're doing in the studio, but still have a lot to prove.

    Read More »

  • Madonna-2-15-12Just 10 days have passed since Madonna's Super Bowl performance, but it seems long ago. We've since absorbed the shock of Whitney Houston's death and the impact of Adele's coronation at the Grammys. "Give Me All Your Luvin'," which Madonna performed with guests Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. in her half-time show, jumps from #13 to #10 in its second week on the Hot 100. This is Madonna's first top 10 hit since "4 Minutes" (featuring Justin Timberlake) ended an 11-week run in June 2008.

    This nearly four-year gap between top 10 hits is the longest dry spell of Madonna's career. Her previous longest gap between top 10 hits came between her James Bond theme "Die Another Day," which peaked at #8 in November 2002, and her dance hit "Hung Up," which peaked at #7 in December 2005.

    Read More »

  • [Photo:Kevin Winter/Getty Images]Adele's 21 tops The Billboard 200 for the 20th week. This enables it to tie Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack as the longest-running #1 album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard in 1991. That is a remarkable coincidence, since Houston died on Saturday, just one day before the end of this tracking week.

    This is the seventh consecutive week at #1 for 21. It's the first album to log seven straight weeks at #1 since Taylor Swift's Fearless three years ago.

    The album sold 88K digital copies this week, which pushes its digital total over the 2 million mark. It's the first album to sell 2 million digital copies. (The first album to sell 1 million was Eminem's Recovery, just last July.)

    Read More »

  • [Photo: Tony Barson/WireImage]A total of 22 Whitney Houston hits appear on the top 200 Hot Digital Songs chart in the wake of her death.  Her iconic version of "I Will Always Love You," which was sung by Jennifer Hudson on the Grammys on Sunday, was Houston's top song in the wake of her death (as it was in her lifetime). It ranks #3 for the week. In addition, six Houston albums re-enter The Billboard 200. Her top-ranking title is her 2000 compilation The Greatest Hits, which bows at #6.

    By comparison, Michael Jackson charted with 49 songs and 14 albums in the week after his death in June 2009 (counting his work with the Jackson 5). But Jackson died on a Thursday, so he had three full days to ring up sales. (Nielsen SoundScan's tracking week ends Sunday night.) Houston died on a Saturday, so she had just one full day to ring up sales.

    Read More »

  • (photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)It's strange, but somehow fitting, that Whitney Houston died the day before the Grammy Awards. Houston was, for many years, a Grammy queen. In February 1986, when Houston was just 22, she sang her #1 hit "Saving All My Love For You" on the telecast, and moments later won her first Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. (The presenter was her cousin Dionne Warwick, which undoubtedly made the moment all the sweeter for her.)

    Read More »

  • Close your eyes and you'd swear it was 1987. Madonna has the top new entry on this week's Hot 100 with "Give Me All Your Luvin," which she performed at the Super Bowl with Nicki Minaj and the irrepressible M.I.A. And five Michael Jackson songs enter the Hot 100, albeit in their Glee cover versions from last week's MJ salute. The highest-ranking is "Smooth Criminal," which pops on at #26.

    "Give Me All Your Luvin'" sold 115K copies, which allows it to enter Hot Digital Songs at #7. That's not bad considering it had just three days to amass sales. But it's not great either, given that about 1,000 times that many people watched Madonna perform the song at the Super Bowl. In truth, we may need a few weeks to see if this is going to make it in a big way or not.

    Read More »

  • Three weeks after making one of the most disparaged musical performances in Saturday Night Live history, Lana Del Rey enters The Billboard 200 at #2 with her first full-length album, Born To Die. The album does even better in the U.K., where it opens at #1.

    Del Rey performed two songs on SNL on Jan. 14. Brian Williams, the anchor of NBC Nightly News, called Del Rey's performance "one of the worst outings in SNL history." (Remember when they covered actual news on the news?) On Saturday, Kristen Wiig parodied Del Rey on a Weekend Update sketch.

    Sometimes, controversies and setbacks strengthen the bond between an artist and their strongest supporters. It will be interesting to see what happens next in this drama.

    Read More »

  • Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" leaps from #8 to #2 in its sixth week on the Hot 100. Clarkson has a pretty good promotional gig lined up this weekend, which may help boost the song to #1 next week: Clarkson is singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. This marks the first time in eight years that an artist has had a hit in the top 10 on the eve of singing the National Anthem at that biggest of all TV events. This last happened in 2004 when Beyonce was #5, on her way to #4, with "Me, Myself And I." It also happened in 1991, when Whitney Houston was #8, on her way to #1, with "All The Man That I Need."

    Read More »

  • Hundreds of contestants have walked across the American Idol stage, but only five have amassed three or more top 10 albums on The Billboard 200. Of these five, Kellie Pickler holds a unique distinction. She finished further back in the pack (sixth place in Season 5) than any other Idol contestant who has scored three or more top 10 albums. (Pickler lands her third top 10 album this week as her third album, 100 Proof, debuts at #7.)

    Kelly Clarkson, the Season 1 winner, and Clay Aiken, who finished second in Season 2, have each notched five top 10 albums. Two other artists have amassed three top 10 albums: Carrie Underwood, the Season 4 winner; and Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth in Season 5.

    Read More »

  • Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" jumps from #21 to #8 in its fifth week on the Hot 100. It's Clarkson's 10th top 10 hit, which is more, by far, than any other contestant that has ever walked across the American Idol stage. In fact, it's more than the next two contestants (in terms of their top 10 tallies) combined. Carrie Underwood has had four top 10 hits. Jordin Sparks has had three. And both of their top 10 tallies include a collabo. Underwood teamed with Randy Travis on a remake of Travis' "I Told You So." Sparks teamed with Chris Brown on "No Air."  By contrast, Clarkson has achieved every one of her 10 top 10 hits on her own.

    For you Idol geeks, the list continues with Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard and Daughtry, each with two top 10 hits; and Fantasia, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, David Archuleta and Adam Lambert, each with one.

    Read More »

Pagination

  1. 18
  2. 19
  3. 20
  4. 21
  5. 22
(587 Stories)

News for You

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • NYPD investigating actress Bynes allegations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

Show More

TOP VIDEOS

  1. Can't Hold Us
    1.
    Can't Hold Us
    Macklemore & Ryan … | Warner
  2. 2.
    Just Give Me A Reason
    P!nk, (f/ Nate Ruess …
  3. 3.
    Mirrors
    Justin Timberlake
  4. 4.
    When I Was Your Man
    Bruno Mars
  5. 5.
    Stay
    Rihanna, (f/ Mikky E …
  6. 6.
    Cruise
    Florida Georgia Line
  7. 7.
    Come & Get It
    Selena Gomez
  8. 8.
    Radioactive
    Imagine Dragons
  9. 9.
    I Love It
    Icona Pop
  10. 10.
    Get Lucky (Official Audio)
    Daft Punk, (f/ Pharr …