Chart Watch
  • Josh Groban has yet to score a top 40 hit on the Hot 100, but that hasn’t held him back in album sales. This week, he lands his third #1 album on The Billboard 200 with All That Echoes. He’s only the second solo artist in chart history to land three or more #1 albums before landing a top 40 single. He follows Garth Brooks, who had amassed seven #1 albums before he finally cracked the top 40 in 1999 with “Lost In You.” (The artist billing, you may remember, was Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines.)

    Two groups—both hard rock bands—have, like Groban, amassed three or more #1 albums without yet scoring a top 40 hit. Disturbed has amassed four #1 albums. Godsmack has had three.

    Read More »from Week Ending Feb. 10, 2013. Albums: Josh Groban–No Hits? No Problem
  • “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz holds at #1 for the third week. It’s #1 on Hot Digital Songs for the fourth week. Impressively, the song’s sales have increased in each of those four weeks, from 236K to 279K in its first week at #1, then to 341K, then to 357K, and now to 381K. It’s the first song in the nine-year history of the Hot Digital Songs chart to post a sales increase in each of its first four weeks at #1.

    The genial song about bargain-hunting has a shot at another sales record. This is the fourth time the song’s weekly sales have topped 300K. (It first reached that mark in the week that included Christmas). The song may match fun’s record for the most weeks above 300K in weekly sales. “We Are Young” (featuring Janelle Monae) topped that mark seven times.

    “Thrift Shop” holds at #1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the fourth week. This is the longest run at #1 on the R&B chart for a song by a white artist since Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U” spent 11 weeks on top in 2007. The song is #1 on Hot Rap Songs for the fifth week.

    Needless to say, it’s the best-selling song so far this year. It will probably be up for a Grammy for Record of the Year at next year’s ceremony.

    Two more songs by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis debut this week. “Can’t Hold Us” opens at #97. “Same Love” bows at #99.

    Read More »from Week Ending Feb. 3, 2013. Songs: “Thrift Shop” Sets Digital Record
  • Justin Bieber this week becomes the first artist in chart history to land five #1 albums or EPs while still in his teens. The 18-year old achieves the feat as Believe Acoustic enters The Billboard 200 at #1. The album follows My World 2.0, the EP Never Say Never: The Remixes, Under The Mistletoe and Believe.

    Miley Cyrus landed four #1 albums while still in her teens (counting Hannah Montana albums). She scored with Hannah Montana, Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus, Breakout and the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, all by age 16. In third place is Britney Spears, who landed three #1 albums while still in her teens. She scored with …Baby One More Time, Oops!...I Did It Again and Britney, all by age 19.

    Read More »from Week Ending Feb. 3, 2013. Albums: Bieber Sets Teen Record
  • There was a day when you wouldn’t see “the F word” in the title of a top 10 hit. Times change. “F**kin Problems” by A$AP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar jumps from #15 to #10 in its 13th week on the Hot 100. It’s the third top 10 hit in two years with the once-taboo word in its title. P!nk’s “F**kin’ Perfect” peaked at #2 in February 2011. Cee-Lo Green’s “F**k You!” spent four weeks at #2 the following month.

    Two other song titles on this week’s Hot 100 will offend those with tender sensibilities. “Bad Ass” by Kid Ink featuring Meek Mill & Wale debuts at #90. Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” re-enters the chart at #98.

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 27, 2013. Songs: Another F**kin’ Top 10 Hit
  • Gary Allan’s Set You Free enters The Billboard 200 at #1. It’s the country star’s first #1 album. Set You Free also enters Top Country Albums at #1, ending Taylor Swift’s 13-week lock on the top spot. This is the second time that a Swift album has been knocked off the top of the country chart by a star who is much less famous than she is. Fearless was bounced from #1 in February 2009 by Dierks Bentley’s Feel That Fire.

    Allan, 45, is far from an overnight success. He first cracked the pop and country album charts in 1996 with Used Heart For Sale. Set You Free is his fifth top five album on The Billboard 200, following Tough All Over (#3 in 2005), Greatest Hits (#5 in 2007), Living Hard (#3 in 2007) and Get Off On The Pain (#5 in 2010). It’s his third #1 on Top Country Albums, following Tough All Over and Greatest Hits.

    Allan’s “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)” jumps to #1 on this week’s Hot Country Songs chart. It's Allan's first #1 country hit since 2004’s “Nothing On But The Radio.”

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 27, 2013. Albums: Gary Allan Bumps Off Swift
  • “Suit & Tie” by Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z vaults from #84 to #4 in its second week on the Hot 100. The song sold 315K copies in its first week, a good, but not great, total. Many songs have gotten off to faster starts, including Flo Rida’s “Right Round,” which sold 636K in its first week in February 2009; Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” which sold 623K in its first week in August; and—and this is the one that will probably be hardest for Timberlake to take—Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend,” which sold 521K in its first week in April.

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 20, 2013. Songs: Timberlake Loses Battle Of The Justins
  • A$AP Rocky’s debut album, Long.Live.A$AP, enters The Billboard 200 at #1. It’s the first debut album to top the chart since 2 Chainz’s solo debut Based On A T.R.U. Story opened at #1 in August. 2 Chainz is featured on A$AP’s hit single “Fu**in’ Problems,” along with Drake and Kendrick Lamar. (Drake also reached #1 with his first full-length album, Thank Me Later.)

    Long.Live.A$AP sold 96K digital copies (out of 139K total), which puts it at #1 on Top Digital Albums.

    “Fu**in’ Problems,” which has sold 854K digital copies, broke into the top 20 on last week’s Hot 100. It is vying to become the third top 10 hit on Billboard’s flagship chart with “the F word” in the title, following Cee Lo Green’s “F**k You (Forget You)” and P!nk’s “Fu**in’ Perfect.” Those songs both reached #2.

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 20, 2013. Albums: He Hit #1 A$AP
  • In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, here are 25 songs that touch on civil rights and race relations. This is not meant to be a complete list, but it’s a good cross-section of artists, styles and themes.

    Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit,” 1939. “Southern trees bear a strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots.” That’s the opening of this haunting ballad, which deals with the horrors of lynchings, which were not-so-distant history in 1939. The song was banned by some radio networks as too controversial.

    Read More »from Chart Watch Extra: 25 Songs For MLK Day
  • “Suit & Tie” by Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z enters the Hot 100 at #84, based on just two days of airplay (and no sales activity). It’s likely to vault into the top five next week. It will probably debut at #1 on Hot Digital Songs, with first-week sales in the 330K range.

    It’s will become Timberlake’s 20th top 10 hit on the Hot 100 (counting *NSYNC hits); Jay-Z’s 19th. Jay-Z first hit the Hot 100 in April 1996 with “Ain’t No Nigga,” featuring Foxy Brown. Timberlake first charted with *NSYNC in March 1998 with “I Want You Back.”

    This is the first single from Timberlake’s third solo album, The 20/20 Experience, which is expected to be released in March. Timberlake’s 2002 solo debut album, Justified, reached #2 on The Billboard 200 and spawned two top 10 hits. His 2006 sophomore album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, spent two weeks at #1 and spawned four top 10 hits, three of them #1s.

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 13, 2013. Songs: “Suit And Tie” Is Off & Running
  • Chris Tomlin’s Burning Lights enters The Billboard 200 at #1. Tomlin, 40, is a worship leader at Passion City Church in Atlanta. Tomlin isn’t the first artist who has a leadership role in a church to climb high on the chart. Marvin Sapp, the founder and senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, located in Grand Rapids, Mich., debuted and peaked at #2 in March 2010 with Here I Am.

    Burning Lights is Tomlin’s 12th album; his second to make the top 10. Hello Love hit #9 in September 2008. Tomlin won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for his 2010 album And If Our God Is For Us… He has won 17 Dove Awards (the top honor in the Christian music field).

    Read More »from Week Ending Jan. 13, 2013. Albums: The Worship Leader At #1

Pagination

(585 Stories)

News for You

  • NYers furious over photos taken through windows

    NEW YORK (AP) — In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap.

  • Germans blame euro zone crisis for Eurovision debacle

    BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans lamented their unexpectedly poor showing at the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel's tough stance in the euro zone crisis for their failure to win any points from 34 of the 39 countries voting. Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won the event, watched by around 125 million people across Europe, with 281 points while German act Cascada was 21st out of 26 countries, getting just 18 points from Austria, Israel, Spain, Albania and Switzerland. ...

  • Dior presents cruise fashions amid stars in Monaco

    MONACO (AP) — The glittering star power of Cannes migrated up the coast to Monaco for front-row seats at Dior's colorful, sexy cruise fashion show.

  • Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune "Only Teardrops," despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

  • Native American actress proud to walk Cannes red carpet

    By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Native American actress Misty Upham never dreamt she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation. Upham features in "Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian", focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his psychoanalyst. Upham said like Picard, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, she is Blackfeet, the largest tribe in Montana state. ...

  • Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

TOP VIDEOS

  1. Can't Hold Us
    1.Macklemore & Ryan … | Warner
  2. 2.P!nk, (f/ Nate Ruess …
  3. 3.Justin Timberlake
  4. 5.Rihanna, (f/ Mikky E …
  5. 6.Selena Gomez
  6. 7.Macklemore & Ryan …
  7. 8.Imagine Dragons
  8. 9.Icona Pop
  9. 10.Florida Georgia Line