You Better “Believe” Justin Bieber is Back at # 1

It’s a little unsettling that Justin Bieber captures his 5th # 1 album this week on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart and he’s only 19 years old… I mean what were you doing when you were 19? Probably not achieving global domination but the Biebs just keeps chugging along with his latest smash Believe: Acoustic. I mean he even hits the top with an album of re-worked material! He also holds off new debuts by Andrea Bocelli, Tegan & Sara and Charlie Wilson. Also making a nice debut this week is the 7th place finisher from American Idol last season, Colton Dixon with his Contemporary Christian album A Messenger at # 15 … Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for more on Biebs chart accomplishments this week.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Believe: Acoustic- Justin Bieber (debut)
2. Passione- Andrea Bocelli (debut)
3. Heartthrob- Tegan and Sara (debut)
4. Love, Charlie- Charlie Wilson (debut)
5. Pitch Perfect soundtrack (last week~ 3)
6. Unorthodox Jukebox- Bruno Mars (lw~8)
7. Babel- Mumford & Sons (lw~ 6)
8. Set You Free- Gary Allan (lw~ 1)
9. The Lumineers- The Lumineers (lw~ 2)
10. Red- Taylor Swift (lw~ 9)

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis make it three weeks on top with “Thrift Shop”. They may have some new competition in the weeks ahead as two new songs enter the top-tier with Pink’s “Try” at #9 (her 13th top ten hit!) and “Sweet Nothing” by Calvin Harris and Florence Welch. We will see how all the songs hold up in the wake of Sunday’s Grammy Awards which always gives the chart a big shakeup. In the meantime, check out all your favorite genre charts at Billboard and take a gander at the biggest hits in the land below.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Thrift Shop”- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (lw~ 1)
2. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 2)
3. “Scream & Shout”- Will.I.Am w/Britney Spears (lw~ 5)
4. “Ho Hey”- The Lumineers (lw~ 3)
5. “I Knew You Were Trouble”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 4)
6. “Don’t You Worry Child”- Swedish House Mafia w/John Martin (lw~ 6)
7. “Beauty and a Beat”- Justin Bieber w/Nicki Minaj (lw~ 7)
8. “F##kin Problems”- A$AP Rocky w/Kendrick Lamar, Drake & 2 Chainz (lw~ 10)
9. “Try” – P!nk (lw~ 11)
10. “Sweet Nothing”- Calvin Harris w/ Florence Welch (lw~ 14)

And here’s Calvin Harris with his second top ten single and Florence Welch’s first top ten hit, “Sweet Nothing”

Adele and Gotye are Music’s Biggest Sellers in 2012

Adele ruled the Album Charts throughout 2011 and again in 2012 with her massive smash 21. According to Billboard, she sold another 4.41 million again to have the top-selling album of the year for two years running (and over 10 million to date). The Grammy winning singer held off Taylor Swift and two albums by boy band One Direction not to mention five country albums in the top ten. Take a look at the top sellers of the year below.

Top Selling Albums of 2012:
1. 21- Adele (4.41 million)
2. Red- Taylor Swift (3.11 million)
3. Up All Night- One Direction (1.62 million)
4. Babel- Mumford & Sons (1.46 million)
5. Take Me Home- One Direction (1.34 million)
6. Believe- Justin Bieber (1.34 million)
7. Blown Away- Carrie Underwood (1.2 million)
8. Tailgates & Tanlines- Luke Bryan (1.1 million)
9. Tuskegee- Lionel Richie (1.07 million)
10. Night Train- Jason Aldean (1.04 million)

As for the top-selling digital singles of the year, newcomer Gotye was one of five new artists to land in the year-end top ten. Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know” was the big winner selling 6.8 million to lead over fellow newbie Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” with 6.4 million. The other new artists in the top ten were Psy, One Direction and fun. who grabbed two spots in the final list (as did Maroon 5). Take a look at the biggest selling singles of the year below and head to Billboard here for more info on all the year-end charts and sales figures.

Top Ten Selling Singles of 2012:
1. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (6.8 million)
2. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (6.47 million)
3. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (5.95 million)
4. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/Wiz Khalifa (4.76 million)
5. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (3. 98 million)
6. “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction (3.89 million)
7. “Some Nights”- fun. (3.84 million)
8. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”- Kelly Clarkson (3. 82 million)
9. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (3.59 million)
10. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (3.46 million)

And here’s the biggest selling single of 2012 by Gotye.

Bieber Wins Big but P!nk Steals the Show at the American Music Awards

Teen sensation Justin Bieber may have been the big winner at last night’s American Music Awards taking home 3 trophies, but the true victor from the show was P!nk with an astounding performance of her new single “Try”. In fact, pretty much everything from the show was a bit forgettable when compared with P!nk’s gorgeous moving and intense performance. With that said, take a look at my rankings of all the performances below. And can we please stop with all the lip synching? It was an atrocious lip synched mess for like 70% of the “singers” last night! .. As for the winners, a rather annoying Bieber took home Artist of the Year, Male Artist and Pop Album and he really needs to learn how to make an acceptance speech and get a sense of humor. A sense of humor would also help Taylor Swift, a winner for Country female, whose fake humility and incredibly irritating persona is grating on mine and a lot of other people’s nerves (and don’t get me started on that horrible performance)… Other big winners included Nicki Minaj with two awards and one apiece for Carrie Underwood, Rihanna, Adele, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Usher, Beyonce and Best New Artist Carly Rae Jepsen… For more on my take on the show and the winners, check out my twitter feed from last night here. (Yes, I live twatted the whole show!)…. And take a gander at all the winners below.

2012 American Music Award Winners:

Artist of the year: Justin Bieber
New artist of the year: Carly Rae Jepsen
Pop/rock female artist: Katy Perry
Pop/rock male artist: Justin Bieber
Pop/rock band, duo or group: Maroon 5
Pop/rock album: Justin Bieber, Believe
Country female artist: Taylor Swift
Country male artist: Luke Bryan
Country band, duo or group: Lady Antebellum
Country album: Carrie Underwood, Blown Away
Rap/hip-hop artist: Nicki Minaj
Rap/hip-hop album: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Soul/R&B female artist: Beyonce
Soul/R&B male artist: Usher
Soul/R&B album: Rihanna, Talk That Talk
Alternative rock artist: Linkin Park
Adult contemporary artist: Adele
Latin artist: Shakira
Contemporary inspirational artist: tobyMac
Electronic dance music artist: David Guetta

Ranking the AMA Performances~

1. P!nk “Try”: this performance was simply stunning as P!nk married lyrical contemporary choreography and gorgeous emotional vocals to perfection in a duo with dancer Colt Prattes. It really defies words. Take a look below. Amazing. Grade: A+
2. Kelly Clarkson “Miss Independent/Since U Been Gone/Stronger/Catch My Breath”: with arguably the best vocal of the night, Clarkson paid homage to her American Idol roots and gave a flawless and fantastically fun performance. Now, that is how you sing LIVE people! Grade: A
3. Stevie Wonder “Dick Clark Tribute”: there’s a reason he’s a legend people and he proved it again… and he werrrrrked some serious purple to boot! Grade: A-
4. Linkin Park “Burn It Down”: giving you early 2000′s realness and a rocking good time, Linkin Park brought intense energy and precision to their industrial rap rock fusion hit. Grade: A-
5. No Doubt “Looking Hot”: they’ve still go it! Gwen is definitely still hot. Adrian is still crazy and Tony still looks stoned. Grade: B+
6. Carrie Underwood “Two Black Cadillacs”: despite a little pitchy start, Underwood nailed the rest of her delightfully dark and dramatic single. Grade: B+
7. Psy with Hammer “Gangnam Style/2 Legit 2 Quit”: there is no escaping the Korean Macarena and you know you loved it when Hammer showed up for a mashup of these dance hits… However, billing Hammer as an “international superstar” was a big much AMA’s… It’s not 1991. I’m just saying…. Grade: B
8. Justin Bieber “As Long As You Love Me”: I don’t know about you but I was shocked at how good and surprisingly authentic this acoustic performance was. It was easily the best thing I’ve ever seen him do. Grade: B
9. The Wanted “I Found You”: the hotter British boy band (sorry One Direction) actually sang live for most of the song and I’m kinda sucker for their rocking Ibiza dance party vibe. Grade: B
10. Christina Aguilera “Lotus/Army of Me/Let There Be Love”: Ok, the lip synched “Lotus” beginning was bad, but the let your freak fly positivity message was great. Plus she can wail like no other. It was just a bit of too much overall though. Grade: B-
11. Pitbull “Don’t Stop the Party: Ptibull is a fantastic performer and this generic but incredibly infectious song got everyone on their feet. However, did you really need to lip synch too Pit? Um, you’re rapping! Automatic point deduction. Grade: C+
12. Usher “Numb/Cant Stop Wont Stop/Medley”: it was a half sung/half lip synched vogueing laser show with a treadmill! He literally threw in everything but the kitchen sink. Grade: C+
13. Ke$ha “Die Young”: It was Game of Thrones meets Day of the Dead with a touch of Stomp at a gay circuit party. Oh, and another lip synched, but it was fun. Grade: C
14. Carly Rae Jepsen “This Kiss/Call Me Maybe”: it was fun but forgetful and this girl really needs to learn how to lip synch for her life. Grade: C-
15. Justin Bieber w/Nicki Minaj “Beauty and a Beat”: it was a second-rate wannabe NSYNC number, that was lip synced to boot. And Bieber looked rather tired. He is no JT people! Grade: C-
16. Nicki Minaj “Freedom”: here’s something I never thought I’d say about a Nicki Minaj performance~ that was BORING. Seriously boring and lip synched to boot. I had more fun staring at her Staypuff Marshmellow man meets Mariah Carey Christmas costume outfit. Grade: D+
17. Taylor Swift “I Knew You Were Trouble”: this was atrocious! It was a lip synched crapfest that stole from everyone including Madonna (“Vogue” at the VMAs), the Backstreet Boys (the “Everybody” video), Annie Lennox (the “Walking on Broken Glass” video) not to mention Gaga and Rihanna and more. Just belch. And Taylor would you please admit you’re not a country artist for once? That song is total pop meets dub step. Grade: D-
18. Swiss Beatz/douchebag Chris Brown/Ludacris performance: in a word, AWFUL. Grade: F

To end on a positive note, here are my two favorite performances. Enjoy the astounding P!nk and the fabulous Kelly Clarkson.

P!nk “Try” live at the AMA’s

Kelly Clarkson Medley live at the AMA‘s

Jason Aldean Rides the “Train” to the Top

Country superstar Jason Aldean grabs his first # 1 Album on the Billboard 200 and his 3rd Country Album chart topper as his latest, Night Train, sells a big 409,000 copies in its debut. That’s the second biggest debut week this year behind Mumford & Sons and ahead of P!nk, Madonna and Justin Bieber. Aldean should relish his success because he and everyone else is bound to be trounced by Taylor Swift‘s new one next week… In the meantime, Aldean holds off debuts from Brandy, Scotty McCreery, and Jamey Johnson. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for more.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Night Train- Jason Aldean (debut)
2. Babel- Mumford & Sons (last week~ 1)
3. Two Eleven- Brandy (debut)
4. Christmas with Scotty McCreery- Scotty McCreery (debut)
5. Living for a Song…- Jamey Johnson (debut)
6. The Truth about Love- P!nk (lw~8)
7. Kaleidoscope Dream- Miguel (lw~ 11)
8. Tornado- Little Big Town (lw~ 14)
9. 21- Adele (lw~ 15)
10. Metalocolypse: Deathalbum II- Dethklok

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Maroon 5 makes it six weeks on top with “One More Night” keeping Psy at bay yet again. Will he ever make it to the top? It’s looking less and less likely especially with hot new tracks from Ke$ha, Rihanna and NeYo making serious gains… We’ll see. For now, take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for all the charts.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~ 1)
2. “Gangam Style”- Psy (lw~ 2)
3. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 4)
4. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 5)
5. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~8)
6. “As Long as You Love Me”- Justin Bieber & Big Sean (lw~ 6)
7. “Too Close”- Alex Clare (lw~ 7)
8. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 11)
9. “Let Me Love You (Until You Love Yourself)”- Ne Yo (lw~ 12)
10. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”- P!nk (lw~ 9)

And heres’ Ne Yo’s brand new to ten single “Let Me Love You”. Enjoy~

The American Music Award Nominations go Pop with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj Leading the Way

This year’s American Music Award nominations were controlled by several big pop artists this year with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj leading the way. Those ladies landed 4 bids apiece while Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Usher, Drake and One Direction each grabbed 3 nods. Two of my favorite ladies, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, picked up two nominations each as well. Take a look at all of this year’s contenders below and be sure to watch the show with performances by a ton of superstars including Christina Aguilera November 18th on ABC.

2012 American Music Award Nominations~

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Rihanna

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber, “Believe”
Maroon 5, “Overexposed”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
One Direction, “Up All Night”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Luke Bryan, “Tailgates & Tanlines”
Lionel Richie, “Tuskegee”
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole, “Cole World: The Sideline Story”
Drake, “Take Care”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown, “Fortune”
Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”
Usher, “Looking 4 Myself”

FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train

FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex

Mumford & Sons, No Doubt and Green Day storm the Charts

Despite two giant 90′s bands making an assault on the charts, recent Grammy winning folk rockers Mumford & Sons defeat the competition to the top of this week’s Billboard 200 Albums chart with their second release Babel. The group also nails down the biggest debut of 2012 with a giant 600,000 copies sold. (That debut beats 2012 releases from Justin Bieber, Madonna and Pink by the way.) Landing just behind Mumford are Green Day with Uno at # 2 and No Doubt with their fantastic new record Push and Shove at # 3. The other debuts in the top ten this week come from dance artist Deadmau5 and rapper Lupe Fiasco.… Take a look at the new top ten below and for more on this chart, head to Billboard here.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Babel- Mumford & Sons (debut)
2. Uno- Green Day (debut)
3. Push and Shove- No Doubt (debut)
4. The Truth About Love- P!nk (last week~ 1)
5. Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Part 1- Lupe Fiasco (debut)
6. album title goes here- deadmau5 (debut)
7. Cruel Summer- Various Artists (lw~ 2)
8. Away from the World- Dave Matthews Band (lw~ 4)
9. Tornado- Little Big Town (lw~ 5)
10. Battle Born- The Killers (lw~ 3)

And here’s the new single from No Doubt, “Looking Hot” and it’s hot indeed!

Over on the Hot 100 Singles chart, Maroon 5 fends off the fad of 2012, Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” to hold on to # 1 with “One More Night”. The rest of the top ten consists of holdovers save for a big debut from Taylor Swift’s official next single “Begin Again” which premieres at # 7. This one is much more country than her previous track, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” which tanked at country radio but has become a big pop hit (um, cuz there’s nothing country about that song). We’ll see if “Begin” can become a hit in both formats in the weeks ahead but for now it has a great sales week debut…. Take a gander at the new top ten below and for more on all the charts, head to Billboard here.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (last week~ 1) * 3 weeks on top
2. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (lw~ 2)
3. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 3)
4. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 4)
5. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”- P!nk (lw~ 5)
6. “As Long As You Love Me”- Justin Bieber w/ Big Sean (lw~ 7)
7. “Begin Again”- Taylor Swift (debut)
8. “Whistle”- Flo Rida (lw~ 6)
9. “Too Close”- Alex Clare (lw~9)
10. “Good Time”- Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen (lw~8)

P!nk and Psy Storm the Charts!

Grammy winning pop/rock singing sensation P!nk nabs her first # 1 album on the Billboard 200 this week as her brilliant new set, The Truth About Love (my album grade: A), debuts on top with a big 280,000 copies sold. That’s the third biggest debut week of the year following Madonna and Justin Bieber. Well done P!nk! The singer holds off several other debuts including the rap collection Cruel Summer led by Kanye West plus the latest from the Killers, the Ben Folds Five, rockers Grizzly Bear and the debut from pop starlet Carly Rae Jepsen. For more on P!nk’s album chart history and all the charts, head to Billboard here and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. The Truth About Love- P!nk (debut)
2. Cruel Summer- Various Artists (debut)
3. Battle Born- The Killers (debut)
4. Away from the World- The Dave Matthews Band (last week~ 1)
5. Tornado- Little Big Town (lw~ 2)
6. Kiss- Carly Rae Jepsen (debut)
7. Shields- Grizzly Bear (debut)
8. Tempest- Bob Dylan (lw~ 3)
9. The Carpenter- Avett Brothers (lw~ 4)
10. The Sound of the Life of the Mind- Ben Folds Five (debut)

Here’s a treat for you~ P!nk’s upcoming single “Try” from her # 1 album, The Truth About Love. It debuts on the Hot 100 this week and will be pushed as a single at the end of October. I LOVE IT!
P!nk “Try”

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, P!nk is also doing well with her latest “Blow Me (One Las Kiss)”. However, she has a challenge to move past Maroon 5‘s “One More Night” to get to the top, not to mention Kpop sensation Psy who vaults up from # 11 to # 2 with his incredibly catchy fad single “Gangnam Style”. We’ll see which of these artists hit the top next week. In the meantime, check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (last week~ 1)
2. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (lw~ 11)
3. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 3)
4. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 2)
5. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”- P!nk (lw~ 5)
6. “Whistle”- Flo Rida (lw~ 4)
7. “As Long as You Love Me”- Justin Bieber w/Big Sean (lw~ 6)
8. “Good Time”- Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen (lw~ 9)
9. “Too Close”- Alex Clare (lw~8)
10. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 7)

And here it is, the dance sensation that is taking over the nation~ “Gangnam Style” by Psy.

Rick Ross, Carly Rae Jepsen and Phillip Phillips make Big Moves on the Charts

Rapper Rick Ross lands his fourth # 1 album on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart with his new one God Forgives, I Don’t selling 218,000 copies. One other new album hits the top ten as Joss Stone lands her fourth top ten record with The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 at # 10. Aside from the usual suspects hanging out in the upper regions of the chart like Maroon 5, Justin Bieber and Adele, pop music icons the Bee Gees fly into the top five with Number Ones which benefitted from special low pricing on Amazon.com. For more info on these numbers, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. God Forgives I Don’t- Rick Ross (debut)
2. Uncaged- Zac Brown Band (last week~ 1)
3. Believe- Justin Bieber (lw~ 6)
4. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 7)
5. Number ones- Bee Gees (RE-Entry)
6. Life is Good- Nas (lw~ 6)
7. Kidz Bop 22 (lw~ 5)
8. 21- Adele (lw~ 9)
9. Overexposed- Maroon 5 (lw~ 10)
10. The Soul Sessions Vol. 2- Joss Stone (debut)

Over on the Hot 100, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” holds at # 1 for the ninth week in a row making it the longest running chart topper of 2012. Jepsen breaks the tie with Gotye who ruled for eight weeks before she hit the top. We’ll see if anyone can break her streak but Ellie Goulding and Flo Rida are still climbing, so we’ll see…. One dark horse for the top spot next week is American Idol winner Phillip Phillips coronation song “Home” which flies up from 84 – 9 landing it a new peak position. The song has been getting a ton of exposure during the Olympics gymnastics coverage and clearly is winning a lot of new non-Idol fans. I also have to begrudgingly admit that I like the song. While I wasn’t a fan of Phillips on Idol, I am happy he has a hit with this song further proving the only singing competition on TV that can consistently produce hit makers is truly American Idol…. For more on this chart, head to Billboard and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1) * 9 weeks on top
2. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 5)
3. “Whistle”- Flo Rida (lw~ 4)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 2)
5. “Payphone” – Maroon 5 w/Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 2)
6. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (lw~ 6)
7. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~ 7)
8. “Titanium”- David Guetta w/Sia (lw~8)
9. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 84)
10. “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)”- P!nk (lw~ 10)

And begrudginly, I’m gonna share with you the brand new video for the song I have finally decided I kinda like….
Phillip Phillips “Home”

Sesame Street does “Call Me Maybe”

So, the “Call Me Maybe” spoof craze has gotten a little out of hand. As I posted a few weeks back, everyone from Justin Bieber to President Obama has done (or been the subject) of a parody video of the # 1 song in the country, the inescapably delightful “Call Me Maybe” by Canadian newcomer Carly Rae Jepsen. Now, another one has surfaced and this time, it’s from the good people of Sesame Street. Of course, their take on the song has a good message so I had to share it. Check it out below and, besides, who doesn’t love a little Cookie Monster for your afternoon blahs?

Sesame Street “Share It Maybe”

Linkin Park and Carly Rae Jepsen make Fireworks on the 4th of July Charts

Yesterday was a national holiday as we celebrated the anniversary of our country’s independence on the 4th of July, and two music artists were certainly celebrating as Linkin Park and Carly Rae Jepsen ruled the charts….
On the Billboard 200 Album charts, Linkin Park nabbed their 3rd #1 album with Living Things debuting on top and holding off the latest from Maroon 5, Overexposed, by a very slim 1000 copies. Also debuting in the top ten were new releases from R. Kelly and the Maybach Music Group (whatever that is, lol)… Meanwhile, last week’s leader, Justin Bieber, took a big hit in his second week with a 69% drop. For more on the album charts, head to Billboard here and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Living Things- Linkin Park (debut)
2. Overexposed- Maroon 5 (debut)
3. Believe- Justin Bieber (last week~ 1)
4. Maybach Music Group Presents- Various Artists (debut)
5. Write Me Back- R. Kelly (debut)
6. Welcome to the Fishbowl- Kenny Chesney (lw~ 2)
7. 21- Adele (lw~ 7)
8. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~8)
9. Looking 4 Myself- Usher (lw~ 6)
10. Rock of Ages Soundtrack- Various Artists (lw~ 5)

Over on the Hot 100, Carly Rae Jepsen makes it 4 in a row on top with “Call Me Maybe”. The rest of the top ten is completely stagnant except for David Guetta and Sia charging in at # 9 with their awesome new hit “Titanium”. Perhaps they can stop Carly’s reign on top… Or maybe, it will be Carly herself as her new single with Owl City, “Good Time” makes a giant debut at # 20 on the Hot 100. We will see… For more on all the singles charts, head here and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1)
2. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 2)
3. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/ Kimbra ( lw~ 3)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~ 5)
6. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 6)
7. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 7)
8. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~8)
9. “Titanium”- David Guetta w/ Sia (lw~ 12)
10. “Scream”- Usher (lw~ 10)

And here’s Carly Rae Jepsen’s new single with Owl City, “Good Time”… Do you think it could hit the top?