Carly Rae Jepsen, Katy Perry and Chris Brown conquer the Charts

Carly Rae Jepsen just won’t settle down til everyone in American gives her a ring as her smash “Call Me Maybe” makes it 5 weeks in a row on top of the Billboard Hot 100. She fends off the usual challengers Maroon 5 and Katy Perry while David Guetta & Sia make the biggest move up from 9 to 7 with “Titanium”. We’ll see if any of them can stop her from holding at # 1 next week. However, a sleeper may stop her in the form of P!nk’s brand new single “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” which debuts on the Hot 100 at# 58 but is now featured on the front page of iTunes and has risen to # 2 on that sales chart. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the new top ten singles below.

Top Ten Singles on the 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. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 7)
6. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~ 5)
7. “Titanium”- David Guetta w/ Sia (lw~ 9)
8. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 7(
9. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~8) * sets the record for longest reign a song has spent in the top ten of the Hot 100 that debuted there with 21 weeks
10. “Scream”- Usher (lw~ 1)

Over on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, that douchebag unapologetic jerk Chris Brown grabs his second #1 album with Fortune. However, the collection sells only 134,000 copies, less that half of his last album to land at the top of the chart… Right behind him making a massive 21 to 2 move is Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream aided by the release of her concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me. That album also benefitted from a $.99 sale at Amazon.com last week on July 3rd where a ton of albums were sold at that discount price. Others benefitting from that sale were The Black Keys, Gotye and fun. who all return to the top ten. For more on that sale and all the numbers, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Fortune- Chris Brown (debut)
2. Teenage Dream- Katy Perry (last week~ 21)
3. Believe- Justin Bieber (lw~ 3)
4. Overexposed- Maroon 5 (lw~ 2)
5. Living Things- Linkin Park (lw~ 1)
6. Making Mirrors- Gotye (lw~ 31)
7. Some Nights- fun. (lw~ 27)
8. Welcome to the Fishbowl- Kenny Chesney (lw~ 6)
9. 21- Adele (lw~ 7)
10. El Camino- The Black Keys (lw~ 55)

And here’s the latest video from Katy Perry, featured on her Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection collection, for “Wide Awake”. Enjoy

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?

Brit Boy Band One Direction Beats out Adele on the Charts

It’s been like 15 years since the last boy band phenomena brought us the likes of Backstreet Boys, Nsync and 98 Degrees. However, it looks like boy bands are back with the success of British groups The Wanted and One Direction. The former is in the top five of the singles chart with “Glad You Came” while the latter makes history as the first British band to debut at # 1 on the Billboard Album Chart with their first album. With their record, Up All Night, landing in the top spot, the teen titans hold off Adele and her long running smash 21. The group is also set to do a North American tour in the spring and have a hit single flying up the charts with “What Makes You Beautiful”. So, it looks like these boys may be leading the boy-band re-invasion of the charts in 2012. For more on this chart, head to Billboard here and check out the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Up All Night- One Direction (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. Greatest Hits- Guns n’ Roses (lw~ 31) …. * it was specially priced at 25 cents at several digital retailers last week which caused the giant jump
4. Wrecking Ball- Bruce Springsteen (lw~ 1)
5. Passion: White Flag- Various Artists (debut)
6. Whitney: The Greatest Hits- Whitney Houston (lw~ 6)
7. Take Care- Drake (lw~ 7)
8. Now 41 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 3)
9. Making Mirrors- Gotye (lw~ 16)
10. Some Nights- fun. (lw~ 13)

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, The Wanted keep climbing (up one more to # 3), but that boy band will have to hold off an alterna-boy band named fun. who make it 3 weeks in a row at the summit with “We Are Young”. More competition coming in the future appears in the form of Flo Rida’s sixth top ten hit “Wild Ones” which bursts into the top ten this week. Take a look at the new top ten below and enjoy Flo Rida’s club banger as well.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 1) *3 weeks on top
2. “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”- Kelly Clarkson (lw~ 2) … formerly spent 3 weeks at # 1
3. “Glad You Came”- The Wanted (lw~ 4)
4. “Set Fire to the Rain”- Adele (lw~ 3) … formerly spent 2 weeks at # 1
5. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (lw~ 5)
6. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 9)
7. “Turn Me On”- David Guetta w/Nicki Minaj (lw~ 6)
8. “Take Care”- Drake w/Rihanna (lw~ 7)
9. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 12)
10. “Part of Me”- Katy Perry (lw~ 10) …. formerly spent 1 week at # 1

Flo Rida featuring Sia “Wild Ones”

My Top 5 Albums of 2011

I’m way behind on all my recaps for the year, but here’s a quickie to tide you over… Check out my top five albums of 2011… Now, I have to put a little asterisk on this list because like most pop music listeners, and ahem, teenagers, I am more of a singles buyer these days. It brings me back to my youth! And let’s be honest, most albums are just really good for a few songs. Rarely does a masterpiece that is brilliant from beginning to end happen anymore. But it sure did with the top-selling and critically acclaimed, soon to be Grammy winning, 21 by Adele. It’s pretty much perfect and it’s my fave of the year. Take a gander at the rest of my top 5 below (and some choice tracks from each album) and watch for more on the year in music to come.

My Top 5 Albums of 2011:

1. 21- Adele: basically every song was flawless, heart wrenching and beautiful. It already has yield two #1 singles “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” and “Set Fire to the Rain” just hit the top ten. Watch for this hit heavy record to continue to thrive in 2012. It’s also the biggest selling album in the US since 2004 as it nears 6 million copies sold.
Adele “Rumour Has It”

2. Stronger- Kelly Clarkson: this Grammy winning came back with a vengeance and arguably her strongest record to date. It features the top ten smash “Mr. Know It All” and the #1 country and AC duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Jason Aldean. Watch for several more smashes on the way. And damn does she have some soul for the girl next door.
Kelly Clarkson “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”

3. Lady Gaga- Born This Way: with the biggest sales week of the year at over 1 million units on its debut, Gaga’s third record was another smash. It yielded the hits “Born This Way” (# 1), “The Edge of Glory” (# 3), “You and I” (# 6), Judas (#10) and “Marry The Night” which just went top 40. It was more fabulous fancy fun dance pop from Gaga.
Lady Gaga “Hair”

4. Body Talk- Robyn: this Swedish dance chanteuse cranked out dance smash after smash from this album grabbing a Grammy nomination last year and two more this year. All the tracks are infectious and unique and it’s hard to pick just one favorite. She also is finally breaking through in the US, thank goodness!
Robyn “Call Your Girlfriend”

5. Nothing But the Beat- David Guetta (with various artists): this dance smash was a nonstop party with wonderful pairings from the French DJ and artists like Jennifer Hudson (the anthemic “Night of Your Life”), Jessie J, Will I Am, and Usher (the top five smash “Without You”). But the best was the brilliant and haunting “Titanium” with Sia.
“Titanium”- David Guetta w/Sia

So those are my favorites. What are yours? And who are you looking forward to in the next year. I don’t know about you, but I’m counting the days til the new releases from Madonna and Adam Lambert.

David Guetta & Sia “Titanium” ~ My Labor Day Jam

It’s Labor Day. I have the day off and I hope you do too! Over this long weekend, I’ve had one favorite song playing on repeat and it’s high time I shared it with you. You will love “Titanium” by French DJ extraordinaire David Guetta and Austrailian pop star Sia (best know in the U.S. as Christina Aguilera’s buddy on The Voice). There collaboration is an immediate contender for this year’s Best Dance Recording Grammy and is the standout track on Guetta’s fantastic new album, Nothing But the Beat, which is out now. Check it out below, and for more on Guetta and Sia’s track, head to www.davidguetta.com

David Guetta & Sia “Titanium”

Christina Aguilera WILL be a Golden Globe Nominee for Burlesque

Mark my words, Grammy winner Christina Aguilera will grab a Golden Globe nomination for her film debut Burlesque. Now, before you think the Globes are getting all Pia Zadora crazy again and you think I’ve had too much sugar this morning, let me clarify… Christina Aguilera will grab a Golden Globe nomination for her SONG “Bound to You” which she wrote for Burlesque. Yes, I’m very confident she’ll land in the Best Original Song category, much like other musical superstars have in the past. Previous nominees in the Best Song Globe category include Madonna (“I’ll Remember” from With Honors, “This Used to Be My Playground” from A League of Their Own, “Who’s that Girl” from Who’s that Girl, “Die Another Day” from Die Another Day, “Beautiful Stranger” from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), Beyonce (“Listen” from Dreamgirls, “Once in a Lifetime” from Cadillac Records), Janet Jackson (“Again” from Poetic Justice), and Miley Cyrus (“I Thought I Lost You” from Bolt) while Sting (“Until” from Kate and Leopold), Elton John (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King), Barbra Streisand (“Evergreen” from A Star is Born), Prince (“The Song of the Heart” from Happy Feet) and Bruce Springsteen (“Streets of Philadelphia” from Philadelphia) have all won in this category. And as a co-writer of the song, Christina should add her name to that list. In fact, another Burlesque song, “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me”, written by Diane Warren and performed by Cher is likely to grab a nomination as well. They’ll have some competition from songs from Tangled, Country Strong, 127 Hours and more, but the Globes love their divas and will want a big star presence with the addition of Aguilera and Cher.
On the other hand, I highly doubt Aguilera will land an acting nomination for the film in the Best Actress Musical or Comedy category which has drawn mixed critical reaction thus far. While Beyonce was nomm’d for Dreamgirls and Madonna won for Evita, it doesn’t look like Aguilera will be able to squeak into an already overcrowded category that should see noms for Annette Bening and Julianne Moore (The Kids are Alright), Gwyneth Paltrow (Country Strong), Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs), and Reese Witherspoon (How Do you Know?) while Sally Hawkins (Made in Dagenham) and Rachel McAdams (Morning Glory) are also in the race… So, Aguilera will have to be happy with her song in the running. And what a beautiful song it is, and Christina’s performance on it is simply extraordinary. For more proof, check out Xtina singing this gorgeous song she wrote with Australian chanteuse Sia on The Tonight Show last night. And watch for the Burlesque soundtrack in stores on Tuesday the 22nd and the film in theatres on Nov. 24.

Christina Aguilera performs “Bound to You” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Burlesque Sneak Peak~ Christina’s a “Good Girl”

The highly anticipated movie musical Burlesque starring Oscar winner Cher and in her big screen debut multiple Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera on November 24th and we keep getting more juicy tidbits about the film. You’ve seen the trailer and Christina’s wonderful take on Sam Cooke’s classic track “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” and now we have another clip, a performance of “But I’m a Good Girl” (first featured on Access Hollywood). I have to say this clip gives me a lot of hope that the film could be a success and stop all those pesky Glitter/Showgirls comparisons. If we focus on this number, the movie is looking more Chicago meets Cabaret and that’s a good thing. Take a look below and let me know your thoughts. And here’s the official track listing for the Burlesque soundtrack which hits stores on Nov. 22nd. Note it features two new songs by Cher including the Oscar ready power ballad “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” written by 6 time Oscar nominee and Grammy winner Diane Warren. There are several other songs the studio will be pushing for the Best Original Song Award as well including “Bound to You” written by Australian pop star Sia and Christina herself. For more on the film, click here and for more goodies, head to the Burlesque facebook page here.

Burlesque Official Soundtrack Tracklisting
01 Something’s Got A Hold On Me Christina Aguilera
02 Welcome To Burlesque Cher
03 Tough Lover Christina Aguilera
04 But I Am A Good Girl Christina Aguilera
05 Guy What Takes His Time Christina Aguilera
06 Express Christina Aguilera
07 You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me Cher
08 Bound To You Christina Aguilera
09 Show Me How You Burlesque Christina Aguilera
10 The Beautiful People (from Burlesque) Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera “But I’m a Good Girl” from Burlesque