Sunday, August 31, 2014

Album Review: Maroon 5's "V" Has Hits, But Is It One Itself?


I'd pretty much consider myself a Maroon 5 guru -- I've purchased every studio album of theirs, have several CD singles, their live album and have seen them live in concert twice --, and a major fan as well, but Maroon 5's 5th disc, V, takes a little bit longer to digest. While being backed by a string of successful singles  ("Maps", "It Was Always You" and "Animals"), most other tracks included on the album don't feel like your typical Maroon 5 songs. Even with that being said, the new record isn't their worst one (I'd say that 2010's Hands All Over is narrowly their worst), and does have at least two to three more faired sized hits in addition to "Animals", "Maps" and "It Was Always You" ("Sugar", "Unkiss Me" and "My Heart Is Open").

Lead single "Maps" kicks off the party in a really odd, yet friendly fashion. While previous hits by Maroon 5 seem to focus on all parts of the band (bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, and vocals), "Maps" sees lead singer Adam Levine in the driver seat, with the rest of the band being almost entirely replaced by extremely sugary, pop beats. However, as live performances will reveal, the rest of the band's members do have prominent roles sprinkled throughout the song. Regardless, "Maps" wound up at #1 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, a position it held for 5 consecutive weeks.

And to those of you "Maroon 5 superfans" that say "Maps" is terrible compared to songs on their prior albums (Songs About Jane, It Won't Be Soon Before Long, Hands All Over): all bands need to change in order to stay solid. You shouldn't complain that their new material sounds overly pop, because if they did stick to just their original rock sound, you'd be complaining that they haven't changed enough. You can't call yourself a fan of Maroon 5 if you criticize them for changing; its what all artists do.

 
While "Maps" definitely helps make V a massive success, "It Was Always You" is easily the best track on the disc, as well as one of the group's most inventive songs of their career. Not only does it toy with electronic pop elements in a way that has never been done on any Maroon 5 song, it experiments with sounds and pops that help make it extremely unique. Additionally, the vocal work and radio friendly backing beat make it one of group's stronger efforts in recent years. It also topped the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, staying for the 3 weeks directly following the reign of "Maps". In total, Maroon 5 has topped the list for 8 weeks during this album cycle (they topped for 6 during the Overexposed album cycle).

"Animals", which I struggled with enjoying upon first listen, seemed to have the most support from fans to be the album's second single (over "It Was Always You") when it dropped last weekend. It quickly reached #2 on the United States iTunes Store (behind only Taylor Swift's massively successful "Shake It Off") and held well in sales, even with the car company KIA giving out over 200,000 free downloads of the song to anyone who wanted one in the United States. Thanks to the track becoming a quick favorite (among most), it was announced on August 25th (three days after it first premiered) that the track would be serviced to United States pop radio later that day as the album's second official single. While I believe that decision to be a bit stupid (as I was much more in favor of the group releasing "It Was Always You"), the song itself is still pretty solid.

Built around a high energy, funky, bass beat, "Animals" sounds like a radio winner for the group -- even if it takes a while to warm up.

Other highlights include "Sugar", "My Heart Is Open (feat. Gwen Stefani)", "Unkiss Me" and "Coming Back For You". Among those, "My Heart Is Open (feat. Gwen Stefani)" is clearly the most likely to become a hit single, with "Unkiss Me" and "Sugar" also having a good shot. Even though "My Heart Is Open (feat. Gwen Stefani)" is bound to be a hit, the 4th and 5th best songs (after "It Was Always You", "Maps" and "Animals") have to be "Unkiss Me" and "Sugar".

"Sugar" is one of my favorites mainly because its sexy, it's explicit and it clearly has some single potential. "Unkiss Me" is more of a classic Maroon 5 song, mellow but piercing, familiar yet fresh.

Update: As most of you know, "Animals" was selected as the album's 2nd single. According to listings on several online retailers and other sources, "Unkiss Me" will be serviced to radio as the album's 3rd official single. At this point, it's unlikely that we'll get an announcement about a 4th single until either the end of this year or early next year. Remember this hasn't been confirmed, but it appears that Maroon 5 is fully backing "Unkiss Me" as the next single.

Update 2: Maroon 5 will not be releasing "Unkiss Me" as the album's 3rd official single. Instead, "Sugar" will be serviced to radio as the third single after the promotion for "Animals" concludes. In an interview, the band announced that they've already made some progress in the planning of the video for "Sugar" as well.

Overview: Maroon 5's V appears to lack any sort of theme, but multiple re-listens will show just how well the songs mesh together. Almost every sort of style that Maroon 5 has ever done appears in someway or another, whether it be in the form of piercing vocals, or plucked strings, everything is there. It's basically a greatest hits filled with completely new material.

Now, I'll admit that there are some noticeable low points (the deluxe bonus tracks except "Sex and Candy", "New Love" and "Feelings"), and some marginal lyrics: "Show me that phone in your pocket" ("In Your Pocket"; this is not the proper way to call out your lover for cheating), but the album is still one of their most solid efforts to date. There's several other songs that have strong single potential, and even some tracks that'll miss radio and still become fan favorites. By no means has Maroon 5 lost touch; they're expanding their style while trying to stay true to their original sound.
    
86/100
(B+)

Pick of the Day: Salt Ashes' "If You Let Me Go"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

Another Englander is ready to take over the world! Following Karen Harding, E.N.V, and a handful of others, Salt Ashes has landed in the spotlight. While her new song "If You Let Me Go" isn't her first ever effort, it's her first to gain a massive amount of support.

Built around a tingling synth base, "If You Let Me Go" sounds like a track straight out of the '90s dance scene. It's a perfect throwback, feeling both inspired and fresh. It's bound to become a massive success.

Listen to "If You Let Me Go" right below!

What are your thoughts on "If You Let Me Go"? Is Salt Ashes ready to take over the world? Let me know below! Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Pick of the Day: Blonde Makes A Splash With "I Loved You"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

After releasing a string of several successful singles, Blonde, a Bristol based production duo, is finally back with a brand new release titled "I Loved You". The track is the third major label single from the group, after "Foolish" and "Higher Ground", which were both released onto iTunes in early 2014. The new track was premiered exclusively on Mistajam's BBC Radio 1 show on August 28th. The track will be featured on Blonde's forthcoming 3rd studio album, due out later this year via FFRR Records.

Extensively sampling Canadian singer Tamia's 2004 single "More" (from the album of the same name), the track is essentially a deep house re-branding of the original R&B single for modern day audiences. It's a massive overhaul that'll easily appeal to the masses.

What are your thoughts on "I Loved You"? Was Tamia's 2004 single "More" used the right way in this track? Let me know below! Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!

Album Review: FKA twigs Shines On "LP1"


"No one else can make electropop tracks sound this graceful and dirty at the same time"

Tahliah Barnett, professionally known as FKA twigs, is known for her odd fashion sense and more importantly her odd musical style. Her work, which has been dubbed R&B/pop meets electronic, has received massive critical acclaim from nearly every mainstream critic that's heard it. But does that also mean that FKA twigs appeals to the average person? Yes and no. The average person doesn't even know a thing about her, with only 10,000 people purchasing LP1 in the United States in its first week of release, but then again, almost everyone who did buy her album has given it a positive review.

So what about FKA twigs is really appealing? She's able to produce absolutely crazy electronic songs and contribute her own vocals to the projects as well. She's really got it all the components needed to dominate the industry, something few artists have. When have you heard of a singer that produces, writes and sings on all of their tracks and is also a trained dancer? Honestly, that's impressive.

LP1 is riddled with hits, all of which spew out filthy, sex related lyrics. On the biggest standout of them all (as well as the album's lead off single), "Two Weeks", twigs shifts her vocals in and out alongside pulsing synths and extremely raunchy lyrics about how she'll be better in bed than the subject's previous lover within two weeks. FKA twigs sings: "Higher than motherf***er, dreaming of you as my lover/Flying like a streamer thinking of new ways to do each other/Pull out of the incisor give me two weeks, you won't recongnize her/Mouth open you're high".

On other highlights ("Lights On", "Pendulum" and "Video Girl"), twigs further experiments with beats inspired by the jungle, the orient, the future and much more, while delivering a vocal performance unlike any you've ever heard.


Overview: While LP1 isn't flawless (nor do its songs hold up as well individually), the 10 song project has a little bit of everything. As a collection, LP1 is one of the most straightforward efforts of the year, with lyrically coherent tracks, brilliant production and a theme that seems to stick together throughout the majority of the songs. While only one track sounds like it could even have a shot at making radio ("Two Weeks"), LP1 is one of the most consumer friendly releases in quite a while. You can literally listen to the whole 10 song set (without pauses) and be impressed again and again. FKA twigs created this work to sound like a body, focusing on all aspects, instead of making several pieces look amazing in a field of filler (like most artists do). It's easily one of my 5 favorite albums of the year and could easily become one of my top 10 favorite albums by the time the end of the year rolls around.
95/100
(A+)

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Pick of the Day: VÉRITÉ's "Weekend"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

American singer VÉRITÉ has gone from little known musician to world class musician thanks to her song "Strange Enough" which got critics everywhere talking. Since the release of the song, she's developed a strong fan base and received critical and commercial acclaim for her vocal work.

After just a month of promoting "Strange Enough" (which was eventually able to reach the CDS Music Chart Hot 50's top 10), VÉRITÉ has already moved on to a brand new single. Her new release, titled "Weekend", has already generated much buzz for being both adventurous and for containing straight forward pop hooks, a notable departure from her alternatively based debut. Still, her dramatic and melancholy sound on "Weekend" will easily draw comparisons to other alternative pop artists like Florence + The Machine, and Lana Del Rey.

The indie pop sensation explained the song in a brief interview with Idolator: "Conceptually it came from a snapshot of a scenario. An old friend of mine lived on this quiet, dead end residential street with bright florescent lights. I had the image of us falling down in the stillness of the scene. From the first line, the song winds up being an ode to the nostalgia of how, despite how sick we were or how insane things get, we can take moments from the craziest times and glorify them as absolutely perfect." 

In a similar interview, the singer/songwriter elaborated further on the track: "..."Weekend" winds up sitting in a weird place for me, caught between the exhilaration of 'you could bring me to life' and the reality that we were only fooling ourselves into thinking we were alive while we distract ourselves from reality."

Listen to VÉRITÉ's "Weekend" below and download the song for free through the artist's official Facebook page.

Album Review: Ariana Grande's "My Everything" Turns On Variety... A Little Too Much?


Ariana Grande first soared onto the music scene with "The Way (feat. Mac Miller)", a catchy yet heavily sample driven rhythmic pop production. She rapidly accumulated fans by the hundreds of thousands and began working very hard on what would eventually become her first studio album, Yours Truly, which saw release in August of 2013. About 4 months later, Grande returned with a digital only Christmas inspired EP, Christmas Kisses, which received instantaneous critical acclaim. Similar critical acclaim came in April 2014 with the release of Grande's never before heard new single, "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)".

When "Problem" debuted on the Hot 100 with sales of 438,000 (the year's biggest debut thus far), Grande had solidified her status as a pop diva and stripped away any remaining Nickelodeon threads. She was shining and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Unfortunately for Grande, not all of My Everything really seems up to par with "Problem" and "The Way". Sure it shows more maturity and a lot more variety, but it doesn't seem to encompass one true body or theme. It's a bit too scattered. "Problem" was not a good representation of anything else on the album at all.


Relying on the strength of co-headliners like Iggy Azalea, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, and Zedd, My Everything falls a bit flat when it comes to solo performances. I mean why include "Bang Bang" if you're in the backseat the entire time? An additional slew of unneeded track samples further downgrade the quality of the album as a whole. What's the point of including a sample of Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out" on "Break Your Heart Right Back (feat. Childish Gambino)" if its going to get hidden in the backbeat? It makes the younger generation confused and the older generation disgusted.

With that being said, there are some distinct highlights on My Everything. "One Last Time" (probably my favorite track other than the singles) blends the right amount of dance vibes and pop vibes, while supplying vocals that aren't too candy coated nor overly dull.

Among the other highlights are "Break Free (feat. Zedd)" (which was released as the album's second single), "Love Me Harder (feat. The Weeknd)" and of course "Bang Bang". Unfortunately, that short list of about 4-5 songs is composed nearly entirely of tracks that feature help from other artists, bringing several questions to mind. Most notably: Was this album rush released and filled with as many cheap collaborations as possible to distract us from the fact that Ariana hadn't actually grown that much 12 months? I'm betting on a yes.

I guess I should have known something was up when I wasn't impressed with the "Break Free" video:

"While the rest of Ariana Grande's music videos are far from perfect, the music video for "Break Free" borders on the edge of utter ridiculousness -- her worst video to date. The inspirations behind it -- original Star Trek episodes, space dominatrixes, Katy Perry's "E.T." video, Star Wars, etc. -- would normally all work together to create a strong final product, but the lack of originality and an interesting story line, combined with the fact that nearly everything in the entire video was developed on a green screen, make for a really uncomfortable and downright stupid video.

I understand that you can't actually shoot a project in space, but it feels like they spent too much time on Grande's appearance rather than the sets and plot itself. Okay, yes, she looks cute but then again when has she not?

Despite critical opinions popping up all across the internet, most of America has embraced the video for "Break Free" with open arms -- Ariantors have made sure of it. Once again, a terrible video will help propel a decent song to success. We needed another one of those."

I guess the same thing can be applied to the album. It has solid material, yet it also has some songs that sound like they were strung together randomly.


Overview: While My Everything is far from terrible, it lacks uniform and has a lazy overall structure. The over used samples and overly promoted collaborations make for an album that feels just a bit rushed. There are some notable and worthy highlights on the album ("Problem", "Break Free", "One Last Time", "Love Me Harder" and "Bang Bang"), but everything seems to lie on the shoulders of the collaborators, which is the exact opposite of what happened on her last album. Overall, the individual themes on My Everything are all pretty much clear, but when they're combined together, everything seems a lot hazier and the overall theme feels distant. There's too much going on. There's lots of pop, lots of r&b, lots of rap, lots of EDM and a lot of filler. It's solid, but at the same time its not.

Rating 71/100
(C-)

Monday, August 25, 2014

Vote For Your Favorites of the Week (Week 18)!

Hot New Track This Week:

"Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)"
Eminem
Release: August 25th

Thoughts: Eminem has an impeccable sense of creativity, and an outstanding and dedicated fan-base, making him one of the few artists that fall into both of those categories. His new release, "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" comes less than a year after "Berzerk", the lead off single from his 2x platinum selling The Marshall Mathers LP 2, and previews an new upcoming album called SHADY XV. The new album will be released on November 28th (Black Friday) and commemorates Slim Shady's 15 years in the music business. "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" could debut at #1 come the end of the week. We'll see.

Now you be the judge. Does "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" have what it takes to debut on the Hot 50? If yes, vote it up, if no, vote down.

Last Week's Outcome: "Happy Little Pill" didn't reach the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, but you can still vote for it on the Social Songs 100 component chart.

New Entries:
- "Say Something" by Karen Harding
- "Animals" by Maroon 5
- "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" by Eminem
- "Your Love (feat. Little Nikki)" by E.N.V.

Note: The final positions of the songs at the end of the week is equivalent to the Social Songs 100 chart. This is only accounts for approximately 1/3 of all points entered into the Hot 50 weekly issue.

Hey guys! There have been some concerns and questions on voting for your favorite tracks every week. To make things a whole lot easier, you can now vote songs up and down the list. At the end of the week, the points will be calculated and the ranker will be reset for the next week! All votes count! Don't see your favorite song? Feel free to leave a comment and I will add it! I will be updating the ranker from time to time as new tracks become available!

Welcome to the 18th week of voting! Your votes help determine the top songs on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. Please note that only the top 10 most approved tracks will receive bonus points toward their scores on the upcoming chart. Make sure you share this to get your favorite tracks into the top 10. If this gets 250 voters and/or 5,000 votes by the end of Friday, each track in the top 10 will get 2x the regular votes and #11-20 on the list will get the score that the top 10 usually gets.

Lists on Ranker

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Eminem Announces New Single; Album Titled "SHADY XV"


Coming off a massively successful era that spawned 3 Top 20 singles on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, including the #1 single "The Monster (feat. Rihanna)" and the top 10 smash "Berzerk", Eminem has announced a new era. The veteran rapper's 9th studio LP, SHADY XV, will be released on Black Friday (November 28th) and will be preceded by the release of lead single, "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" on August 25th.

Marking the 15 year anniversary of Eminem's career in the music business, the new album is set to have an interesting release. Due to Nielsen Soundscan's album tracking week beginning on Monday and ending on Sunday, SHADY XV will only have 3 days to accumulate sales during its first week (opposed to 6 or 7 for a typical release), which leads me to believe that there's a twist involved. It's highly likely that SHADY XV's performance plays out like Beyonce's self titled surprise 5th studio album, which went into a digital only release and sold over 600,000 copies between Friday-Sunday (300,000 of those came within the set's first three hours of availability).

Additionally, SHADY XV will easily benefit from dropping on the largest shopping day of the year. If the album isn't a digital exclusive, something tells me that Amazon or Target will either carry a special version or have extremely slashed prices... or both.

Will SHADY XV play out like Beyonce's self titled surprise 5th studio album or like Lady Gaga's Born This Way, or is there something else we don't yet know about?

Make sure to watch the 31st annual Video Music Awards live on MTV tonight at 9/8c, as Eminem has announced that there's going to be a surprise coming.
Also, Eminem's latest single, "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)", has a chance at debuting at #1 on the forthcoming chart. For those of you who haven't seen the updates, Maroon 5's "It Was Always You" tallied a third week atop the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 last week, and is likely to relinquish its throne by the time the new tracking period ends on Friday night. Stay tuned for more news about "Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)" after it drops tonight on iTunes.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Pick of the Day: Karen Harding Debuts With "Say Something"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

Karen Harding, a forthcoming United Kingdom based artist, has jolted the music world with the sudden release of her MNEK produced single, "Say Something". Other than being extremely catchy, "Say Something" has been lighting up music blogs for being one of the most interesting deep house releases of the year. Karen Harding has single handedly separated herself from the rest of the deep house pack thanks to her outstanding vocal work that's reminiscent of Whitney Houston.

Despite coming out with an astonishing product, the song was almost didn't come to life. Speaking about the creation of the song:

"...He [MNEK] got in touch with me and invited me down to London for a session that was due to start at 4pm. But when I was halfway down on the train, he called to cancel as something had come up. I told him "you can't cancel on me, I'm on my way!" So we only had 2 hours, but 'Say Something' came out of that session..."

"Say Something" sounds like an instant hit to me, and should be able to muster a decent run on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. It has classic R&B sounds as well as UK inspired deep house beats, both of which are successful ingredients by themselves. Imagine how they'd do together. Listen below.

What are your thoughts on "Say Something"? Also, remember to pre-order the track on iTunes UK here. "Say Something" drops on October 26th! Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!

Friday, August 22, 2014

#1 Watch: Will Maroon 5's "Animals" Debut Atop the Hot 50 Next Week?


After being unveiled (in part) as the official theme song for the new 2015 Kia Soul, Maroon 5's latest single "Animals" could have a roaring debut on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, when it drops in full next week. Keep reading to see if "Animals" has a shot at the summit.

Maroon 5, as most long time readers know, has tallied a massive 5 #1 singles on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, which ties Rihanna for the record for the most #1 singles for any artist. The fact that they've accomplished that many in such a short time span coupled with fact that 4 of these #1's came as two pairs (meaning that Maroon 5 replaced themselves at #1 twice), leads me to believe that "Animals" has a big chance at getting to #1.

Additionally, Overexposed granted them 3 consecutive #1 singles, and with 2 consecutive #1's from V already, it's entirely possible that "Animals" continues that pattern and becomes the third consecutive #1 single from V.

But if it will debut at #1 or not is still hard to figure out. So far, only one Maroon 5 single has actually debuted at #1 ("Payphone"), with 3 of the other 4 reaching #1 in their 2nd week on the Hot 50 and "One More Night" reaching the top after about two months on the chart.

Here's A List of All of Maroon 5's Top Singles (Peak-Name-Date-Weeks At Peak)
#1 - "Maps" - July 10th, 2014 - 5 Weeks At #1
#1 - "Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)" - April 19th, 2012 - 4 Weeks At #1
#1 - "It Was Always You" - August 7th, 2014 - 2 Weeks At #1
#1 - "Love Somebody" - September 20th, 2012 - 1 Week At #1
#1 - "One More Night" - September 13th, 2012 - 1 Week At #1
#3 - "Lucky Strike" - September 27th, 2012 - 1 Week At #3
#5 - "Doin Dirt" - March 14th, 2013 - 1 Week At #5
#5 - "Daylight" - April 11th, 2013 - 1 Week At #5
#5 - "Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)" - January 12th, 2012 - 1 Week At #5

So, no it's not likely that "Animals" will debut in the top spot, but based on Maroon 5's track record, it's possible that it winds up at #1 sometime in its run. With that being said, the premiere of the song at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night could help it score a bigger than expected opening.  More on that when Sunday rolls around.

Come back for more posts!

Pick of the Day: "Pretend" by Tinashe & A$AP Rocky


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

After scoring a runaway hit with her single "2 On (feat. SchoolBoy Q)", Tinashe is finally back with a brand new single to precede the release of her forthcoming debut album, Aquarius (due out October 7th). The new track, "Pretend (feat. A$AP Rocky)" was premiered earlier on Friday morning and will be released on iTunes alongside the pre-order of Aquarius.

The down tempo tune explores Tinashe singing with a lot less auto tune and an extremely minimal backing beat (when compared directly with "2 On") and shows a different side to the singer. The rap verse from A$AP Rocky is also a lot calmer, which makes for an interesting twist as well.

Despite this, it seems a little bit too average to become another breakout hit. I'm expecting "Pretend (feat. A$AP Rocky)" to completely miss the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, though it could potentially become a Bubbling Under hit (#51-60). Listen to "Pretend" through Soundcloud below.

What are your thoughts on "Pretend (feat. A$AP Rocky)"? Let me know below and don't forget to pre-order Aquarius on iTunes now (due out October 21st). Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Hot 50 Forecast: Bebe Rexha, Taylor Swift & Charli XCX Battle For Top Debut


With half the week already gone, it's time to take a moment to look at which stars are heating up the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 with brand new entries. I'll also cover some movers and shakers.

Biggest Debuts

Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off"
With the surprise announcement on Monday that "Shake It Off" would be the first single from Taylor Swift's upcoming 5th studio album (1989), the track quickly flew onto the building Hot 50 chart at #35. Just hours later (alongside the official iTunes release of the song), the track had already leaped 19 positions to #16 and looked to post the largest opening of any song this week. Further fueling its  fire was the Social Songs 100, where it quickly reached #2, behind only Bebe Rexha's latest release, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You". Thanks to a highly successful campaign among Taylor Swift fans online, "Shake It Off" eventually topped the Social Songs 100 around mid day Tuesday.

Thanks to the release of the track's video, the song received a one time bonus of 5 additional chart points, per the rules about songs with videos. Additionally, the track entered the Radio Songs chart at #38 on Monday night, quickly jumping to #9 on Tuesday. With a massive presence on all components, "Shake It Off" outpaced every other new track, and was just days away from claiming the biggest debut of the week.

However, that all changed come Wednesday afternoon. By 11 A.M. Wednesday, "Shake It Off" had dipped 16-24 on the Streaming Songs chart (the most critical of all component charts), and 9-16 on Radio Songs, though it firmly held the top spot on the Social Songs 100 ahead of "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" and previous chart topper "Bang Bang".

At this point, "Shake It Off" has lowered so much, that the other two new entries headed for Hot 50 debuts -- Bebe Rexha's "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" and Charli XCX's "Break The Rules" -- could actually debut above it. Keep reading to learn more.


Bebe Rexha - "I Can't Stop Drinking About You"
After the release of the track's music video last week, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" began adding a small amount of points (thanks to a #45 debut on Streaming Songs), but ultimately fell short of the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 last week. However, the track's addition to the Social Songs 100 at the top of this week caused a massive frenzy online. Thanks to continuous votes, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" instantly reached #1 on the Social Songs 100, and commanded said component list for about 1.5 days before dipping to the runner up position. A #25 rank on the Streaming Songs list by Monday night further pushed its cumulative points upward.

Unfortunately, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" ultimately lost control of the summit on the Social Songs 100, and quickly fell victim to a massive downpour of negative votes thanks to unnecessary spam. With "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" being the prime beating bag for Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift fans alike (because its the highest ranked competitor for those groups other then themselves), it's bound to drop even more by the end of the week. While I'm still expecting it to be in the top 10 on the Social Songs 100 when the final whistle blows, it's guaranteed to be on the fringe.

As for the Hot 50 itself, the track will debut, but how high has yet to be determined.


Charli XCX - "Break The Rules"
I've got to admit, Charli XCX has been a bit of a surpriser. She's landed 3 top 20 singles since her 2013 debut, including a #1 with Icona Pop ("I Love It") and her 'fancy' collaboration with Iggy Azalea and she is almost guaranteed to land a fourth...possibly this week.

Debuting at #11 on the Streaming Songs 100 and #5 on the Social Songs 100 upon release, "Break The Rules" quickly became one of the biggest openers on the respective charts. Unfortunately, its rank on the Social Songs 100 slowly deteriorated and its likely to drop out of the top 20 on that chart by the end of the week. That leaves only points earned on the Streaming Songs chart, but its high holding rank on that chart will likely translate to a decent debut. In fact, I'm expecting "Break The Rules" to claim the largest opening for a song this week.

Top Debuts (Estimates)
1. "Break The Rules" by Charli XCX
2. "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift
3. "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" by Bebe Rexha

Biggest Climbers

Based on mid week numbers, Ella Henderson's "Glow" could rocket to the top 10 after a top 40 start last week, and Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" (which dropped 29-40 last week) could reach the top 10 as well thanks to a massive rise on the Social Songs 100 (where it'll likely crown thanks to a continual rise), a debut on Radio Songs and a massive uptick on the Streaming Songs chart. Additionally, it'll receive a one time bonus of 5 additional chart points due to its video premiere (which of course broke the Vevo record).

Come back for the chart highlights and Hot 50 chart soon!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Taylor Swift Debut's "Shake It Off": Review and Analysis


Note: I am not affiliated with Billboard in any way, though I'll occasionally make sales and chart placement predictions (you can find one for "Shake It Off" below). On the other hand, I create a personal chart based around my favorite tracks (the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, the focus of this blog). You can learn more about that by clicking here.

Overview
While Earl Sweatshirt might not be so into "Shake It Off", pretty much everyone else across the globe can't stop "shaking" to Taylor Swift's latest instant hit. With the announcement on August 18th that Swift would be dropping her 5th studio (and first completely POP) album, 1989, on October 27th, the singer's lead single "Shake It Off" was quickly uploaded to iTunes and Youtube. While it didn't instantly reach #1 on iTunes charts (mainly because most fans had a hard time locating it, and because iTunes temporarily stopped updating due to a massive wave of Swifties bombarding their servers), it eventually landed at the surface of the iTunes Top 200 in 12 countries before Monday was all said and done. By mid-morning Tuesday, the track was announced to be the most downloaded track of the day internationally and eventually wound up at #1 in 3 dozen countries (36 for those that aren't quite ready for school to re-start).

But let's back track a second... being #1 on any given country's iTunes Store doesn't necessarily mean that you have the #1 song in that country. In most countries (like the US for example), the most popular songs are determined by a precise formula that usually combines Streams, Radio Airplay, and Digital Sales. For example, Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" was the most downloaded track in the United States last week, but only ranked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to lagging airplay and streams. On my personal chart, dubbed the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, I use a similar method (combination of plays through my music library, fan voting through Ranker, and plays from whatever I hear on the radio). 

In most cases (on personal and official country wide charts), you'll need to have strong numbers stemming from all branches that make up the chart. That's easier said than done. However, there are two and only two ways to get around having proficient scores in every category. The first is to dominate 1 category in such a way that there's no way your competitors can even catch up, and the second is to do well on iTunes in countries that only counts digital sales (the United Kingdom).

So the fact that "Shake If Off" is the #1 track on iTunes in 36 countries doesn't mean it'll debut at #1 in 36 countries, just to clarify.

Sales & US Billboard Hot 100 Rank Prediction
Interestingly enough, Taylor Swift's popularity in the United States is catastrophic, which leads me to another interesting possibility. According to a variety of sources, the sales of "Shake If Off" in the US alone between 9 PM EST on Monday to 9 PM EST on Tuesday (almost its first 24 hour of release), are just over 105,000 copies. That doesn't sound like a lot, but that's only 1 day of sales. That's 4,382 sales per hour, 73 per minute, and 1.25 every second. If it continues to perform like this throughout the rest of the week it'll debut with sales that are through the roof -- literally.

Since "Shake It Off" will have almost 150 hours to rack up sales in its first week in the US (Billboard claims the clock restarts Sunday at Midnight), a simple mathematical equation gives us a first week sales estimate of 657,000 copies sold. While it's possible that the track does hold that well, it seems unlikely. However, its strong presence on pop and country radio charts after 1 day of release and the fact that Swift will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards gala on Sunday at 9 PM will likely give it somewhat of a boost. It also has its counterpart video receiving lots of media attention -- both good and bad --, which will ultimately help drive its sales forward. As a side note, its music video has been watched over 8.6 million times since release last night (remember, Youtube views in the US do count toward Hot 100 chart points), and while its unclear how many were in the US, that early total should help it do well on Billboard's Streaming Songs list.

At this point, I'm officially guessing that it'll tally at least 620,000 500,000 downloads by the end of the week, which would make it one of the all time biggest openers and the biggest opening week of 2014, beating out Ariana Grande's "Problem", which sold 438,000 copies in its first week.

Update #1: My initial prediction of 657,000 copies is about right. More forecasts are coming in between 625k to 665k.

Update #2: I have lowered my estimate to 500,000 due to a large dip in sales between Wednesday AM and PM.

Update #3: "Shake If Off" held well between Wednesday PM and Thursday AM, down by just 1.8%. 500k-525k still looking like the best guess.

That should mean that "Shake If Off" reaches #1... in its second week. You're probably wondering why it wouldn't debut at #1 in its first week on the Hot 100, but the answer really isn't that simple. For some reason, Billboard ends the digital sales frame on Sunday at 11:59 PM, but keeps the Radio tally open until Tuesday at 11:59 PM. Since "Shake It Off" debuted on a Monday, it has a chance to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 based on 1 day of airplay alone. That seems impossible, but it's not. Swift's own "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" debuted at #72 on the Hot 100 based on one day of airplay back in 2012 and then powered to #1 the following week thanks to sales being added to its equation. If you need me to elaborate on this more please let me know in the comments below or by contacting me on Twitter.

At this point, it's likely to debut low on the Hot 100 (between 80 and 100) and then leap to #1 or #2 in the following week. If it does debut on the Hot 100 based on one day of airplay, Billboard will announce it tomorrow morning around 11 AM PST. If it doesn't debut, it'll likely open at #1 next week. In that case, Billboard will reveal it on August 27th at 11 AM PST. 

To avoid further confusion, I will publish a separate post about how "Shake It Off" will debut on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 sometime either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Review
As for the song itself, "Shake It Off" is actually pretty damn catchy. While I wasn't really a fan of Taylor's country music, this new sugary pop vibe (which started with "I Knew You Were Trouble.") has actually been a winning equation in my book. As a note, my favorite Taylor song of all time is in fact "I Knew You Were Trouble.", my favorite country song is either "Red" or "Back to December", and I believe "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is her worst effort to date. She's notched two entries, both pop hits, on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50: "22" (which ironically peaked at #22) and "I Knew You Were Trouble.", which became one of my favorite songs of 2013. It peaked at #4.

Still, "Shake It Off" can't help but feel like a little bit of a sell out for Taylor, a goodbye to the past 8 years of her career as a predominately country artist. Though the track is french horn tipped, repetitive and full of stomp! clap! sounds (all of which are normally associated with the 1980s), it's really not anything like 80s music.

However, in the end, "Shake It Off" ends up feeling like a distinct win for Swift, who's been cranking out chart hits for 5 solid years.

Rating: 8.25/10

Pick of the Day: Nickelback's "Edge of A Revolution"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

Nickelback's recent releases (including almost all singles from their 2011 Here and Now), have been a bit softer sounding and specially built for radio. While some of those softer sounding efforts have been among my favorites from the band ("If Today Was Your Last Day", "When We Stand Together"), it's nice to hear a more grungy release for the first time in a while.

"Edge of A Revolution" is easily one of the more interesting releases from Nickelback, and while it doesn't feel like any of the group's past hits, it still feels solid and inspired. Described as a political anthem, "Edge of A Revolution" talks about with political scandals, war and current world events that  have affected people across many countries.

Watch the "Edge of A Revolution" lyric video below.

What are your thoughts on "Edge of A Revolution"? Let me know below and don't forget to mark your calendars for the release of Nickelback's upcoming 8th studio album (currently untitled), which hits physical and digital retailers on November 4th. Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!


Monday, August 18, 2014

Pick of the Day: Charli XCX's "Break the Rules"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

Charli XCX certainly knows her way around charts worldwide, including the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, but nothing she's ever released on been featured on could have prepared us for "Break the Rules", the second official single from her forthcoming third album, Sucker (October 21st).

"Break the Rules" is easily one of the most instantly lovable electropop tracks of the past year, combining Charli's signature shouting vocals with a building beat that unleashes when the song eventually climaxes. XCX rocks some serious vocal chops in a way that she hasn't ever really done before. "I don't want to go to school/I just wanna break the rules/Boys and girls across the world?Putting on our dancing shoes/Going to the discotechque/Getting higher, getting wrecked/I don't want to go to school/I just wanna break the rules", she sings over her perfectly crafted disco beat. It's a wonderful whirlwind mixture of all of her previous hits wrapped up like a piece of candy.

As a featured artist, she's tallied two top 5 singles on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, Icona Pop's "I Love It" (which wound up at #1) and Iggy Azalea's "Fancy", which reached #4 in mid 2014. Her first charting solo single, "Boom Clap" has since reached #20. It's highly likely that "Break the Rules" follows suit and becomes a smash on the Hot 50. As of early week numbers, the single has already entered the Streaming Songs chart at #35 and the interactive Social Songs 100 at #5 (two of the three major Hot 50 components). You can vote for "Break the Rules" as your favorite song of the week on the Social Songs 100 chart by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on "Break the Rules"? Let me know below and don't forget to pre-order Sucker on iTunes now (due out October 21st). Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below!

Vote For Your Favorites of the Week (Week 17)!


Hot New Track This Week:

"Happy Little Pill"
Troye Sivan
Release: July 29th
Thoughts: Troye Sivan has truly done it all. He's been in live action superhero movies (X Men, etc.), he was born in South Africa, he's an avid Youtuber and now he's finally releasing some exciting music to finish it all off. "Happy Little Pill" truly is a masterpiece with euphoric vocals, feverish beats and over the top lyrics. Leading off his just released debut US EP, TRXYE, "Happy Little Pill" has already won the hearts of many around the world. Not to mention, it has already become a chart success in many countries (including Troye's home Australia, where it has reached #16).

Now you be the judge. Does "Happy Little Pill" have what it takes to debut on the Hot 50? If yes, vote it up, if not, vote it down. It's up to you.

Last Week's Outcome: "All About You" didn't reach the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, but you can still vote for it on the Social Songs 100 component chart.

New Entries:
- "Happy Little Pill" by Troye Sivan
- "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" by Bebe Rexha
- "Scars (feat. Ryan Tedder)" by Alesso
- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift*
- "Comeback" by Ella Eyre
- "Portal" by Lights
- "Just One of the Guys" by Jenny Lewis
- "Glow" by Ella Henderson
- "Two Weeks" by FKA twigs
- "Cool Kids" by Echosmith

*You can vote for "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift when it is first released on Swift's Yahoo Live Stream event and becomes available for purchase on August 18th. Remember, the event takes place at 2 PM on the West Coast and 5 PM on the East Coast on Monday, August 18th.

Note: The final positions of the songs at the end of the week is equivalent to the Social Songs 100 chart. This is only accounts for approximately 1/3 of all points entered into the Hot 50 weekly issue.

Hey guys! There have been some concerns and questions on voting for your favorite tracks every week. To make things a whole lot easier, you can now vote songs up and down the list. At the end of the week, the points will be calculated and the ranker will be reset for the next week! All votes count! Don't see your favorite song? Feel free to leave a comment and I will add it! I will be updating the ranker from time to time as new tracks become available!

Welcome to the 17th week of voting! Your votes help determine the top songs on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. Please note that only the top 10 most approved tracks will receive bonus points toward their scores on the upcoming chart. Make sure you share this to get your favorite tracks into the top 10. If this gets 250 voters and/or 5,000 votes by the end of Friday, each track in the top 10 will get 2x the regular votes and #11-20 on the list will get the score that the top 10 usually gets.

Music Lists on Ranker

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Pick of the Day: Ella Henderson's "Glow"


CDS Picks has officially been retired and will be replaced with a daily, more in-depth look at a single song. This new feature will be dubbed the Pick of the Day.

While her previous release, "Ghost", got a good review from me, it wasn't until the release of "Glow" that I really became impressed. It's no instant hit like "Ghost", but it's powerful, filled with exquisite vocals and just absolutely breathtaking. While it definitely reminds me of Ellie Goulding's #8 peaking  "Burn", it feels a lot more original and a lot less overproduced -- which in this case, is a good thing.

With that being said, do I think "Glow" will become a top 10 hit on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50? Shockingly, yes. It'll be a tough accomplishment for a number of reasons (including lack of US Airplay and Ella's still underdeveloped fan base), but I could ultimately see it becoming an eventual hit and one of the this year's late bloomers.

The music video for the track, which dropped just a few days ago, is much like her previous video for "Ghost", but it feels more full of energy. Documenting the events of a group of friends that party all night, "Glow" embraces the feelings of togetherness and friendship. Just like the rising sun in the music video, Henderson is one of the brightest burning stars (in the music business)... hopefully she'll 'glow' for years to come.

What are your thoughts on "Glow"? Let me know below and don't forget to pre-order Chapter One on iTunes UK now (due out September 21st). Come back for another Pick of the Day tomorrow! Have a suggestion or like this feature? Let me know below! Also listen to the song below.



CDS Music Chart Hot 50: August 21st, 2014

CDS MUSIC CHART HOT 50: August 21st, 2014
#
LW
2W
PK
WKs
Name
Artist
1
1
4
1
3
***NUMBER 1***
It Was Always You {#1 for 2 Weeks}
Maroon 5
2
2
2
1
16
Hideaway {#1 for 6 Weeks}
Kiesza
3
3
1
1
9
Maps {#1 for 5 Weeks}
Maroon 5
4
4
3
3
9
Giant In My Heart
Kiesza
5
7
9
5
3
Bang Bang
Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj
6
5
7
5
22
Chandelier
Sia
7
15
20
7
13
***AIRPLAY GAINER***
Do It Again
Röyksopp & Robyn
8
19
24
8
11
***STREAMING GAINER***
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Alyssa Reid
9
10
11
9
8
I Wanna Feel
Secondcity
10
9
8
4
27
Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
Clean Bandit
11
6
6
4
16
A+D
Vita Chambers
12
14
15
12
5
Strange Enough
VÉRITÉ
13
8
5
5
11
Am I Wrong
Nico & Vinz
14
11
10
1
15
Undo {#1 for 3 Weeks}
Sanna Nielsen
15
12
13
12
5
Flashlight
DJ Fresh & Ellie Goulding
16
13
12
12
6
She Came To Give It To You (feat. Nicki Minaj)
Usher
17
20
22
17
9
Boom Clap
Charli XCX
18
24
25
18
7
2 On (feat. SchoolBoy Q)
Tinashe
19
26
26
19
8
Me & My Broken Heart
Rixton
20
18
19
6
13
Pills N Potions
Nicki Minaj
21
23
21
18
8
Crying For No Reason
Katy B
22
16
14
4
22
Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
Iggy Azalea
23
17
16
3
21
Latch (feat. Sam Smith)
Disclosure
24
25
23
23
12
If I Go
Ella Eyre
25
22
17
5
22
Dare (La La La)
Shakira
26
38
42
26
4
***GREATEST GAINER***
Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)
Iggy Azalea
27
21
18
9
16
Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)
Ariana Grande
28
27
27
27
7
No Mediocre (feat. Iggy Azalea)
T.I.
29
28
32
28
8
Don’t
Ed Sheeran
30
33
35
30
4
Ready For the Weekend (feat. Ayah Marar)
R3HAB & NERVO
31
30
28
16
13
Summer
Calvin Harris
32
31
29
2
16
A Sky Full of Stars
Coldplay
33
32
30
5
18
Love Runs Out
OneRepublic
34
34
31
31
10
Angel In Blue Jeans
Train
35
36
40
35
4
Superheroes
The Script
36
39
45
36
7
My Love (feat. Jess Glynne)
Route 94
37
40
44
37
3
All About That Bass
Meghan Trainor
38
35
34
29
15
Marilyn Monroe
Pharrell Williams
39
37
33
28
9
Stay With Me
Sam Smith
40
46
49
40
6
Break Free (feat. Zedd)
Ariana Grande
41
29
-
29
2
***BIGGEST FALLER***
Anaconda
Nicki Minaj
42
NEW
-
42
1
***HOT SHOT DEBUT***
Glow
Ella Henderson
43
44
48
43
5
We Are Done
The Madden Brothers
44
NEW
-
44
1
Two Weeks
FKA twigs
45
45
41
9
18
First Things First
Neon Trees
46
42
38
1
25
Empire {#1 for 4 Weeks}
Shakira
47
NEW
-
47
1
Chimes
Hudson Mohawke
48
47
43
39
7
Good Kisser (Disclosure Remix)
Usher
49
48
46
42
7
F For You (feat. Mary J. Blige)
Disclosure
50
49
47
45
5
Only Love Can Hurt Like This
Paloma Faith


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