CDS Picks: Kiesza, Weezer, The Script & More

Welcome back to another installment in the wildly popular CDS Picks feature. This time, I'm focusing on new recordings by Kiesza, Weezer, The Script and more. 6 more songs will be covered in part 2 of this week's CDS Picks series. Have more picks for this week? Just tweet me them and I'll give them a spin? Maybe they'll be make next week's rundown.

Sam Smith - "I'm Not the Only One"

While I critically panned one of his prior singles for being completely hypocritical ("Leave Your Lover"), Sam Smith proves that he's still a strong musician with "I'm Not the Only One". While his styles are completely haphazard and occasionally horribly confusing, he's still able to write decent material. "I'm Not the Only One" is one of the brightest highlights from his debut album In The Lonely Hour. See my original comments below.

"There's no denying that Sam Smith can tell a vibrant, passionate, heart-wrenching story, but when you compare the bold and downright ridiculousness of "Leave Your Lover" to what you hear on "I'm Not the Only One", you get a sense of confusion. For those criticizing "Leave Your Lover" for being hypocritical, it's hard to still call Sam Smith a hypocrite by the time the end of strings and chords come to a bitter end in "I'm Not the Only One". Why? Because you've already forgotten about the previous track, and are engrossed at the possibilities of what's next to come.

I'll give Sam Smith one thing: he's surprisingly good at telling a type of story that he hasn't had much experience with."

Kiesza - "So Deep"

While she's still riding high on the waves of "Hideaway" and "Giant In My Heart", there's a few other styles to be explored on her debut extended play, Hideaway. "So Deep" offers up a whole new image to the young budding singer. On this track, she swaps electronic deep house beats for a sexy r&b thump beat that still has some hints of progressed rhythm while feeling like a brand new experience. It's not as instantly captivating as her other works, but it works on a different level, and is a subtle grower. In a review for her Hideaway EP, I briefly touched on "So Deep". Here's a snippet of my original thoughts:

"..."So Deep" displays a trace/dance quality that feels so unique and glamorous all together..." 

Drake - "0 to 100 / The Catch Up"

Approximately a full year after his "Hold On, We're Going Home" became a massive hit on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (reaching #5 on the tally), Drake is back with a darker single to lead off his highly anticipated 4th studio album Views From the 6. "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" is a two part song that smoothes out from start to finish. It's a whole lot more grainy and really reminiscent of his early 2013 release "Started From the Bottom" (which ended up becoming my 2nd least favorite mainstream release of 2013), which leads me to believe that "0 to 100" will also become one of my least favorites of the year. Thankfully, it's not nearly as terrible. It's worth at least a listen or two.

Weezer - "Back to the Shack"

After 4 years of silence, American band Weezer is finally back with a brand new set of music.

The Script - "Superheroes"

During the last album cycle, British band The Script failed to impress me on many occasions, with "Hall of Fame" falling short of the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 back in 2012. Thankfully, The Script is back with a fresher sound. While "Superheroes" sounds a lot like the stuff on their last album, it's ripe with a new form of energy. 

Alexandra Stan - "Dance"
Stan's last effort ("Cherry Pop") got off to a less than pleasant start back in May, and barely missed inclusion on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 on numerous occasions. Despite the mixed success of "Cherry Pop", Alexandra Stan's new single "Dance" could reverse her course.

Come back for more posts soon!

Chart Highlights: Rihanna Locks 5th Week At #1

This week Rihanna remains atop the chart for a 5th consecutive week, making "Diamonds (Shahaf Moran Radio)" her longest running #1 and the second longest running #1 in CDS Chart History.

Loreen holds at #2 for a fourth consecutive week, with "My Heart Is Refusing Me". The song was just a mere 5 points away from crowning the chart.

Ke$ha's "Die Young" holds at #3 for a third week.

Ellie Goulding holds at #4 for a second week with "I Need Your Love" tying the peak of "Lights".

"Finally Found You (feat. Sammy Adams)" dips 5-6 to let "Lucky Strike" move 7-5.

Alexandra Stan's "Cliché (Hush, Hush)" powers 9-7 to a brand new peak.

Christina's former 2 week #1 "Your Body" falls 6-8 during it's 11th chart week.

Flo Rida's "I Cry" slips away from it's grip on the top 10 tumbling 8-10 to allow Tulisa's "Young (Gregor Salto Radio)" to move 10-9. The song had tied the peak of Flo Rida's "Wild Ones" which fared worse when it tumbled to #14 the week after it reached #8.

Bruno Mars elevates with "Locked Out Of Heaven" which vaults 13-11 this week, just points behind Flo Rida.

This week's debuts include Hyuna's powerful debut with "Ice Cream" (second Korean song to chart) at #19, the debut of Bruno Mars' second single "Young Girls" at #21 andthe debut of "J'adore" by Inna at #37.

Come Back Later to See the Complete Chart Refreshed.

Chart Highlights: Rihanna @ #1 For 4th Week, Loreen Holds On

As we enter November, Rihanna manages to plant "Diamonds" in the number 1 position. "Diamonds" has become only the third song to surpass the "3 Weeks @ #1" mark, tying with Maroon 5's "Payphone" for the "Second Most Weeks At #1" only behind Havana Brown. Will she surpass "Payphone" or will she take its course by falling out of the top 5?

Loreen is also setting records including "Most Weeks @ #2 (Without Reaching #1)" as she spends a third consecutive week at #2 (if she reaches #1 the record goes back to Taio Cruz). Even if she reaches #1 (and leaves the other record for Taio), she could grasp the other #2 record "Most Weeks At #2" which is held by the 2 week #1 runner "Where Have You Been" (4 weeks).

Ke$ha's "Die Young" holds 3-3 while gaining by over 14% in overall plays. 

Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris pull "I Need Your Love" further into the top 5 as it shifts 5-4. This ties Ellie Goulding's highest peaking song "Lights" which peaked at #4 earlier this year. Calvin Harris is 6 positions above the peak of his last song.

Enrique Iglesias returns to the top 5 gaining 6-5 with "Finally Found You". The song appears to not be finished with it's streak as it picks up a seventh week in the top 5 and a ninth week between positions 2-6 (entire run). It has spent 1 week @ #2, 3 weeks @ #3, 1 week @ #4, 2 weeks @ #5, and 2 weeks @ #6.

Christina Aguilera's former 2 week #1dips 4-6.

"Lucky Strike" sits at #7 after pulling back up from #8 two weeks ago.

Flo Rida's "I Cry" pushes 9-8 fueled by a major airplay gain. It also ties his personal best "Wild Ones (feat. Sia)" that pushed 9-8 on the chart dated May 24th, 2012 before slipping to #14 the following week.

Alexandra Stan's "Cliché"moves down 8-9 despite an interesting rise.

Tulisa gains 11-10 with "Young" and rounds it out.

Just below the top 10, Bruno Mars lifts 30-13 with "Locked Out Of Heaven".

Come back for the entire chart soon!

Chart Highlights: Rihanna Sneeks A 2nd Week @ #1, Ellie Goulding Comes Close to Upward Position Record

This week Rihanna crowns the CDS Top 40 Music Chart for a second week, just a tad up from Loreen's monster hit. "Diamonds" registers a score only 1.88% higher than "My Heart Is Refusing Me".

Christina's former 2 week #1 "Your Body" dips 2-3 and is down 19.23% from Loreen. Although this may seem like a major score decrease, Enrique fares worse.

Despite a 5-4 uphill push, Enrique's latest hit "Finally Found You (feat. Sammy Adams)" is down nearly 24% from Christina's score, marking one of the biggest gaps ever seen between two songs in the top 5.

Ke$ha's newest song "Die Young" slides 4-5 as Enrique moves back up the chart.

P!nk's "Timebomb" holds at #6 for a second week. The song is on the verge of dropping down rapidly as new songs prepare to enter the top 10.

Two weeks ago a song called "I Need Your Love (feat. Ellie Goulding)" by Calvin Harris premiered at #28, making one of the bigger debuts. The following week due to lower airplay, the song dropped 28-33. This week Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris it was revealed that the song had skyrocketed 33-7 earning the Airplay, CDS Pick Hit and Greatest Gainer ribbons, becoming the very first song to do so. It is also managed to become the second place for "Highest Single Week Upward Movement" shifting 26 positions. This is just 1 position less than Demi Lovato's record when "Give Your Heart A Break" shifted 27 positions (40-13) on the issue dated August 2nd.

"Lucky Strike" advances 10-8 due to extended airplay,  "Love Somebody" drops 7-9 and Alexandra Stan's "Cliché (Hush Hush)" moves 11-10 to round it out.

Come back later tonight to see the CDS Music Chart restored.

The other charts will also be restored on their respective links.

Alexandra Stan, ADELE Set For Strong Debuts

Alexandra Stan's newest single "Cliché (Hush Hush)" is set for a major debut at #17 becoming her first charting single, and the newest Top 20 debut. Expect a moderately high positioning on the end of the year chart for this hit to be.

Also ADELE's newest studio track "Skyfall", the theme song for the movie of the same name could easily debut in the top 30 next week. This would mark one of ADELE's best song weeks since the start of this chart in April. According to the current report the song is around #29 on the hour-by-hour chart. The new chart will be unveiled on Monday night @ 10 P.M. (Tuesday 6 A.M. in United Kingdom)

Bubbling Chart: Alexandra Stan Debuts On Top, Cher Lloyd 2nd

Alexandra Stan tops this week's list of upcoming songs. To view more info on the Bubbling Chart, click here.