September 30th Album Releases Battle For Supremacy

It's going to be along week ahead. With 8 major releases hitting physical and digital shelves this week, it's anyone's guess as to who comes out as the weekly bestseller. Will it be Tove Lo, Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Prince, 3RDEYEGIRL, The Script, Steve Aoki or Colbie Caillat?  Okay maybe I've overstating it, but there are at least two albums that have their eye on the top slot. At least two. Let's take a look at the contenders. Be sure to read through the whole list before reading my overview at the end of the post.

Bringing Back the Sunshine
Blake Shelton
Download on iTunes
While Blake Shelton has been a Country genre superstar since his 2001 debut, it wasn't until the 2010's decade that his work became widely appreciated by mainstream audiences. Bolstered by a taut release date, his 2011 album, Red River Blue, debuted at #1 in the United States on sales of 116,000. By standards, that would have been pretty grim start on any other frame in 2011. Just a few weeks before, Born This Way debuted at #1 on sales of 1 million copies.

When the end of 2012 rolled around, another new album from Shelton had emerged. Cheers, it's Christmas, while failing to reach the United States top 5, sold over 500,000 and remained popular with Christmas album purchasers over a year after its release. Early 2013 brought his most popular album to date and the 9th most popular album of 2013 in the United States: Based On A True Story... While failing to reach #1, it produced a string of 4 #1 Country singles.

Unfortunately, Bringing Back the Sunshine failed to create a mainstream hit with its lead single ("Neon Light"), unlike his last album, which could weaken sales. However, being the most popular coach on the hit United States television show The Voice (which helped propel sales of his last album), could give Shelton's Bringing Back the Sunshine the push it needs to become the frame's top seller.

Queen of the Clouds
Tove Lo
Download on iTunes
Little known. Sorry. Scratch that. Previously little known Swedish artist Tove Lo has seemingly sprouted in popularity over night. Her track, "Habits (Stay High)", which has been available since the end of 2013, recently skyrocketed into success stateside. It recently landed in the top 20 of the Radio songs chart in the United States and the top 10 of the Digital songs chart.

A September 30th release date for her debut album seemed almost perfect, except for the fact that "Habits" still hasn't climaxed in popularity. That makes the US release Queen of the Clouds seem a little pre-mature. Still, this could end up being a good thing. Maybe the continued popularity of "Habits" could keep album sales steady for several weeks? It'll be hard to tell but all I can assure you of is that Queen of the Clouds won't be the week's best seller.

No Sound Without Silence
The Script
Download on iTunes
The Script has had varying 'degrees' of success in the United States (pun intended for hardcore fans), with their second and third albums  starting with sales between 25,000-50,000 copies sold. Their first had sales too low to compare. However, with No Sound Without Silence, the band has taken a completely different path in terms of promotion.

"Superheroes", the first single from No Sound Without Silence, has been vigorously promoted to Adult Pop and Contemporary radio formats, a style that caters to more matured audience (typically). That demographic in particular has been known to cling on to specific songs and groups, which have led to some albums or singles staying popular for a significant period of time. In a case like Pharrell's "Happy", the track became so popular on traditional Mainstream/Top 40 radio that it started getting adds at genre specific stations as well. That led to an extended chart run and pushed sales of the song's parent album (GIRL) forward. While the success of "Superheroes" doesn't really compare to that of "Happy", it is possible that a much more contained version of the story is repeated. In other words, No Sound Without Silence should be able to become the band's most popular record to date (in terms of first week sales in the United States), but will a huge amount of competition stunt its growth?

747
Lady Antebellum
Download on iTunes
Other than Prince, of course, Lady Antebellum has been a powerhouse when it comes to album sales. After breaking out with the singles "I Run to You" and "Need You Now" in 2009, the group's second album (Need You Now) shifted over 450,000 copies in its first week of being on sale. Their third album, released 20 months later, saw sales of approximately 350,000 a still large sum. The group's Holiday album (released in late 2012), while failing to reach #1, became a staple in the long list of Christmas releases and has since been sold over 500,000 (note figures for the other two releases were first week only). 2013's Golden opened with sales of 160,000 copies, a fabulous start given that album sales in general were down significantly since the group had last released a proper, non-Holiday album.

With even more erosion and the presence of a lone Mainstream/Top 40 single ("Bartender"), 747 could have a bit of trouble with reaching 100,000 (which would be a sharp drop from Golden). Still, 747 has a decent shot at claiming the top position.

ART OFFICIAL AGE
Prince
Download on iTunes
Almost everyone has heard of Prince (also known as at least 20 other names), whether it be through his standard discography or his contributions to the Purple Rain soundtrack (one of the 20 most successful albums in the United States). He has released countless...  34 studio albums, almost all of which ended up being somewhat successful, making him (along with Tony Bennett and Madonna) one of the longest lasting artists in the game. His last big album sold over 160,000 copies in its first week alone. If you've got that type of longevity, you're a legend to me (even if I'm not a huge fan of your work) as well as to most of the rest of the world.

With that being said, the release date and promotion for ART OFFICIAL AGE seemingly popped out of nowhere. With no supported singles or any sort of high profile appearances, it is hard to imagine this breaking first week sales of 80,000 in the United States. On the worldwide front, however, ART OFFICIAL AGE is the best selling album (at the moment), with the next biggest selling new release also being delivered by Prince. What? Yep. You read it correctly.

PLECTRUMELECTRUM
Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL
Download on iTunes
While it might be extremely rare for an artist to drop two separate albums on the same day (two you can't buy together), this sort of practice seems to be somewhat normal for Prince. He's the sort of artist that would release half a dozen albums in a single year just to get out of a record contract.

The lower profile album of the two he is releasing this week, PLECTRUMELECTRUM, created in collaboration with his all female band 3RDEYEGIRL, is bound to start with a much lower weekly total. Maybe 40,000? We'll have to wait and see.

Neon Future 1
Steve Aoki
Download on iTunes
Let's face it. Steve Aoki could never end up reaching #1 in the United States. He appears to be too extreme with his DJ techniques and while some of his material is fun and solid, there's a substantial amount of people who clearly dislike his tracks (notably "Delirious").

Either way, Neon Future 1 is an interesting case. It's poised to be one of the world's most popular new releases (behind only the new albums from Prince), but should underwhelm in the United States. I'm conservatively expecting 45,000 to 55,000 copies in the United States.

Gypsy Heart
Colbie Caillat
Download on iTunes
Colbie Caillat used to be a massive album seller. Keywords used to be. Unfortunately, the odd promotion of her new album will likely cause her winning streak to come to a screeching halt. It looks like Gypsy Heart could wind up as one of the week's worst performing new releases, currently barely holding within the top 20 on the tracking chart. To compare, her three prior studio albums all became massive successes, all reaching the top 10 in the United States. My guess is that Gypsy Heart will wind up with 45,000 copies sold in its first week, but that itself might be asking a little too much.

Analysis
Based on my quick looks and data above, it seems that Blake Shelton's Bringing Back the Sunshine will rival Lady Antebellum's 747 to claim this week's top debut. Both should open past sales of 110,000 copies, and like last week, the race could come down to the wire, with the winner of the week being determined by just a few hundred copies.

Prince's ART OFFICIAL AGE should easily wind up in 3rd place with maybe 80,000-90,000 copies sold. Tove Lo's Queen of the Clouds should wind up in 4th place with perhaps 60,000 copies sold. The Script's No Sound Without Silence could place 5th with 50,000. Steve Aoki, Colbie Caillat and 3RDEYEGIRL will probably scramble for 6th, 7th and 8th place.

Update: 
New predictions are saying that Blake Shelton's album is expected to sell 85,000-100,000 copies (less than 50% of the sales level that his last album did). Lady Antebellum is expected to sell 65,000-80,000 with their new album. Therefore, all sales prediction for the other albums are down at least 15,000 copies.

Come back for more posts and check this post later this week to see where the albums finally rank!

Vote For Your Favorites of the Week (Week 22)!

Hot New Track This Week:

"L.A. Love (La La)"
Fergie
From the forthcoming 2nd studio album by Fergie (Rumored to be called Smile Now, Cry Later. Due for release between December and February).
Release: September 29th

Thoughts: Fergie has never been a favorite of mine. I really just don't understand what people see her. Her newest track, "L.A Love (La La)", would have been a massive hit had it been released 8 years ago when she was still at her prime. I don't want to say that she's completely irrelevant, because we haven't seen how "L.A. Love (La La)" does in its worldwide expansion (it arrived to a handful of markets on Monday) on Tuesday. Based on what we've seen with the countries that already have the song available, and direct competition from Carrie Underwood, One Direction, and Lorde, it's likely that "L.A Love (La La)" ultimately fails to impress.

The track's biggest markets yet have been Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Spain. The track's strength in Ukraine initially looked fairly promising (quickly skyrocketing to the top 10), but as of a few hours later, it is already on its way downward.

One thing I can give it credit for? Being strong... by Fergie's viewpoint. It's a much better song than some of her other hits like "London Bridges" (which it is reminiscent of) and "Fergalicious". I mean both of those songs were pretty much garbage.

Listen to the track below.

Now you be the judge. Does "L.A. Love (La La)" have what it takes to debut on the Hot 50? If yes, vote it up, if no, vote down.

Last Week's Outcome: "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons failed to come anywhere near the CDS Music Chart Hot 50.

New Entries:

- "L.A. Love (La La)" by Fergie

- "Something In the Water" by Carrie Underwood

- "Steal My Girl" by One Direction

- "Yellow Flicker Beat" by Lorde

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 22nd 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

Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett Set to Score #1 Debut with "Cheek to Cheek"? Maybe Not

Industry forecasters are saying that steep competition from veteran country singer Kenny Chesney and popular new groups Alt-J and Pentatonix could potentially push Cheek to Cheek to #2 when the final United States numbers run in.

Overview

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga are some of the most popular artists of all time, with combined worldwide album sales towering past 75 million. Combined, they've won over 500 awards and have been considered among the top 10 artists of all time in their respective categories and genres (female pop and male jazz). When you put two artists like that together, you'd expect album sale results to be through the roof. Unfortunately for the artists, a fair amount of their fans appear to have skipped over their new collaborative album, Cheek to Cheek; forecasters are expecting a start lower than 125,000 copies. That's way down from Tony's 2011 album Duets II (which started with 180,000) and Lady Gaga's 2013 ARTPOP (which began with 260,000). So what's causing the album to 'underperform'? A number of things.

United States Performance

One of the most noticeable issues with the album as a whole is that the entire tracklist is comprised of "jazz standards". That means that every track had already been recorded by another artist (or, in some cases, multiple) before being re-recorded for Cheek to Cheek. In fact, most of the songs have a histories that began all the way back in the late 1940s. While Tony and Lady Gaga have certainly brought a fresh new take to the well known jazz collection ("Anything Goes", "Lush Life", "I Can't Give You Anything But Love"), some fans simply aren't used to Gaga singing someone else's work.

Not only this, a substantial amount of added competition is causing Cheek to Cheek to crack under the pressure. First week forecasts have Kenny Chesney taking the crown with his new release The Big Revival by a mere 10,000 copy margin. While Cheek to Cheek (like most Tony Bennett releases) is trending upward after being on sale for at least a day (which could give it a late week upward push), it may not be enough to get to #1. However, let's not forget that Bennett albums typically stay solid in sales for several weeks after release, which could help the album stay strong against forthcoming competition. While Alt-J and Pentatonix don't seem to attract the same core audience as Tony and Gaga do, their new releases are likely to eat away at a small portion of Cheek to Cheek's expected sales.

It's almost guaranteed that the collaboration album will land at #2 behind The Big Revival in the United States, but on an international scale, Cheek to Cheek easily has the top spot locked up.

Worldwide Front

Remember that country veteran I was just talking about (Kenny Chesney)? Based on a worldwide viewpoint, his album is currently outside of the International iTunes Top 100 album list (The Big Revival is at #110 or so). Meanwhile, Cheek to Cheek is the most downloaded album in the world for a third straight day. It will easily debut at #1 in at least 12 countries and could become one of the biggest/most successful jazz releases in years.

Come back for more!

Need to Hear: Kendrick Lamar's Self Revolving "i"

I've never been a real big fan of Kendrick Lamar, but something about his latest release ("i") just feels special. It's not hard core rap, but its not something that doesn't count as rap either. It's a nice balance between grungy roots of Hip-Hop/Rap music and the stripped down works of R&B/Soul, something you don't see in a critically acclaimed rapper that often.

"i" has a funky beat and an instantly recognizable and catchy chorus. I can definitely see this becoming a massive success for Lamar, who just became a mainstream artist less than two years with the release of his most successful single to date ("Swimming Pools").

Unfortunately, "i" is likely to be overshadowed by the hype coming off of next week's major releases. See my post here to read more about this. By the way, "i" is predicted to sell just under 80,000 copies by the end of the tracking week (closing, Sunday, September 27th). That should be considered a strong win, given the lesser popularity of rap tracks in this day and age.

Either way, you'll want to give this track a quick look!


Rating: 8/10 (B-)

One Direction, Lorde, Fergie & More Return Next Tuesday, September 29th

It's going to be a tough frame for everybody next week, with "top selling singles" from Tove Lo, Jessie J, Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift being joined by a slew of hotly anticipated singles from Fergie, One Direction, Lorde and more.

Note: This post is corollated directly with sales on iTunes and placement on the Billboard Hot 100. It doesn't reflect what will happen on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 come the week of September 29th.

2014 hasn't been slow per say, with a handful of tracks clocking in massive opening and subsequent week totals (in terms of downloads on iTunes and other platforms in the United States), but aside from "Shake It Off", "Happy", "Dark Horse", "Problem", "Fancy", "Bang Bang", "Anaconda" and "All About That Bass" (and a handful of others), the year's sales has been severely dull. Only one single (Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off") has clocked in with an opening frame above 500,000, compared to several songs which had already done so by the same point in 2013. Songs are still selling in high volume, but they just don't stick as well (let me know when you find MAGIC!'s "Rude" on the iTunes top selling chart).

Thankfully, some of the biggest hit makers of the past decade are rejoining the competition with new releases rolling out this upcoming Tuesday (September 29th) to stir up the pot a bit. This slight overhaul in the market could potentially equate to a sharp rise in single sales. As to how long this could last, I honestly have no idea (mainly because songs this year have had sharp upward movements followed by sharp downward movements on iTunes; the Billboard Hot 100 has had longish running #1s this year, but that's thanks to Radio plays and online streams for the most part).

Anyway, let's take an in-depth look at what's bound to pan out next week.

One Direction
Among all major new releases, One Direction's "Steal My Girl", from their forthcoming new album FOUR, is extremely likely to launch with the highest sales. Based on previous lead single releases by the group in the United States, the single should open past 300,000 but no higher than 350,000. That could be just enough to lock up a top 5 debut on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and a #1 debut on the Digital Songs chart.

What separates One Direction from the rest of the crowd? Their massive track record thus far. As mentioned prior, the group has had smash singles every time they release something new, with every new single (released before an album) debuting with sales of 270,000+. This time around, pre-orders for their new annual November album began earlier than normal. FOUR was available for pre-order several weeks ago, prior to the release of a new single. That means that when "Steal My Girl" is released, all pre-orderers will instantly receive the track through an e-mail code (with each of these transactions counting as first week digital downloads if they are in fact redeemed by the user within the first week of release; in the case of One Direction, it's likely that fans will be waiting at their computers hours in advance just to prepared, so missing the deadline shouldn't be a big problem).

Additionally, a viral campaign that spurred 1.1 million free downloads of their single "Fireproof" in a single day, and a massive roll out for "Steal My Girl" (which surprisingly included one of the band members leaking 20 seconds of the track to generate some hype) are further signs that the band  the band's media team have taken lots of bold risks that could wind up becoming a positive for the group. The 20 second snip-it has been played 1.85 million times since launching a single day ago. Check it out below.

Still, if the song opens with just 330,000 copies sold, it could have a hand in turning the market around. As with their other singles, however, expect it to collapse heavily in week two before turning around in its subsequent weeks. Still betting on this to be the top song of the week next week, but further competition from artists such as Lorde and Fergie could cause it to suffer more than expected.

Lorde While its a safe bet that One Direction leads the forthcoming week by a significant margin, Lorde's just announced The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 theme, "Yellow Flicker Beat", could end up doing some strong business in the marketplace this Tuesday. While Lorde hasn't been popular for long (about 18 months or so), she's already scored two US Billboard Hot 100 hits, including the 9 week #1 single "Royals". That's a feat that One Direction has yet to reach (they've gone as high as #2), and something that they'll spend quite a while trying to reach.
While I am in no way implying that "Yellow Flicker Beat" will reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it certainly has a shot at a top 10 finish on this upcoming week's Digital Songs list. I'm modestly expecting a debut of 75,000-105,000 copies sold (which would place it somewhere in the middle of the Digital Songs top 10). If it does in fact wind up in the range I predict, it'll translate into a solid win for musical division of The Hunger Games franchise, which hasn't been too strong in terms of single sales (album sales, however, fair much better). In fact, anything above 60,000 should be considered a win.
It's unclear exactly how this one is going to play out, as I can only compare it to handful of songs, but here's my breakdown: it's bound to sell better than Coldplay's "Atlas" (which led off the second movie's soundtrack approximately a year ago), but levels similar to Charli XCX's "Boom Clap" (from The Fault In Our Stars), which sold approximately 1 million in sales during its first two months, might be a bit too difficult to reach.
Either way, "Yellow Flicker Beat" could in fact become the biggest success of all new tracks on September 29th. Not in terms of sales, but in terms of growth from its predecessors ("Atlas", "Elastic Heart", "We Remain", etc.).
Fergie After a 3 year hiatus from music, Fergie returned with a single new track in 2013: "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (feat. Q-Tip & GoonRock)". The single, which was specially made for the Great Gatsby soundtrack, did little to rejuvenate interest in the once immensely popular singer and ultimately failed to replicate her prior successes (which includes 6 #1 singles and a grand total of 14 top 10 singles as a solo artist and as a part of The Black Eyed Peas). Flash-forward 15 months later, and Fergie is preparing the release of another new single (this time one from her long delayed 2nd studio album) called "L.A. Love (La La)". I'll just come out and say this now, as to not offend anyone later on: I've never really been a big fan of Fergie (frankly I don't understand what people saw in songs like "London Bridges" and "Fergalicious"), so I believe that her new single (which has been partially played at various shows across the globe prior to release) is a bit weak.
With that being said, "L.A. Love (La La)" could easily become a major success in terms of sales both short-term and long-term. I'm going with a first week sales range anywhere between 80,000-200,000. It's just too hard to figure this stuff out when you're dealing with a once popular artist has been on hiatus for years and years. I'll give an update when the song's first day placement has been locked in. Personally, I'd skip "L.A. Love (La La)" and move right on to Gwen Stefani's "Baby Don't Lie", which will be released on October 6th. Fergie just feels like a rip-off of Gwen Stefani ("Hollaback Girl" vs. "London Bridges", "Luxurious" vs. "Glamorous"). Let me know what you think is going to happen with "L.A. Love (La La)" in week #1. Also, let me know if you think "Baby Don't Lie" will start off better or worse. 
Kendrick Lamar (Holdover From 9/23) Lamar is on a roll right now. After hitting it out of the park with his latest album (2012's good kid, m.A.A.d city), Kendrick is finally back with a brand new single. "i" is the lead single from his third studio album, due out later this year. As of the current standings, the track is trending toward a debut frame of 140,000 copies (United States downloads only), and while it has already been released, it could hold considerably well on next week's standings. "i" is already at #42 on the building Urban radio rankings, just hours after release, and critical (as well as fan) reception has been extremely favorable.
It should be able to hold well throughout its second week (which will begin on September 29th), and could potentially lower the sales of other previously discussed impacting entries. The track is currently at #4 on the Overall United States iTunes Top 200, where it has been steadily moving upward since its release. Stay tuned for more.

Who do you think will dominate the United States download charts starting on September 29th. Will the slew of new releases be enough to push the industry out of its undeniably bad slump? Let me know below.

Jessie J's "Burnin' Up" Follows Up "Bang Bang" Perfectly

Following the success of her massive hit single "Bang Bang", which was released on July 29th in collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, British recording artist Jessie J needed another smash single to follow up her mammoth, multiplatinum hit. Thankfully, she was able to follow up the previous CDS Music Chart Hot 50 #1 single with a spicy, fiery new hit.

The singer has just released "Burnin' Up (feat. 2 Chainz)" as the album's second official single, and it couldn't fit her new style better. Similar to Cheryl Cole's "Crazy Stupid Love", "Burnin' Up (feat. 2 Chainz)" is a trap inspired dance number with an irresistibly catchy chorus. The addition of a featured rap verse from 2 Chainz doesn't really feel necessary, but in this case, it doesn't detract from the quality of the song either. Bound to be an instant hit, "Burnin' Up (feat. 2 Chainz)" should easily replicate the success of "Bang Bang" in a handful of countries (namely the United Kingdom, Ireland and Scotland) and could potentially be another hit for the artist in the United States (where "Bang Bang" has reached #3).

Listen to "Burnin' Up (feat. 2 Chainz)" below, and let me know what you think of the song below.

Rating: 8.8/10 (B+)
Come back for my album review of Jessie J's "Sweet Talker" (in stores beginning October 14th).

One Direction Announces New Album "FOUR" + Free Single "Fireproof"

The band has announced a brand new album (due November 17th) and is offering a free download of new promotional effort "Fireproof" for 24 hours to celebrate.

One Direction is slowly taking over the world. Just a year after releasing their third studio album, Midnight Memories, the band has announced that their 4th studio album (conveniently titled FOUR) will be released on November 17th. Alongside the announcement of the new album, the band revealed that they'll be offering an unlimited amount of free downloads of their new promotional single, "Fireproof", for 24 hours.

The announcement of the new album comes after the release of a perfume and the prepping of a new limited engagement theatrical film. The new album will contain 12 songs on its standard edition, with 4 bonus tracks and a bonus Behind the Scenes video being reserved for the "Ultimate Edition" (the deluxe version). As with their other releases, the Japanese version is currently rumored to contain several additional bonus tracks and videos. While the album is now available for pre-order around the world (currently #1 in 52 countries, and top 10 in 72 countries), no official track-list has been revealed. 

Despite this, "One Chance to Dance" has been confirmed as the album's lead single. It was written by Zayn Malik, Emeli Sandé and Naughty Boy, the latter of which it was produced by. "Fireproof" is expected to be released onto iTunes for sale as the first promotional single from the album (remember, it's not the first official single) sometime on Tuesday (after the 24 hours have lapsed; approximately 9 AM EST on Tuesday morning).

As far as album sales go, I'm expecting it to sell between 525,000 and 560,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States. That range allows for a 3% decrease to a 3% increase in sales. Either way, it'll easily debut at #1 in the United States as the year's second most successful debut (after Taylor Swift's 1989, which should debut with sales of 1.15 million or more at the end of October). It's also likely to become one of the year's top 10 best sellers in the United States and one of the year's 3 most successful albums worldwide (with yearly sales of over 4.5 million expected worldwide).

Watch One Direction's announcement video and click the link above to download "Fireproof" for free. What do you think of "Fireproof"? Will you be pre-ordering or buying FOUR. Let me know below or on Twitter!

Come back for more posts!

Review: Fall Out Boy Soars Back With Amazing "Centuries"

Coming off their highly successful Save Rock and Roll era, American punk band Fall Out Boy has announced that they'll release a brand new album before the end of the year. Preceded by the just released lead single, "Centuries", the new era is already off to a fabulous start.

Incorporating hints of the electronic rock and punk pop sub genres, "Centuries" spins the classic Fall Out Boy sound on its head. As a opposed to just being a straightforward alternative track, "Centuries" feels and sounds like it could become a crossover success on Pop, Rock and Electronic radio formats as well. Based on several first listens, it's bound to appeal to a wider audience than most Fall Out Boy tracks -- it has received glowing reviews from almost everyone except "hard core" fans, who have deemed the track a "sell out". Unfortunately, the success of "Centuries" is guaranteed to be extremely front loaded, just like their last lead single, "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)", was. The track also cleverly incorporates the hook used by Suzanne Vega in her 1987 hit "Tom's Diner".

Speaking on the usage of the hook, lead singer Patrick Stump and fellow band member Pete Wentz said:

[Patrick] It was something that kind of came up between us and Jonathan Rotem, who produced the track. [Pete] It seems kind of ripe for the picking, right? To me, thinking about what people are culturally into right now, it feels like "pick it off". [Patrick] I feel like, I don't know, it was so ubiquitous when we were kids, I mean that song was absolutely everywhere and it kind of just disappeared... [Pete] It was kind of something we wanted to re-inject into pop-culture.

It's a massive win in my opinion, being one of the band's best singles in quite a while. Expect a large debut on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 come Saturday.

Thursday A.M. Update: As predicted, the track has fallen sharply on charts around the world. Take a look at some of the statistics (by country) below via kworb.net:

#3 United States (=)	#73 Mexico (-33)
#3 Singapore (-2)	#77 Chile (-12)
#4 Dominica (-2)	#78 Netherlands (-27)
#5 Philippines (=)	#80 Turkey (+18)
#6 United Kingdom (-2)	#81 Estonia (+28)
#10 Canada (-5)	#81 United Arab Emirates (-17)
#15 Ireland (-4)	#87 Germany (-31)
#16 Malaysia (-6)	#87 Thailand (-35)
#16 Mongolia (+4)	#93 Bulgaria (-36)
#18 Belarus (-11)	#95 Japan (-25)
#19 South Africa (-1)	#95 Spain (-34)
#20 Russia (-4)	#100 Switzerland (-28)
#24 New Zealand (-10)	#103 Azerbaijan
#24 Norway (-10)	#107 Saudi Arabia
#26 Indonesia (-10)	#121 Belgium (-61)
#27 Sweden (-19)	#125 Brazil (-80)
#35 Zimbabwe (-24)	#131 The Bahamas
#38 Australia (-8)	#141 Cayman Islands
#39 Taiwan (-26)	#145 Kazakhstan
#41 Luxembourg (-25)	#148 Slovakia
#42 Latvia (-22)	#158 France (-53)
#42 Poland (+10)	#167 Bermuda
#43 Finland (-32)	#178 Ecuador
#48 Denmark (-23)	#187 Italy (-87)
#50 Austria (-20)	#187 Trinidad and Tobago
#50 Israel (-33)	#188 Macau
#60 Ukraine (-15)	#192 Costa Rica
#65 Hong Kong (-25)	#192 Panama

24 hour difference in parenthesis. 

Rating: 9.5/10

Mary J. Blige Drops Disclosure Produced, Sam Smith Penned "Right Now"

Mary J. Blige drops one of her best singles, notes "The UK is a better place to make music than the US". She's absolutely correct.

While Mary J. Blige might be the undisputed Queen of R&B, she's been struggling with producing a smash single for several years now. In fact, her last big hit came in early 2008 (from her 2007 album Growing Pains). Even that single, "Just Fine", failed to become much of a memorable hit as well. Since then, she's released four more studio albums: 2009's Stronger With Every Tear, 2011's My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1), 2013's A Mary Christmas, and 2014's Think Like A Man Too (Music from and Inspired by the Film), all but the last of which became strong sellers. Still, none of those albums ended up producing any top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 or Hot 50 singles on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50.

To seemingly make up for the lack of successful singles, Mary J. Blige has quickly released "Right Now" as the lead single from her forthcoming 13th studio album, Mary J. Blige: The London Sessions, due out this November. The album will contain exactly 10 songs, all of which were written and recorded in London across the summer of this year.

"Right Now" was produced by Disclosure and co-written by both Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith. Other collaborators include Naughty Boy and Emeli Sandé on the track called "Pick Me Up". Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith collaborated with Blige yet again, on another track called "Therapy". The other  7 tracks on the album have yet to be announced.

"Right Now" will be released sometime this month as a single on iTunes.

Listen to "Right Now" on YouTube below, and let me know if you like the track in the comments below.