CDS Picks: OneRepublic, Ayah Marar, Nervo, Jason Aldean and More

Welcome back to another installment in the wildly popular CDS Picks feature. This time, I'm focusing on new recordings by Paloma Faith, VÉRITÉ, DJ Fresh, Ellie Goulding, Jess Glynne and more (which will be covered in part 2). 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.

Lights - "Up We Go"
Not much is known about up and coming singer Lights... except for the fact that she's a fantastic singer. "Up We Go" is an amazing pop production that leads off her 3rd (and upcoming studio album, Little Machines) in a stormy electronic fashion. It's a must listen if you enjoy experimental, electro, pop, or a fusion of different dance oriented sounds. A stunner!

Rating: ★★★★
Bottom Line: Interesting mix of sounds, fresh, funky.

Jason Aldean - "Burnin' It Down"

I've never been really into Jason Aldean's discography (or any form of Country-esque music), but this track feels like a whole new chapter -- for the better. "Burnin' It Down" marks a massive turn around in Aldean's career, one that has more appeal while still staying pure and true (for the most part). The track's smooth groove and catchy lyrics/hooks will make this an easy win for Aldean, with a potential pop radio crossover on the horizon.

Rating: ★★★½
Bottom Line: A little bit too safe with strong overall appeal.

Rixton - "Wait On Me"
While it doesn't weigh in at nearly the same level that their debut "My & My Broken Heart" does, Rixton's sophomore outing still manages to captivate decently. However, "Wait On Me" follows the unfortunate pattern that many follow up singles end up taking: a massive downgrade that goes almost unnoticed in the marketplace. With impulse purchases lurking across all corners of the iTunes Store, it's going to be almost impossible to avoid this one.

Rating: ★★★
Bottom Line: A downgrade from their debut, but strong enough to give a few listens to.

Pitbull - "Fireball (feat. John Ryan)"
Pitbull has had lots of mixed success on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, peaking as high as #2 (with 2013's "Timber" alongside Ke$ha) and as low as the #40-50 tier in early 2012. After a few months of break, Pitbull is finally back with a brand new hit. While it's highly unlikely that "Fireball" winds up becoming a top 20 success, it could potentially have a chance."Fireball", while being decently full of spice, falls a bit short of his previous efforts.

Rating: ★★½
Bottom Line: Decent enough to listen to, but not a whole lot better than that.

R3HAB & NERVO - "Ready For the Weekend (feat. Ayah Marar)"
There's not a whole lot to say about this one other than that "Ready For the Weekend" is a major club banger. Featuring the seasoned vocals of Ayah Marar (who has scored 2 back to back #1 CDS Music Chart Hot 50 singles), this R3HAB and NERVO (responsible for the #4 peaking "Hold On") collaboration is a must have for the end of the Summer season.

Rating: ★★★★½
Bottom Line: Sounds like it could be another #1 single for Ayah Marar, and the second top 5 for NERVO.

OneRepublic - "Ordinary Human"
Not nearly as catchy as I had hoped it would be, but OneRepublic's "Ordinary Human" certainly still does the trick. In preparation for the release of The Giver (an upcoming dystopian drama movie based on the New York Times #1 Bestseller of the same name), the track has been released as the lead single from the movie's soundtrack two weeks ahead of  the full physical release.

Rating: ★★★½
Bottom Line: It won't wind up becoming a massive hit, but a moderate success is to certainly be expected.

Come back for more posts!

CDS 4th Of July Party Playlist (Part 2)

Thousands upon thousands of parties will be sweeping the United States tomorrow, as the country celebrates its 238th anniversary. July 4th marks the day that the United States declared their independence from Great Britain at the end of the Revolutionary War. In honor of the celebration, CDS Music Chart is offering a handmade playlist to help kick start your party. Instead of writing about each track, I've decided to include stats for each track on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (if they haven't yet reached the Hot 50, I'll occasionally include a short description). Here's to a giant celebration!

This is Part 2 of a 2 part post! A special dance ONLY part 3 is coming soon as well. Happy 4th of July!

"Me & My Broken Heart" - Rixton
CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #33
Debut: July 3rd, 2014
Weeks On: 1
Chart Run: 33
Most Recent Position: #33 (July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #33 (July 3rd, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #33 (July 3rd, 2014)
Status: Still On

"New Flame (feat. Usher & Rick Ross)" - Chris Brown

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: TBA

After spending several months in prison, Chris Brown returned to the music world at the 2014 BET Awards at the end of June. After performing his most recent hit single ("Loyal"), he premiered a brand new track on iTunes. "New Flame" is an excellent track that combines a slew of genres into one spicy composition. It also features Usher (who did the best job on the track) and Rick Ross, who throws in some rhymes to wrap up and finish off the track. It's quite spectacular (and new), so its a good thing to have on you playlist. The track is set to bow on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 issue dated July 10th (information and highlights are on the way).

"A Sky Full of Stars" - Coldplay
CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #2(x3)
Debut: May 8th, 2014
Weeks On: 9
Chart Run: 17 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 9 - 11 
Most Recent Position: #11 (July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #2 (May 15th - May 29th, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #17 (May 8th, 2014)
Status: Still On

I Wanna Feel - Secondcity

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #24
Debut: July 3rd, 2014
Weeks On: 1
Chart Run: 24
Most Recent Position: #24 (July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #24 (July 3rd, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #24 (July 3rd, 2014)
Status: Still On

Rude - MAGIC!

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #29
Debut: July 3rd, 2014
Weeks On: 1
Chart Run: 41 - 32 - 32 - 29
Most Recent Position: #29 (July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #29 (July 3rd, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #41 (June 12th, 2014)
Status: Still On

"Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" - Iggy Azalea
CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #4
Debut: March 27th, 2014
Weeks On: 15
Chart Run: 46 - 35 - 30 - 27 - 22 - 18 - 14 - 12 - 11 - 9 - 6 - 6 - 4 - 6 - 6
Most Recent Position: #6 (June 26th, 2014 - July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #4 (June 19th, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #46 (March 27th, 2014)
Status: Still On

"Hideaway" - Kiesza
CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #1(x6)
Debut: May 8th, 2014
Weeks On: 9
Chart Run: 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2
Most Recent Position: #2 (June 19th - July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #1 (May 8th - June 12th, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #2 (May 8th, 2014)
Status: Still On

"Something Bad" - Miranda Lambert & Carrie Underwood

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #53(x2)

Though it didn't quite crack the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, "Something Bad" (which was released as the second single from Lambert's Platinum) did manage to chart at #53 (equivalent to #3 on the extended chart) for two weeks back in May 2014. While it likely won't ever reach the main list, it's a great, dark party track that feels perfect for 4th of July. Make sure you give it a spin or two  during this holiday! Don't forget to watch this year's annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC tonight at 8/7c! Miranda will be performing live.

Maps - Maroon 5

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: #3(x2)
Debut: June 26th, 2014
Weeks On: 2
Chart Run: 3 - 3
Most Recent Position: #3 (June 26th, 2014 - July 3rd, 2014)
Highest Rank: #3 (June 26th, 2014 - July 3rd, 2014)
Lowest Ranking: #3 (June 26th, 2014 - July 3rd, 2014)
Status: Still On

"Good Kisser (Disclosure Remix)" - Usher

CDS Music Chart Hot 50 Peak: TBA

I initially overlooked Usher's original release of "Good Kisser", mainly because I thought it sounded terrible and way worse than anything he had released in 2012 (when his album Looking 4 Myself) first dropped. Thanks to the world class DJ brothers that form Disclosure (a sick production team), "Good Kisser" is filled with more life, more dance and it sounds a whole lot better. Make sure you include this new track (which was just debuted last night) to your 4th of July playlist!

Watch: CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (July 3rd, 2014)

Prefer to watch the Hot 50? That's totally cool in my book! You can watch this week's full Hot 50 video above or you can read the chart (or do both). I've attached the chart highlights to this post as a reference point.

Rixton debuts at #33 with "Me and My Broken Heart" after over two month (10 weeks) of bouncing around on the On The Bubble chart. So how did Rixton come to finally debut on the Hot 50? Mainly because of the track's growth on US Pop Radio (currently #13 on Radio according to Billboard). Additionally, the controversy surrounding the track (with reports that its a copy of a Maroon 5 song) has really hyped it up, causing it to land on the Hot 50 for the first time.

Forecast: Katy B, Rixton and Secondcity Headed For Top Debuts

Recap
As the tracking week is now just a few hours away from closing, it appears that Ed Sheeran's tracks won't be attacking the Hot 50 this week. It was previous reported that up to 7 of the tracks from his just released X album could inflict damage onto the Hot 50. Of those 7 tracks, only three of those tracks ("Don't", "The Man" and "Bloodstream") have even a chance at debuting on the Hot 50 this week. That leaves tracks like "Afire Love", "Sing", "One", "Photograph", "Thinking Out Loud" and "I See Fire" out of Hot 50 spots. Not to worry, however. They still have a shot of cracking the list at a later time ("Afire Love" and "Thinking Out Loud" have the best chance).

So... what's changed?

A lot.

New Entries/Dropouts
After I published my article about the tracks from X, I received some recommendations for tracks by Katy B ("Crying For No Reason"), Secondcity ("I Wanna Feel"), and Rixton ("Me & My Broken Heart"). Two of these tracks (Secondcity and Rixton) were already contenders (Rixton's track had been under my radar for a few months, while Secondcity's track had emerged on my radar a few weeks ago) for the chart, while Katy B's song (which I had heard once or twice before) got a nice push from an amazing remix I found (and subsequently played the hell out of) that was created by an online remixer named Tom Damage.

Now, it looks like Katy B's track will have the highest debut this week, with a top 20 debut in reach. Secondcity's "I Wanna Feel" could clock in the top 25, while Rixton's "Me and My Broken Heart" should punch in with a more modest debut (35-45). They're guaranteed slots at this point.

On the other hand, Ed Sheeran's efforts are kind of in a tough spot. "Don't" currently leads the pack, and could possibly debut as high as #30, but a debut around #40 is a more reasonable estimate. "The Man" and "Bloodstream" are going to have marginal debuts on the chart (if they even crack the top 50), and they'll likely wind up between #45-50.

With perhaps 6 tracks from last week's Hot 50 departing from the upcoming list, Ed Sheeran should scoop 3 new entries, while Katy B, Rixton and Secondcity will get one each. See the singles that will likely drop off the Hot 50 when the final tally is released:

- "Brooklyn Baby" by Lana Del Rey
- "Shades of Cool" by Lana Del Rey
- "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
- "Partition" by Beyoncé
- "Say Yes" by Destiny's Child
- "Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)" by Beyoncé

Top 5 Contenders
Things in the top 5 this week appear to be running on par with last week. Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" should take 1st place for a third consecutive week to tie Loreen's "Euphoria" for the longest #1 run of any track from any year of the Eurovision Song Contest (coincidentally, both women are from Sweden).

Kiesza's "Hideaway" should nail a 3rd straight week at number 2, for 9 consecutive weeks in the top 2 (the deep house anthem previously topped the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 for 6 consecutive frames from the start of May to mid June. Next week, it'll reach Gold certification status for 500+ points earned.

Maroon 5's brand new single "Maps" (which was last week's Hot Shot Debut) should bullet at number 3 for a second straight week, though its numbers should climb past 120 points.

Clean Bandit's "Rather Be (feat Jess Glynne)" should wind up in 4th place for the second straight week, which will raise its overall score to 785+. That puts it among the top 8 biggest scorers of the year so far, an impressive achievement for a track that's both still climbing and in its 20th week. Shakira's "Dare (La La La)" should round out the top 5 and hold the Voter's Choice #1 title for a second straight week.