Hot 50 Forecast: Maroon 5 Set For Top Opening, Jessie J’s “Bang Bang”Starts Lukewarm

Now that approximately half the week is gone, it’s time to get down to this week’s forecast. Remember, the Hot 50 forecast is a representation of the first four days of tracking (Saturday-Tuesday) and is not reflective of the entire week.
 

Maroon 5’s just released single, “It Was Always You”, is currently in the lead among new entries this week, ranking among the top 20 this for the week to date (through Tuesday) despite just be released for the first time on Monday night. “It Was Always You” (which follows the group’s #1 peaking “Maps”) previews Maroon 5’s upcoming 5th studio album V. At this point, “It Was Always You” is set for a top 15 finish, which would be a modest start for the band (5 out of 8 of their previously charting hits have opened at #10 or higher). Heading into Wednesday, the track could enter the top 10. While we’re on the topic of Maroon 5, it’s worth pointing out that “Maps” (last week’s leader) is set to command the top of the list for a 5th consecutive week. If it does wind up on top this week, it’ll surpass 2012’s “Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)” as the group’s longest running #1 to date. “Maps” will additionally become the second longest reigning song of 2014, behind Kiesza’s unstoppable “Hideaway”, which topped for 6 straight frames starting in early May.

On the other hand, Jessie J’s Collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj (“Bang Bang”) is off to an underwhelming start. With just a handful of first day spins, don’t expect this to amount to much in its first week. When the Social Songs 100 opens up for voting later today, I’m guessing that “Bang Bang” will ride into the top position, which would give it an additional 10 points right off the bat. Still, at this point it’s likely that “Bang Bang” (a track that is actually decently composed) nabs the second highest debut of the week.

The Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga collaboration (“Anything Goes”) could potentially become the third highest debut of the week, with somewhere between #35-45 being a reasonable guess. While that would be a record low start for Gaga (who has tallied 18 weeks at #1), any debut on the Hot 50 would mark a career high for Bennett, who hasn’t released many tracks since the 2012 inception of the CDS Music Chart.

Other tracks that could potentially make a splash include Train’s “Bulletproof Picasso” (from the forthcoming album of the same name), and Secondcity’s “What Can I Do (feat. Ali Love)”. Hillary Duff’s “Chasing the Sun” is currently on pace to fall just short of the official Hot 50.

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Album Development: Train's "Bulletproof Picasso", Drake Announces New Album

Train Unveils "Bulletproof Picasso" Cover and Tracklist

Alongside the release of the official video for "Angel In Blue Jeans" on Tuesday, July 15th, Train revealed the cover and track list for their upcoming studio album Bulletproof Picasso. The new album, due for a September 16th release, follows their 6th album California 37 which produced the #1 CDS Music Chart hit single "Drive By" as well as the #1 bubbling track of 2012 ("50 Ways To Say Goodbye"). To date, Bulletproof Picasso's lead single ("Angel In Blue Jeans") has reached as high as #38 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, somewhat of a disappointment compared to their previous releases.

Notable for being the first album to be recorded without the founding drummer Scott Underwood, the band is set to release the album's second official single sometime in early August. Rumors are pointing toward "Bulletproof Picasso" as the album's next single.

Tracklist

1. Cadillac, Cadillac

2. Bulletproof Picasso

3. Angel In Blue Jeans

4. Give It All

5. Wonder What You're Doing for the Rest of Your Life

6. Son of a Prison Guard

7. Just a Memory

8. I'm Drinking Tonight

9. I Will Remember

10. The Bridge

11. Baby, Happy Birthday

12. Don't Grow Up So Fast

Drake Announces New Album "Views From the 6"

After months of speculation, Canadian recording artist and rapper Drake has announced the release of his new album titled "Views From the 6". The title, likely a reference to the area codes in his hometown of Toronto, bares some resemblance to the 1999 release of Jennifer Lopez's "On the 6", which was a shoutout to her hometown of the Bronx (New York).

The new album is due for a late 2014 release, possibly in November or December. No lead single has been announced to date, but several promotional releases have been dropped through Soundcloud. In other news, Drake's record label will release its first two major releases at the tail end of July and he'll be touring with Lil Wayne.

Alex & Sierra Reveal "It's About Us" Tracklist

As the winners of the US version of The X Factor, American duo Alex & Sierra naturally got a record deal with Simon Cowell's Syco Records. After several months of prepping their debut studio album, Alex & Sierra released the single "Scarecrow" at the tail end of June. Now, the group has announced the release of their album. Due for an October 7th release, It's About Us will be the group's first effort. See the full tracklist below.

Tracklist

1. Scarecrow

2. Give Me Something

3. Bumper Cars

4. Almost Home

5. Here We Go

6. It's About Us

7. Little Do You Know

8. Cheating

9. Just Kids

10. I Love You

11. Broken Flame

13. All For You

Kris Allen Returns to Music; Announces August Release For Album Horizons

After somewhat of a troubling album cycle in 2012, Kris Allen has announced that he will be back with a brand new album before the end of Summer 2014. As of July 8th, the Horizons era has finally begun. The album's lead single, "Prove It to You (feat. Lenachka)" dropped on July 8th, just one month ahead of the album's street date. See the full tracklist below.

Tracklist

1. Young Love ("Paul Simon")

2. Prove It to You (feat. Lenachka)

3. Beautiful & Wild

4. In Time

5. Lost

6. Don't Set Me Free

7. Everybody Just Wants to Dance

8. Parachute

9. It's Always You

10. Girl Across the Room

That's it for this edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!

Watch: CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (June 19th, 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.

Chart Highlights: Sanna Nielsen Tops, Train and Lily Allen Debut

 

 

If you're interested in learning about tracks shifting below the top 10, scroll to the bottom where you'll find the Voter's Top 10 (the most voted for tracks by the general public), this week's chart debuts and four genre based charts. Let's dive right into the second week of summer fun.

In a shocking twist, Sanna Nielsen's Eurovison entry, "Undo", elevates 2-1, ending the 6 week reign of Kiesza's "Hideaway" (1-2) and also becoming the 3rd Eurovision entry (from any year) to reach the top slot. Previously, Loreen's "Euphoria" blasted in at #1 (on its way toward a 3 week reign) at the end of May 2012 and Emmelie De Forest's "Only Teardrops entered at #5 before reaching #1 in its sophomore week back in June 2013. It stayed for two weeks. Quite interestingly enough, "Undo" jumps 15 points in airplay to a hefty 119 (+14.42%), which ranks 4th all time, 2nd for a non-opening week total and 1st place for a track not sung by Lady Gaga. Unfortunately for Nielsen, all good news comes with bad news. Maroon 5's latest track, "Maps", should have a large entry on next week's chart, with could severely hurt the chance of "Undo" spending more than 1 week at #1. Maroon 5's track record is among the strongest of any artist; they've debuted in the top 10 a total of 4 times and have had all charted tracks eventually reach the top 5 (including album tracks; a total of 7 consecutive top 5 singles). It does have other benefactors however that could help it land another week atop the list: "Undo" has started to connect with the public audience (it ranks at #16 on the Voter's Choice Top 70), which is a good sign for its future.

Check out every song to pass 100 (101 and over) below. If a track spent over 1 week above 100, only its largest week is listed.

Plays	Song	Artist	Date	Rank
211	Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly)	Lady Gaga	October 31st, 2013	#1 (Debut)
159	Applause	Lady Gaga	August 23rd, 2013	#1 (Debut)
135	Venus	Lady Gaga	November 7th, 2013	#1 (+41)
119	Undo	Sanna Nielsen	June 19th, 2014	#1 (+1)
116	Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)	Maroon 5	April 19th, 2012	#1 (Debut)
115	Hideaway	Kiesza	May 8th, 2014	#1 (Debut)
111	Don’t You Worry Child (feat. John Martin)	Swedish House Mafia	December 6th, 2012	#1 (+1)
109	Thinking About You (feat. Ayah Marar)	Calvin Harris	August 23rd, 2013	#2 (-1)
104	Summertime Sadness	Lana Del Rey	August 23rd, 2013	#3 (+28)
104	Where Have You Been	Rihanna	June 21st, 2012	#1 (+2)
102	Same Love (feat. Mary Lambert)	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	August 23rd, 2013	#4(-2)
102	Euphoria	Loreen	June 21st, 2012	#2 (-1)
101	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	June 12th, 2014	#3(=)
101	We Run the Night (feat. Pitbull)	Havana Brown	June 21st, 2012	#3 (+18)

As previously mentioned, Kiesza's "Hideaway" drops 2-1 on the tally after spending a 6th frame at #1 last week. Still, Kiesza holds the second longest running #1 debut (behind the 11 non-consecutive week run of "Applause") as well as the only song to rack 100 points or more for 7 weeks, further extending it's lead (it surpassed "Do What U Want" after its third week past 100). As the track racks up 107 plays (up 2; +1.9%), "Hideaway" holds the #2 spot comfortably, and has a chance at rebounding to #1 sometime in the near future. Currently, "Hideaway" is tied as the #1 song of the summer (with Sanna Nielsen's "Undo") as the annual competition enters its second week.

In 3rd place this week, Coldplay's "A Sly Full of Stars" holds at #3 for a third week. Though it never reached the summit of the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (it peaked at #2 for 3 weeks), "Stars" has continually reached past the 100 spins mark (clocking in at 104 this week; +2.9% from last week). With that holding strength, "Stars" will likely become a monster success for Coldplay this year. As the 3rd annual summer songs completion enters its third frame, Coldplay occupies two top 5 slots for the season so far. That achievement makes them the largest point scoring band of the season (so far).

Iggy Azalea's "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" pounces 6-4 as it elevates to 99 spins this week (+6.45%). As the track enters the top 10 for the first time, Iggy Azalea becomes just the 2nd female rapper to collect a top 5 single, while featured artist, Charli XCX, collects her 2nd top single. In the process, Charli XCX becomes the first act to reach the top 5 on multiple occasions only as a featured artist. Despite its 8-17 drop on the Voter's Top Singles Chart, "Fancy" remains strong thanks to a large amount of plays received through official radio stations. What else is helping it? It's ranked #1 on all the major charts within the United States (#1 US Billboard Hot 100, #1 Radio, #1 Streaming, #1 Rap, etc.).

Following the massive success of their two week #1 single, "Counting Stars", OneRepublic had to step up their came to harness a hit of the same magnitude. Luckily, they came across the long shelved/unfinished "Love Runs Out". After fixing up the chorus and several stand out lines, "Love Runs Out" was born. OneRepublic's attempt at servicing radio and the public with a worthy new jam succeeded. "Runs" holds at #5 for a 3rd consecutive week, tallying a 7th week within the top 10. Hopefully the track will be able to match the success of 24 week top 10 single, "Counting Stars". I'm "counting" on it to.

Nicki Minaj's "Pills N Potions" moves 7-6 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 aided by it's strong hold on the Voter's Top 70 (2-1 gain for a third non-consecutive week at the summit). That position gives it an extra 10  point bonus on top of it's large growth. Without the 9 point bonus, the track might have been stuck at it's #7 peak position. Starting on Monday (June 16th), you can vote for "Pills N Potions" as your favorite track of the week. If it lands within the top 10 at the end of next week, the track will get bonus points which should help it elevate up the chart.

Clean Bandit's "Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)" edges 8-7, hitting a new peak in its 19th week on the chart. It previously tallied two weeks at #9 toward the start of its run and a total of five non-consecutive weeks at #10 (a record tying total). Katy Perry's "Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" first strung together 5 non-consecutive weeks at #10 between December 2013 and February 2014. Given the track's impressively strong track record, "Rather Be" will likely close past 900 points (it passes 690 points this week).

Coldplay's "Magic" drops 4-8 on the tally this week. It previously held its #4 peak position for two consecutive weeks, becoming the British band's second consecutive top 5 hit single. Follow up release, "A Sky Full of Stars" peaked at #2 while promotional release "Midnight" enters the top 40 on this week's chart.

Vita Chambers returns to the CDS Music Chart Hot 50's top 10 for the first time since the fall of 2013 (when "What If?" debuted at #7 and eventually reached #3) as "A+D" elevates 12-9. With the move, Vita Chambers reclaims her title as the first solo artist to reach the top 10 with all charting singles (multiple); "A+D" marks her 4th top 10 hit. Only one other act (Maroon 5) has reached the top 10 with all charting singles, tallying 7 within the region across 2012 and early 2013. While "A+D" was the only Vita Chambers song to not debut within the top 10, the track has made up for it and become the young Canadian artist's 4th straight top 10 hit (as previously announced) following "Fix You", "Masquerade" and "What If?" which debuted at numbers 10, 9 and 7 before peaking at numbers 1, 2 and 3.

Rounding out the upper tier, Shakira's "Dare (La La La)" flies 13-10 to become her 3rd straight top 10 single. With the move, Shakira becomes the second solo artist to reach the top 10 with all charting singles (multiple). The track moves courtesy of nice boost from ads during the 2014 FIFA World Cup games in Brazil, which have been the main source of its 17 point boost from last week's total (though its move from 5-2 on the Voter's Top Singles Chart does help it score 3 bonus points). The track follows the #1 peaking "Empire" and the #3 peaking "Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna).

Notably, Train returns to the Hot 50 for the first time since 2012 with "Angel In Blue Jeans". As the track enters the list in its debut frame, it becomes the California band's second entry. Previously, their 2012 single "Drive By" held the top slot for a single week in early 2012.

Though it was just released on Thursday, Lily Allen's 2014 FIFA World Cup anthem "Bass Like Home" enters the Hot 50 as the British singer's 2nd charting single. Previously, her 2013 release "Hard Out Here" managed to peak at #24.

Hot 50 Debuts:
- "Jungle" by Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors
- "Brooklyn Baby" by Lana Del Rey
- "Bass Like Home" by Lily Allen
- "Angel In Blue Jeans" by Train

Dropouts:
- "Love Never Felt So Good (feat. Justin Timberlake)" by Michael Jackson
- "Human" by Christina Perri
- "Jump" by Rihanna
- "Losing Sleep" by John Newman

Genre Based Top 5's:

Pop Songs
#1(=) "Undo" by Sanna Nielsen  (3 weeks @ #1)
#2(=) "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay (3 weeks @ #1)
#3(+1) "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea
#4(-1) "Love Runs Out" by OneRepublic
#5(=) "Pills N Potions" by Nicki Minaj

Hip-Hop/Rap Songs
#1(=) "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea (6 weeks @ #1)
#2(=) "Pills N Potions" by Nicki Minaj
#3(=) "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" by Ariana Grande
#4(=) "Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)" by Beyoncé (11 weeks @ #1)
#5(=) "Talk Dirty (feat. 2 Chainz)" by Jason Derülo

Dance Songs
#1(+1) "Undo" by Sanna Nielsen (1 week @ #1)
#2(-1) "Hideaway" by Kiesza (6 weeks @ #1)
#3(=) "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay
#4(=) "Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)" by Clean Bandit
#5(=) "All of Me" by John Legend

Electronic Songs
#1(=) "Hideaway" by Kiesza (7 weeks @ #1)
#2(=) "Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)" by Clean Bandit (6 weeks @ #1)
#3(+1) "Do It Again" by Röyksopp & Robyn
#4(-1) "Latch (feat. Sam Smith)" by Disclosure (5 weeks @ #1)
#5(=) "Mind Controller" by Ayah Marar (7 weeks @ #1)

On The Bubble:
New tracks you'll see on the chart soon.
#51(=) "Extraordinary (feat. Sharna Bass)" by Clean Bandit
#52(=) "A Place With No Name" by Michael Jackson
#53(=) "Eye of the Needle" by Sia
#54(=) "Waves" by Mr. Probz
#55(=) "Keep Us Safe" by Carrie Underwood
#56(=) "Another's Arms" by Coldplay
#57(=) "Rise Like A Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst"
#58(=) Gore & Glory" by Lorde
#59(=) "Battle Cry" by Imagine Dragons
#60(=) "Something Bad" Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood

In the Mix:
Tracks that are just starting to surge in popularity. You'll see 'em on the Hot 50 real soon! Bold indicates that the track is one of the largest movers of the week.
- "Good Kisser" by Usher
- "PARTYNAUSEOUS" by Lady Gaga
- "Ghost" by Ella Henderson
- "UP!" by Samantha Jade
- "My Bae" by Pia Mia
- "Bartender" by Lady Antebellum
- "Get Her Back" by Robin Thicke
- "Keep Us Safe" by Carrie Underwood
- "Something Bad" by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
- "Rise Like A Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst
- "Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" by Jason Derülo
- "Money Can't Buy (feat. Jezzy)" by Ne-Yo
- "Turn Down For What (feat. Lil Jon)" by DJ Snake
- "Another's Arms" by Coldplay
- "Rainmaker" by Emmelie De Forest
- "Rainbow" by Sanna Nielsen
- "Classic" by MKTO
- "Me and My Broken Heart" by Rixton
- "You and I" by One Direction
- "Gore & Glory" by Lorde
- "Waves" by Mr. Probz
- "Extraordinary (feat. Sharna Bass)" by Clean Bandit
- "A Place With No Name" by Michael Jackson
- "Battle Cry" by Imagine Dragons
- "Smoke (feat. Trey Songz)" by 50 Cent

Voter's Top 10:
The top 10 most approved songs by the public across all platforms. Red tracks didn't reach the Hot 50 this week. Bolded tracks debuted on the Hot 50. Italicized tracks were on Hot 50 last week and are listed again. Vote for your favorites each week.

#1(+1) "Pills N Potions" by Nicki Minaj
#2(+3) Dare (La La La)/La La La" by Shakira
#3(+15) "Thirsty" by Mariah Carey*
#4 (NEW) "Incredible" by Celine Dion
#5(+8) "Rise Like A Phoneix" by Conchita Wurst

#6(-2) "West Coast" by Lana Del Rey
#7(=) "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore
#8(-2) "Shades of Cool" by Lana Del Rey
#9(+2) "Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" by Jason Derülo
#10(NEW) "Brooklyn Baby" by Lana Del Rey

Top 10 Dropouts:
#12(-9) "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" by Ariana Grande
#16(-6) "Undo" by Sanna Nielsen
#17(-9) "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea
#19(-10) "Birthday" by Katy Perry*
#73(-72) "Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" by Cheryl Cole

Non Top 10 Debuts:
#11 (NEW) "Ultraviolence" by Lana Del Rey*

#35 (NEW) "Sirens of the Caspian" by SEVDALIZA
#36 (NEW) "Satisfaction Guaranteed" by Alyssa Reid*
#52 (NEW) "Blame (feat. John Newman)" by Calvin Harris
#54 (NEW) "Jungle" by Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors
#58 (NEW) "Louder" by Neon Jungle
#61 (NEW) "Hangover" by PSY

*Charted prior to this week.

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CDS Picks: Train, Colbie Caillat and More

Welcome back to another installment in the wildly popular CDS Picks feature. This time, I'm focusing on new recordings by Train, Colbie Caillat, Lily Allen, and more. 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.

Lily Allen - "Bass Like Home"
Though Lily Allen didn't actually get the chance to record an official 2014 World Cup theme song, the British pop star did create a stand alone anthem of her own. Best of all, she offered the track as a limited free download starting on June 12th. The track, titled "Bass Like Home", is an electronic influenced pop production that's more entertaining than most of her recent discography (the majority of Sheezus). To be completely honest, the track has a big chance at reaching the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. If it does reach the chart, it will be the artist's 2nd charting track (2013's "Hard Out Here" reached a peak of #24) and the 3rd charting track used to promote the 2014 World Cup (after Shakira's "La La La" and Oceana's "Everybody").

Train - Angel In Blue Jeans
After taking 2 years off to tour the United States and record their new album, Train is finally back with another new single, "Angel In Blue Jeans". It's not quite as catchy as their previous recent releases ("Drive By", "50 Ways to Say Goodbye", and "Mermaid"), it's still a decent effort and should be able to make a nice sized impact on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 (as a reference point, "Drive By" reached #1 for a single week but failed to hold well through the rest of its run). Either way, the track is bound to be somewhat of a success across the American radio airwaves this summer.



Robin Stjernberg - "Body Language"
It's a bit disappointing that it took Robin Stjernberg a full year to come up with this song. "Body Language" feels a bit odd when compared to Stjernberg's 2013 smash single "You" (which reached the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 about a year ago).

Fortunately, it's not the worst effort we've seen from Robin Stjernberg and it has some standing potential. It should be able to become a noticeable smash hit in Stjernberg's native Sweden and other neighboring Scandinavian countries.

Colbie Caillat - "Try"
Offered as the iTunes free single of the week, Colbie Caillat's latest single, "Try" is a fairly mellow effort, yet the track's intense vocals place it high within the ranks of Colbie's extensive discography.

Interestingly enough, "Try" was released alongside a surprise digital exclusive EP titled Gypsy Heart (Side A) along with several other tracks. It was later confirmed that this "side A" was actually part of her upcoming 5th studio album (likely to be stylized as just Gypsy Heart). This is an interesting promotion tactic... let's see if it ends up working in her favor.

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