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).

Vote For Your Favorites of the Week (Week 21)!

Hot New Track This Week:

"Warriors"
Imagine Dragons
From the forthcoming 2nd studio album by Imagine Dragons (Title TBA)
Release: September 18th

Thoughts: Imagine Dragons have made my list a total of 3 times (with "It's Time", "Radioactive", and "Demons"), but only one of their releases became a decent sized hit on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. Now, with "Warriors" leading off the group's 2nd studio album, they have a chance to chart again. 

This new sound is similar to that of what we heard on "Radioactive" (the group's best performing CDS Music Chart Hot 50 single), but it feels a bit darker. There's lots of raised voices, emotions and an overly rock vibe, which is similar yet different compared to their earlier work. I can't tell if I like it as much as their other stuff, but it is still decent.

Now you be the judge. Does "Warriors" have what it takes to debut on the Hot 50? If yes, vote it up, if no, vote down.

Last Week's Outcome: There was no voting last week. Sorry!

New Entries:
- "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons
- "i" by Kendrick Lamar
- "Burnin' Up (feat. 2 Chainz)" by Jessie J
- "No Enemiesz" by Kiesza
- "Therapy" by Mary J. Blige
- "Whole Damn Year" by Mary J. Blige
- "Take Ü There (feat. Kiesza)" by Jack Ü

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 21st 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

Summer Songs 2014 Results: European Acts Dominate

For the past several years, I've published an annual feature that recaps the best performing singles of the summer season on CDS Music Chart Hot 50. This year's season began with the chart issue dated June 12th, and ending with the chart dated September 12th, reflecting the tracking period of Saturday, May 31st through Friday, September 5th. Within that 14 week period (which began and ended one week early when compared to previous years), 92 tracks were on the chart for at least one week each. That's up from the 86 that were on the list for at least one week during the Summer 2013 season. This year's season saw 17,923 points being doled out among the acts, down a noticeable 0.11% compared to last year's sum of 17,943 points.

How were the points listed below determined?
Every week, the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 ranks my personal favorite songs in order from #1-50... or not quite. New for this year, I allowed people to give me some personal input on their favorite music. Each week, the ten most voted songs by the public were given bonus points which helped boost their rank (and thus points) for that specific week. After counting my data and data from voters, the total points for each song was calculated. The song that scored the most points ranked at #1, with the song that ranked 50th in terms of points ended up in 50th place (the final slot). After being ranked, all  points earned during the week no longer have value. Instead, the songs in the top 50 are assigned a final value based on an inverse system; #1 receives 50 points and #50 receives 1 point. There's also a small set of additional points to award song for the amount of weeks they've spent on the chart. This can be a little bit confusing, so let me know if you want me to further explain this.

Among the top 10 songs of this year's season, only 3 of them had spent at least a week at #1 during any part of their run on the chart (January-September). That's down a noticeable 50% compared to last year, which saw 6 of the top 10 songs of the season claim at least a week at #1. In fact, only 6 songs in this year's top 50 spent at least a week at #1. Last year, 11 songs in the Summer Songs top 50 had spent at least a week at #1 sometime during their run.

Back to the top 10, this year's crop brought in a colossal sum of 5,767. That's up nearly 4% when stacked next to 2013's comparable sum of 5,557. While only one song passed 600 points (June-September points ONLY) this year, compared to two from last year, this year's #1 Summer song led my a massive 80 seasonal points. Last year, the top 2 were separated by a thin margin of 6 points.

What was most interesting to me, was that only one song in this year's top 10 wasn't recorded (or recorded in part) by a artist based outside the US. That song, was the 5 week #1 single "Maps" by Maroon 5. Last year saw 4 songs by United States based acts in the top 10. Canadian acts were un-surprisingly the most successful among songs in the top 10, coming in at #1, #4 and #6 (#11 was also recorded by a Canadian act). Swedish took 2nd place with two entries (#3 and #7), while tying the United Kingdom for the most acts with a song in the top 10 (3 each).

See the full top 75 best performing songs of Summer 2014 below, and stay tuned for the video version of the chart (which will contain the top 60).

Rank	Song	Performer	Summer 2014 Points
1	***SUMMER SONGS #1*** Hideaway	Kiesza	679.75
2	Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)	Clean Bandit	598.29
3	Undo	Sanna Nielsen	596.61
4	A+D	Vita Chambers	589.75
5	Maps	Maroon 5	575.78
6	Giant In My Heart	Kiesza	566.78
7	Do It Again	Röyksopp & Robyn	559.33
8	Chandelier	Sia	558.59
9	Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)	Iggy Azalea	521.59
10	Am I Wrong	Nico & Vinz	521.05
11	Satisfaction Guaranteed	Alyssa Reid	488.05
12	Pills N Potions	Nicki Minaj	478.33
13	Latch (feat. Sam Smith)	Disclosure	473.45
14	Dare (La La La)	Shakira	465.59
15	Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)	Ariana Grande	441.75
16	I Wanna Feel	Secondcity	426.66
17	A Sky Full of Stars	Coldplay	409.75
18	Love Runs Out	OneRepublic	384.03
19	Summer	Calvin Harris	365.33
20	Boom Clap	Charli XCX	359.78
21	Crying For No Reason	Katy B	311.66
22	She Came to Give It To You (feat. Nicki Minaj)	Usher	308.45
23	If I Go	Ella Eyre	298.19
24	It Was Always You	Maroon 5	294.21
25	Strange Enough	VÉRITÉ	291.36
26	***CURRENT #1*** Bang Bang	Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj	277.21
27	Flashlight	DJ Fresh & Ellie Goulding	274.36
28	Me & My Broken Heart	Rixton	272.66
29	Magic	Coldplay	264.85
30	2 On (feat. SchoolBoy Q)	Tinashe	264.55
31	All of Me	John Legend	264.05
32	Empire	Shakira	224.2
33	Don't	Ed Sheeran	208.66
34	No Mediocre (feat. Iggy Azalea)	T.I.	192.55
35	West Coast	Lana Del Rey	182.25
36	The Big Bang	Katy Tiz	180.14
37	Angel In Blue Jeans	Train	170.91
38	Everybody	Oceana	165.27
39	First Things First	Neon Trees	160.62
40	Marilyn Monroe	Pharrell Williams	160.1
41	Stay With Me	Sam Smith	151.45
42	Ain't It Fun	Paramore	147
43	Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)	Iggy Azalea	146.25
44	Anaconda	Nicki Minaj	138.15
45	Ready For the Weekend (feat. Ayah Marar)	R3HAB & NERVO	136.28
46	It's On Again (feat. Kendrick Lamar)	Alicia Keys	126.63
47	G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)	Lady Gaga	122.41
48	Rude	MAGIC!	112.36
49	Hey Brother	Avicii	110.99
50	My Love (feat. Jess Glynne)	Route 94	107.55
51	Glow	Ella Henderson	106.1
52	Team	Lorde	104.18
53	Break The Rules	Charli XCX	104.06
54	Goodness Gracious	Ellie Goulding	99.23
55	Superheroes	The Script	98.28
56	Animals	Maroon 5	82.03
57	Not A Bad Thing	Justin Timberlake	78.54
58	Shake It Off	Taylor Swift	77.06
59	XO	Beyoncé	68.02
60	Counting Stars	OneRepublic	67.5
61	Guts Over Fear (feat. Sia)	Eminem	64.03
62	Two Weeks	FKA twigs	61.1
63	Midnight	Coldplay	57.26
64	Good Kisser (Disclosure Remix)	Usher	56.36
65	All About That Bass	Meghan Trainor	53.21
66	Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)	Beyoncé	49.81
67	Break Free (feat. Zedd)	Ariana Grande	47.45
68	Partition	Beyoncé	41.54
69	We Are Done	The Madden Brothers	41.35
70	F For You (feat. Mary J. Blige)	Disclosure	40.55
71	Happy	Pharrell Williams	39.66
72	Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)	Katy Perry	38.77
73	Jungle	Jamie N Commons & X Ambassadors	38.21
74	Say Yes	Destiny's Child	36.09
75	Bass Like Home	Lily Allen	29.21

Which songs of Summer 2014 were you're favorites? Let me know below or on Twitter! The top 5 most voted will be announced as a part of the video chart this weekend, so hurry! Come back for more posts!