Wednesday, January 29, 2014

How the Grammys Will Be Negatively Impacting You For the Next Week or Two

Beyoncé performing "Drunk In Love" with Jay Z at The 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

I'll never fully understand why nearly 30 million Americans watch a 3 hour award show that honors singers based on the opinion of a mere 150 recording industry "experts". While they aren't supposed to incorporate anything into their votes other than "quality" alone.

Still, a few recording artists dominated the ceremony. If that isn't a coincide than I don't know what is. Anyway, let's take a look at how the Grammy Award ceremony will be negatively impacting you and the rest of America for the next week or two.

Every year in late January/early February, America honors music that was released between September of 2 years before and September of the year before. Songs that dominated the year before, are honored and performed on stage. Following these performances, songs that were just starting to cool off, reheat and set fire to the charts (yet again).

This year, Daft Punk, P!nk, Beyoncé and Imagine Dragons are among the main acts to see a large sales boost. According to Billboard, P!nk's previous Billboard Hot 100 #1 single "Just Give Me A Reason" grew approximately 130% in downloads to 40,000 copies sold. Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" (which was hailed as one of the worst tracks of 2013 by me) hovers at #11 as of Wednesday night on the iTunes store (down from #5 earlier this week). The song grew heavily and its parent album, Random Access Memories, grew at least 75%. Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)" is #5 on the iTunes store right now. Before the Grammy Awards, it hovered around #15. Imagine Dragons re-released #3 peaking "Radioactive" with Kendrick Lamar on iTunes. As a result, the new version ranks #4 and the original is #30.

While this is good for the respective artists, it temporarily pushes songs that have already been pushed to their extremes (old songs that you've heard thousands of times). This pushes current popular songs downward and creates a 1-2 week process of re-marketing the newer songs on the market that were just starting to become hits. It also causes an uneven balance on other platforms and just makes everything a mess.


Fortunately, this year's effects are starting to quickly wear off. I still predict that it will be another week before order is restored in the music world.

Most Anticipated Album Releases of March 2014

As most people know, January is typically a slow month for albums (maybe the slowest). Holdover titles from the last few months of the previous year usually dominate the charts. A typical album from the previous year could sell less than 80,000 copies and remain #1 in January. Occasionally, a has been or newer yet well known artist will manage to sneak a #1 with a new album (released in January) and sell the bare minimum. For example, Ke$ha's 1st album sold 152,000 copies in January 2010. Although this seems like a lot of copies, it was released on January 1st, when the post Christmas digital rush is still in affect. A better example would be Bruce Springsteen's 18th studio album, High Hopes, which sold 99,000 copies last week and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.

Either way, January is still a lagging month for music in the US and February and March have to work extra hard to keep the rest of the year up. February 2014 releases have looked a little grim though. Albums from Little Mix, Eric Church, Schoolboy Q and The Fray will likely lead the month while albums from Toni Braxton, Candice Glover, and Sean Paul will likely underperform. That's why I'm skipping into March, which is swirling with announcements of albums from seasoned and still fresh performers Ashanti, Enrique Iglesias, Kylie Minogue, and Shakira among others.

Here are my most highly anticipated new album release in March.


5. "Braveheart" by Ashanti
Release Date: March 18th, 2014

Ashanti first came into the spotlight in the early 2000s when her first two singles and her first album preformed extremely well in the United States. Since then, her subsequent albums have also been strong performers.

Her 5th studio album, Braveheart, follows The Declaration, her most recent album which was released in 2008. The album has been preceded by 3 worldwide singles and is set for a mid March 2014 release date. The main reason why I am including this album is because Ashanti has been gone from the music scene for quite a while and I (like many others) can't wait for her to return.


4. "Pulses" by Karmin
Release Date: March 25th, 2014

After releasing a commercially successful debut EP (Hello) in 2012, Karmin returned in 2013 with the first taste of their first full length studio album. Their single, "Acapella", became an international hit and peaked at #5 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. The group's 2nd official single, "I Want It All", was officially released on January 28th, 2014.

Rumored to contain 14 tracks, the new album is set for a March 25th, 2014. It was initially planned to be released in September 2013, but following a dispute with their record label, Karmin continued to write and record more music for possible inclusion on the LP.

3. "Kiss Me Once" by Kylie Minogue"
Release Date: March 18th, 2014

Kylie Minogue has had a little under 4 years to prep her 12th studio album, Kiss Me Once, which hits retailers on March 18th, 2014. Promotion for the album has started off with a bang. The album's lead single, "Into the Blue" was released on January 27th, 2014 alongside the special edition pre-order of the album.

Containing 13 tracks and several additional bonus videos, the limited special addition will sell for around $25 physically (according to the official Kylie store) and for $14 digitally. The regular edition with 11 tracks will sell for $15 physically and for $11 digitally, and will likely be the most common edition. A super limited edition will sell for $80 (contains limited prints, signed copies, only 2,000 made, vinyl, download code and deluxe album all included).

2. "Sex + Love" by Enrique Iglesias
Release Date: March 18th, 2014

Enrique Iglesias last released a new album all the way back in the summer of 2010. That album, Euphoria, produced 7 international singles (4 English language and 3 Spanish language). After his worldwide success with the album, Enrique hoped for a re-issue of his most recent album. When that idea fell through, he became promoting his next dual language studio album.

Promoted by 7 international singles, his latest project, Sex + Love, is set for a March 18th release date. A confirmed track with Kylie Minogue titled "Beautiful" will be released to retailers as part of Kylie's 12 studio album, Kiss Me Once, which also drops on March 18th. No word as to whether or not the collaboration will appear on the Enrique album. The album's cover art will be released tonight.

1. "Shakria" by Shakira
Release Date: March 25th, 2014

After the international success of her last album, Sale El Sol, in 2011, Shakira had a baby, became a coach on the United States version of The Voice and recorded her 10th album. Her 10th album, titled Shakira, will be released on March 25th, 2014. The album is preceded by the worldwide single "Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)" released on January 13th, 2014. While the single has so far peaked at #8 on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50, the song has had mixed reactions from around the world. The song has reached #1 in Colombia and the top 10 in 8 more countries. It hit the top 40 in almost all charting countries including #28 in the United States.

The album was announced to feature 3 deluxe edition tracks that will only be available for purchase at Target. The track list has yet to be announced, although a spanish version of the lead single was released the following week.

Come back for more exclusive posts on albums and the weekly chart highlights!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Daft Punk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Sweep Grammy's


At the 56th annual Grammy awards, Daft Punk and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were among the acts that swept in their respective categories. Daft Punk won 2 of the 3 biggest awards and added an additional 3 awards from the other categories that they were nominated for.

Here are the 5 awards Daft Punk won last night:

Record of the Year - "Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Miles Rodgers)" by Daft Punk
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - "Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Miles Rodgers)" by Daft Punk
Album of the Year - Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Best Dance/Electronica Album - Random Access Memories by Daft Punk
Best Engineered Album, Non Classical - Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

Meanwhile, 2013's biggest new group, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, also swept the award show and picked up 4 trophies to go along with their debut studio album, The Heist.

Here are the 4 awards Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won last night:

Best New Artist - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Rap Performance - "Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz)" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Rap Song - "Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz)" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Best Rap Album - The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Lorde and Justin Timerlake also scooped up some awards, 2 and 3 respectively. This made them some of the night's biggest winners as well.

Unfortunately, Katy Perry was one of the losers last night. After picking up her 10th and 11th Granmmy nominations with "Roar", Katy missed out on a Grammy award for the 10th and 11th time. Hopefully next year she can win her first award.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Chart Highlights: Kylie Minogue Returns


Before we jump into the Kylie Minogue situation, I'd like to go through the top 10 as normally scheduled.

Katy Perry's "Unconditionally" holds tight at #1. The song outperformed her recent singles "Walking On Air" (#2), "Roar" (#3) and "Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" (#8 so far) which led off her third studio album PRISM.  Her singles "Hot N Cold", "California Gurls" and "Firework" would have all reached the top spot, but they were released before the chart's inception. Thus, "Unconditionally" became the seasoned performer's first ever #1 single.

OneRepublic holds at #2 with "Counting Stars" this week. As it jumps to 95 overall spins this week (+5), "Stars" tallies a 4th straight frame at #2. Among non #1 peaking songs, it ranks 2nd for the most weeks at #2, behind Avril Lavigne's 5 week runner-up "Rock N Roll", but above Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 3 week #2 "Same Love (feat. Mary Lambert)". Among overall #2 visits (including #1 peaking singles), it ranks 4th behind Avril Lavigne (3rd), Calvin Harris & Florence Welch's "Sweet Nothing" (2nd; 8 weeks) and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)" (1st; 9 weeks).

Ayah Marar bounds 6-3 with "Mind Controller". After returning as the highest re-entry in chart history last week, the song bounds into the top 5, becoming Ayah's 2nd single to do so. It jumps a huge 14 plays for a total of 94 overall spins this week. It owes some of its good fortunes to a Twitter frenzy that erupted during the first two days of this week's tracking period. It received a haul of 18 overall chart votes from Twitter users through my page (just 3 from a new record), which helped contribute to this large leap this week. Without the extra votes, the song would have remained almost even with last week's position (#6).

"The Monster (feat. Rihanna)" slides 3-4 this week with a small drop to 85 votes (-2). Before dropping off the top slot, Rihanna scored her 20th cumulative week at #1 while Eminem racked up his 4th.

Lady Gaga dips 4-5 with "Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly)". The song (which hit #1 for 6 weeks), is starting to suffer from not having an official video and is dropping faster than "Applause". To date it has spent 14 weeks in the top 5 and and records its lowest point scoring week in history (it started with over 200 points in October; a record). The official remix with Christina Aguilera could end up helping the song parallel the success of its predecessor.

Lady Gaga's diamond in the rough "Applause" also records its lowest week in terms of votes and position, and spends it's first week outside of the top 5 with 5-6 drop. It spent a record 23 weeks in the top 5 (almost 5 weeks at every position) and tallies an 24th week in the top 10 which ties the record just recently set by Avril Lavigne's "Rock N Roll" (which slides 13-14 this week).

Mia Martina and Dev's "Danse" is stationary at #7 this week. It slides to 79 spins, down just 1 from last week. If it reaches the top 5, Mia Martina will land her 2nd consecutive top 5 single and Dev will get her 1st top 5 single.

Shakira's "Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)" bumps 9-8 on the survey with a weekly total of 78 (up 1 from last week).Unlike Shakira, Rihanna isn't new to the chart's upper crust and scores her 12th top 10 single in a short 2 year span.

Pitbull drops 8-9 with "Timber (feat. Ke$ha)" this week. After finishing in 6th place for the January wrap up, the song will vacate the top 10 (and possibly the top 20) by the time the February monthly wrap is published. The song previously peaked at #2.

To round out the chart's top 10, "Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" remains stationary at #10. The single follows "The One That Got Away" and "Walking On Air" which peaked at #2, "Roar" which peaked at #3, "Wide Awake" which peaked at #5, "Part of Me" which peaked at #8 and most recently "Unconditionally" which has peaked at #1 for 2 weeks thus far.

In the lower region of the chart, Kylie Minogue lands her first top 50 hit with her latest single "Into the Blue". The song launches onto the survey at a very respectable #37 position. This is an amazing debut considering it was leaked in a "demo" form. Next week we should be able to see the full impact   of the song (the official version premieres on Monday January 27th, 2014). It received critical acclaim from music critics, which is the reason it came under my radar.

Come back for the top 20 video and the full top 50 chart!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Monthly Wrap: January 2014

So I know that January 2014 isn't over quite yet but I wanted to give a small rundown of how this month played out. Through the 4th week of the year, 56 different songs have already charted. The most amount of points possible to be collected by a song this year (so far) is 200. To score a perfect 200, a song would have had to spend the first 4 weeks of the year at #1. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Still, it's interesting to see how songs are faring so here we go!

In first place, Eminem & Rihanna added a solid 198.5 with previous 4 week #1 single, "The Monster". The song's overall prospects equate to 575 overall chart points, enough to rank #95 of all time. Based on these calculations, the song should collect at least another 175 points next month for a total upwards of 750 points.


In a close second place, OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" added a stellar 195 points for a strong 573 point total. That's just enough to rank #99 of all time. With a 3rd straight week at #2, the song is headed for a huge total of over 800 points.

In a slightly more distant 3rd place, Lady Gaga's "Applause" eased a mere 1.5% from last month's 193 to 190. The song's total has climbed to a monstrous 1130 (points). By next month, the song should be able to claim an enormous 1300, enough to guarantee a 2x platinum certification.

Just a single point away, Lady Gaga's "Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly)" snagged 4th place and bumped its 13 week haul to 635 points. It added more points than expected due to a special remix featuring Christina Aguilera being released right before the month started. When the music video drops, the song should be able to replicate the success of this month.

In 5th place, Katy Perry's 1st ever #1 single, "Unconditionally" brought in an additional 185 points for a 13 week total of 466 points. While this is way off of the 635 point total "Do What U Want" has pulled in during the same amount of time, it is reasonable for the song which started out much lower than the previously mentioned Lady Gaga song.


In 6th place, "Timber (feat. Ke$ha)" by Pitbull rounded up 180 points this month for a total of 607 points since its October 2013 debut. While the song scored an impressive total this month, it is continuing to decline out of the top 10. Next month, it will be lucky to score about 130 points, which would barely rank within the top 20.

In a far off 7th place, Rihanna scored 170 points with "What Now", her 2nd top 10 finisher this month. Unfortunately, in the last week that counts for this month's wrap up (there is 1 more week of January that isn't included), the song fell a steep 9 positions into 16th place. It's total now stands at 452 points.

"Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" by Katy Perry takes 8th place this month with a total of 169 points. To date the song has picked up 404 overall points in its 18 week. While this is a fairly low total for a song that has spent this long of a time on the chart, it is somewhat reasonable considering the fact that it ranked lower than #15 every week that it was on the chart before January 2014 and spent 1 week in the lowest position on the chart (#50).

In a very tight 9th place, Mia Martina's "Danse (feat. Dev)" nabbed 167 points for an early overall total of 263 points. To date, it has become Mia Martina's 2nd overall top 10 and Dev's 1st top 10 since the chart started in January 2012.


To round out the top 10, Avril Lavigne's "Rock N Roll" added a stellar 166 points for an enormous 1172 point total. That is enough to rank #12 of all time. By next week, the song will jump into the top 10 of all time list and by the end of next month the song will likely pass 1300 points and be certified 2x Platinum by the end of the next monthly review.

Other songs of note include "Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)" by Shakira and "Live For the Night" by Krewella.

While "Live For the Night" by Krewella is actually the #11 song of the month, I decided to include this song in the rundown. The song, which has peaked at #11 so far, has spent 30 weeks on the chart so far which is pretty amazing considering it is still climbing the chart. If it reaches the top 10, it will complete the longest run to the top 10. Additionally, the song will likely wind up with one of the longest runs in history.

On the other hand "Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)" by Shakira is just starting its run on the chart. Following a number 9 debut on the January 23rd chart, Shakira's 1st ever top 10 hit has rounded up just over 42 points. With the song's high debut, Rihanna scooped up her 12th top 10 hit to date and her 16th charting entry. The earlier mentioned achievement is an all time record, while Rihanna is 2nd among overall entries. Nicki Minaj holds the most with 18 total entries. Expect more great numbers for this smash hit
in the future.

Come back for more posts including the January 30th chart highlights!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Chart: January 23rd, 2014


#
LW
2W
PK
WKs
Name
Artist
1
3
7
1
13
***NUMBER 1***
Unconditionally {#1 for 1 Week}
Katy Perry
2
2
2
2
16
Counting Stars
OneRepublic
3
1
1
1
12
The Monster (feat. Rihanna) {#1 for 4 Weeks}
Eminem
4
4
4
1
13
Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly) {#1 for 6 Weeks}
Lady Gaga
5
5
3
1
23
***MOST WEEKS AT #1***
Applause {#1 for 11 Weeks}
Lady Gaga
6
Re-Entry
-
6
9
***BIGGEST COMEBACK IN HISTORY***
Mind Controller
Ayah Marar
7
9
10
7
7
Danse (feat. Dev)
Mia Martina
8
6
6
2
15
Timber (feat. Ke$ha)
Pitbull
9
NEW
-
9
1
***HOT SHOT DEBUT***
***RIHANNA’S 12TH TOP 10***
Can’t Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)
Shakira
10
8
8
8
18
Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)
Katy Perry
11
12
14
11
20
Wrecking Ball
Miley Cyrus
12
11
12
11
30
Live For the Night
Krewella
13
10
9
2
26
Rock n Roll
Avril Lavigne
14
15
16
14
4
Under Control (feat. Hurts)
Calvin Harris & Alesso
15
13
13
3
14
What If?
Vita Chambers
16
7
5
5
14
What Now
Rihanna
17
16
17
16
6
Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)
Beyoncé
18
39
-
18
2
***GREATEST GAINER***
Talk Dirty (feat. 2 Chainz)
Jason Derülo
19
14
11
6
23
Wake Me Up (feat. Aloe Blacc)
Avicii
20
19
19
2
22
Masquerade
Vita Chambers
21
22
24
21
8
Team
Lorde
22
17
15
1
13
Venus {#1 for 1 Week}
Lady Gaga
23
20
18
2
16
Walking On Air
Katy Perry
24
24
50
24
6
Hard Out Here
Lily Allen
25
21
23
21
10
Move
Little Mix
26
30
36
26
7
Parachute
Caroline Brooks
27
23
25
1
34
Thinking About You (feat. Ayah Marar) {#1 for 1 Week}
Calvin Harris
28
18
20
9
22
***BIGGEST FALLER***
Berzerk
Eminem
29
27
30
8
20
Stay the Night (feat. Haley Williams)
Zedd
30
28
26
5
24
Hold On, We're Going Home (feat. Majid Jordan)
Drake
31
25
22
20
9
Neon Lights
Demi Lovato
32
26
21
17
6
Blow
Beyoncé
33
29
28
25
15
Brave
Sara Bareilles
34
31
29
5
23
Acapella
Karmin
35
32
31
8
29
Burn
Ellie Goulding
36
33
32
8
20
Sex Dreams
Lady Gaga
37
34
33
10
18
Aura
Lady Gaga
38
35
37
35
4
XO
Beyoncé
39
36
40
34
17
Demons
Imagine Dragons
40
37
27
3
11
Mary Jane Holland
Lady Gaga
41
40
41
8
24
Royals
Lorde
42
41
39
6
18
Work B**ch
Britney Spears
43
38
38
1
55
***LONGEST CLIMB TO #1***
***SONG OF 2013***
Figure 8 {#1 for 2 Weeks}
Ellie Goulding
44
42
35
1
56
***CHART SITTER***
Fix You {#1 for 4 Weeks}
Vita Chambers
45
43
46
43
3
You Make Me
Avicii
46
44
44
4
34
La La
Mia Martina
47
45
-
45
2
Hey Brother
Avicii
48
46
42
35
12
Let Me Go (feat. Chad Kroeger)
Avril Lavigne
49
47
45
3
24
Roar
Katy Perry
50
48
49
1
37
Red Cup {#1 for 4 Weeks}
Katy Tiz
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