Chart Highlights: Maroon 5, Jessie J Debut

The Hot 50 chart is counts points from Saturday to Friday and is formulated using the following:

• Official US Radio plays that I listen to count as 1 point each. Referred to as the Radio Songs Chart.
• Plays through my iTunes or Spotify (mainly the former) libraries count as 2 points each. If the track is not available to purchase at a given moment, plays of the track's official audio on Youtube or Soundcloud also count for 2 points each. Referred to as the Streaming Songs Chart.
• The release of a track's official music video sees the song in question receive a one time bonus of 5 points if I watch the video within its first two weeks of release. If a song first charts over two weeks after the video's release, it is eligible to get the five point bonus within its first two weeks of charting. There is no component chart for this category given that it awards a one time bonus.
• The top 10 most voted for songs on the "Vote For Your Favorites of the Week" chart receive points. #1 gets 10 points, #2 gets 9 and so on and so forth. If voting reaches a certain threshold during any given week, the 2x multiplier will be unlocked. If the 2x multiplier is unlocked, #1 gets 20 points (instead of 10), #2 gets 19 points (instead of 9) so on and so forth. #11 gets 10 points (instead of none), and #20 gets 1 point (instead of none). Referred to as the Social Songs 100 Chart.

As I do every weekend, let's dive deeper into the numbers and how things played out on this week's Hot 50 chart.

Maroon 5's "Maps" holds tight at #1 for a 5th consecutive week, making the song the 2nd longest running #1 of 2014 behind Kiesza's "Hideaway" (which lasted at #1 for 6 consecutive weeks at the top of the Hot 50). With another week tacked down at #1, "Maps" hops over "Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)" to become the veteran group's longest running #1 to date (5 weeks versus 4 weeks). That also bumps Maroon 5's cumulative weeks at #1 to 11, becoming one of the few groups or artists to do so with at least two singles. Rihanna became the first to do so, and has now tallied 20 weeks at the top across 5 #1's. Lady Gaga has reigned for 18 weeks total since the chart's 2012 launch, all of them consecutive during the tail end of 2013. That makes Maroon 5 the 3rd most successful group or artist in terms of weeks at #1.

Here's a quick look at Maroon 5's #1 reigns on the Hot 50 since its 2012 inception.

Weeks - Title - Start of Reign
5 Weeks at #1 - "Maps" - July 10th, 2014

4 Weeks at #1 - "Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)" - April 19th, 2012

1 Week at #1 - "Love Somebody" - September 20th, 2012

1 Week at #1 - "One More Night" - September 13th, 2012

Back to "Maps", the track gains by a steady 4% in terms of overall points. The track ups on 2 of the 3 major point collecting categories. "Maps" gains on Radio Songs, as well as on Streaming Songs, though it drops off with a major slide on the Social Songs 100. With the #2 track (Kiesza's "Hideaway") drooping by another 3%, "Maps" comfortably leads the list with a 22% fluff. Last week, a mere 15% separated the two tracks.

The cut leads Pop Songs for a fifth week, holds at #2 on Streaming Songs for a fourth straight week (behind Kiesza's "Hideaway", which leads for a 14th week) and bullets yet again at #1 on Radio Songs (which it has lead for a 7 consecutive weeks). The track bullets slips 2-40 (a 38 position dip) on the Social Songs 100, becoming this week's biggest faller. It previously led the mentioned chart for a single week. Additionally, "Maps" spends a 5th frame atop Adult Pop Songs and a 7th week atop Adult Songs.

Kiesza's "Hideaway" holds at #2 for an 8th consecutive week (after leading the list for 6 weeks beginning in early May), which places it in a tie for the third longest stay in the runner up position. The track ties Calvin Harris' eventual 2 week #1 ("Sweet Nothing") for third place, with both tallying 8 weeks in the position. That's just behind Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)" (which, after tallying 9 weeks in the runner up position, eventually wound up at #1) and OneRepublic's "Counting Stars", which holds the all time record with 11 weeks in the runner up slot. Will Kiesza's track end up taking the all time record? Only time will tell.

More on "Hideaway", the track has now logged the longest stay in the top 2 for any song in 2014 (ousting OneRepublic's "Counting Stars", which spend 13 weeks in the reign). Additionally, Kiesza still 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 14 weeks, further extending its record lead (it surpassed "Do What U Want" after its third week past 100) though that's not saying much given that every track in the top 10 wound up past 100 points this week. Currently, "Hideaway" is ranked as the #1 song of the summer as the annual competition enters its tenth week, making it highly likely that it'll become this summer's #1 song.

Kiesza's "Giant In My Heart" holds at #3 for a 4th consecutive week to notch its 6th week within the top 10. Previously, her debut single "Hideaway" reached the summit of the Hot 50 chart for 6 consecutive weeks at #1. The track holds tight at #4 on the Streaming Songs chart, and charges up the Social Songs 100. At this point, it is highly likely that "Giant" won't end up taking the #1 position from the current leader (Maroon 5's "Maps") within the next few weeks. Despite this, Kiesza's "Giant In My Heart" could end up joining "Hideaway" in the Summer Songs top 10. We'll know more about where it could rank in a few weeks, as the competition is just beginning its second half.

The biggest debut of the week comes from Maroon 5's "It Was Always You", which arrives at #4 on the Hot 50. With the blast onto the chart, Maroon 5 notches their 9th consecutive top 5 single (and 6th non-consecutive top 5 opening). The cut comes soaring onto the Streaming Songs at #3, and opens at #8 on Radio Songs. The track also posts a top 50 opening on the Social Songs 100, a small yet decent sized wave.

Maroon 5's previous 8 top 5 hits are as follows: the #1 peaking "Maps" (and current Hot 50 leader), the #1 peaking "Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)", the #1 peaking "One More Night", the #1 peaking "Love Somebody", the #3 peaking "Lucky Strike", the #5 peaking "Doin' Dirt", the #5 peaking "Daylight" and the #5 peaking "Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)". With a massive opening frame, "It Was Always You" could wind up becoming the band's 5th #1 single (and 2nd consecutive chart topper after "Maps").

Nico & Vinz's "Am I Wrong" tallies a second consecutive frame at #5, dipping 4% in overall points. As for the rest of the top 10, Vita Chambers' "A+D" slides 4-6 (after peaking at #4 for a single week), with Sia's "Chandelier" and Clean Bandit's "Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)" dipping one position each (6-7 and 7-8). At this point, Clean Bandit's "Rather Be" is now this year's most successful single to date on CDS Music Chart.

Opening at #9, Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj team up for "Bang Bang". The track, bolstered by a massive airplay campaign, opens way above the level I initially anticipated. With the debut, the track becomes Nicki Minaj's 12th non-consecutive top ten single and 21st Hot 50 entry as well as Ariana Grande's 4th Hot 50 as well as 3rd top ten single (oddly all of which have ended up peaking at #9) and Jessie J's 4th top 10 (and 7th entry overall). Expect "Bang Bang" to play well throughout the rest of year.

Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" rounds out the top 10 by slipping 8-10. It tallies a 13th week within the top 10 (three of those were at #1, and a total of 11 were in the top 5).

There is no Social Songs 100 analysis or genre based analysis this week, it will return next week. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Come back for more posts.