twostepcub's music chart for December 23, 2011...

Hey folks, I'm working on a quiet Christmas Eve, so I'm gonna take a break from my year-end recap for my top-100 songs from last week. This week David Guetta and Usher spend a third week at the top, while Katy Perry (pictured above) leaps into the top 10. Former big hits by Taylor Swift, Sak Noel, Jennifer Lopez, and Hot Chelle Rae drop off my list, while singles by Taio Cruz, Foo Fighters, and Olly Murs make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red). Ho Ho Ho!

This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses)
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1. Without You - David Guetta f/Usher (1)
2. Mr. Know It All - Kelly Clarkson (2)
3. We Found Love - Rihanna f/Calvin Harris (3)
4. Sexy & I Know It - LMFAO (4)
5. Crawling Back To You - Daughtry (5)
6. The One That Got Away - Katy Perry (11)
7. Paradise - Coldplay (7)
8. Someone Like You - Adele (6)
9. We Owned The Night - Lady Antebellum (10)
10. The Sound Of Winter - Bush (8)
11. Not Over You - Gavin DeGraw (13)
12. Brighter Than The Sun - Colbie Caillat (14)
13. Baggage Claim - Miranda Lambert (9)
14. All Your Life - The Band Perry (18)
15. When We Stand Together - Nickelback (17)
16. Nothing - The Script (12)
17. Walk - Foo Fighters (15)
18. Keep Me In Mind - Zac Brown Band (22)
19. It Will Rain - Bruno Mars (24)
20. Lonely Boy - The Black Keys (25)
21. Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heroes f/Adam Levine (16)
22. Good Feeling - Flo Rida (32)
23. You Make Me Feel... - Cobra Starship f/Sabi (19)
24. I Got You - Thompson Square (20)
25. Tonight - Seether (26)
26. Cough Syrup - Young The Giant (28)
27. Love You Like A Love Song - Selena Gomez & The Scene (29)
28. Countdown - Beyonce (34)
29. Let It Rain - David Nail (33)
30. Fool For You - Cee-Lo Green f/Melanie Fiona & Philip Bailey (30)
31. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon5 f/Christina Aguilera (27)
32. Heartbeat - The Fray (36)
33. Set Fire To The Rain - Adele (41)
34. Just A Kiss - Lady Antebellum (31)
35. You & I - Lady GaGa (23)
36. Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie - Red Hot Chili Peppers (21)
37. Tattoos On This Town - Jason Aldean (39)
38. Easy - Rascal Flatts f/Natasha Bedingfield (38)
39. I Like How It Feels - Enrique Iglesias f/Pitbull (43)
40. Levels - Avicii (49)
41. You - Chris Young (45)
42. Stay - Tyrese (42)
43. Don't Hold Your Breath - Nicole Scherzinger (35)
44. I Don't Want This Night To End - Luke Bryan (44)
45. Reality - Kenny Chesney (46)
46. Brand New Bitch - Anjulie (50)
47. Drink In My Hand - Eric Church (48)
48. Too Much In Love - Chris Willis (59)
49. In The Dark - Dev (37)
50. Buy My Love - Wynter Gordon (58)
51. These Days - Foo Fighters (66)
52. Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute (56)
53. Rain - C+C Music Factory (57)
54. We're All No One - Nervo f/Afrojack & Steve Aoki (62)
55. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People (40)
56. I'm Gonna Love You Through It - Martina McBride (61)
57. Life Of The Party - Charlie Wilson (53)
58. Lights - Ellie Goulding (65)
59. It Girl - Jason Derulo (47)
60. Invisible - Skylar Gray (60)
61. Hangover - Taio Cruz f/Flo Rida (80)
62. Bring It Back - Global Deejays (54)
63. Country Must Be Countrywide - Brantley Gilbert (63)
64. Storm Warning - Hunter Hayes (72)
65. Face to The Floor - Chevelle (75)
66. A Thousand Years - Michelle Branch (70)
67. If It's Love - Kem f/Chrisette Michele (68)
68. Gonna Get Over You - Sara Bareilles (69)
69. Lego House - Ed Sheeran (73)
70. 1,000 Ships - Rachel Platten (71)
71. Party People - Erika Jayne (81)
72. Dark Horses - Switchfoot (76)
73. God Gave Me You - Blake Shelton (51)
74. Called Out In The Dark - Snow Patrol (78)
75. Show Me - Jessica Sutta (52)
76. Dance With Me Tonight - Olly Murs (88)
77. Wish You Were Here - Avril Lavigne (82)
78. My Heart Can't Tell You No - Sara Evans (90)
79. Stay Together - Ledisi f/Jaheim (89)
80. When I Start (To Break It Down) - Erasure (85)
81. Amen - Edens Edge (86)
82. Last Drag - Traci Lords (DEBUT)
83. Sail - AWOLnation (84)
84. Give - LeAnn Rimes (DEBUT)
85. Geronimo - Aura Dione (87)
86. Our Day Will Come - Amy Winehouse (DEBUT)
87. Party - Beyonce f/Andre3000 or J. Cole (97)
88. Video Games - Lana Del Ray (96)
89. Didn't I - James Wesley (93)
90. You Gonna Fly - Keith Urban (DEBUT)
91. Home - Dierks Bentley (99)
92. Bottoms Up - Nickelback (RE-ENTRY)
93. Wishing On A Star - X Factor Finalists 2011 f/JLS & One Direction (DEBUT)
94. Un Deux Trois - Laura Larue (94)
95. Love On Top - Beyonce (DEBUT)
96. Bad - The Cab (100)
97. Care - Kid Rock f/Martina McBride & T.I. (98)
98. She Doesn't Mind - Sean Paul (DEBUT)
99. Mayhem - Julissa Veloz (DEBUT)
100. Camouflage - Brad Paisley (DEBUT)

There are ten new songs on my list this week (highlighted in yellow), and here they are, with a little bit about the artists, with links to their previous hits on YouTube highlighted in orange...

The highest entry this week is by adult-movie star turned singer Traci Lords. After appearing in more than 100 porn movies (almost all illegally as a minor), Lords went "legit" by appearing in mainstream TV & movies like John Waters' Cry-Baby, and starting up a music career. She had a #2 dance club hit in 1994 with "Control", then followed up a year later with "Fallen Angel" which just missed the top-10 on that same chart. Now 43, Lords is back with another top-5 dance hit, "Last Drag"...



Next up is another dance hit, but this time by (normally) country singer LeAnn Rimes. Rimes released her debut single, the #10 country/top-40 pop hit "Blue" when she was only 13 years old in 1996. since then she's amassed ten top-10 country hits, though only one, "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)" also from her debut disc, made it to #1. She did though have one of the biggest pop hits of all time though with her version of "How Do I Live" which stayed on Billboard's pop chart for a then-record 69 weeks. She hasn't reached the country top-10 in five years, but she has hit #1 on the dance chart with "What I Cannot Change" in 2008. Mostly, though, she's been lately more in the news for her "homewrecker" drama and scary weight loss, but she had put a CD out, which second single "Crazy Women" only scraped the country top-40, but third single "Give" has been released in remix form, and it's heating up the clubs. However, the original version sports a powerful video spotlighting the plight of the homeless.



Amy Winehouse sadly never recovered from her various addictions, and remains either revered by her fans or trashed as a parody of her biggest hit, "Rehab". Her family released Lioness: Hidden Treasures last month, including covers of "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" and "The Girl From Ipanema", as well as a couple originals. The first radio single is her reggae-fied cover



Aussie twanger Keith Urban is teetering under the country top-10 with the fourth single from his latest CD Get Closer. Here's the grammatically improper "You Gonna Fly"...



As both the US and UK seasons of the X Factor (thankfully) come to an end, the annual charity single from the British contestants predictably makes it to #1, like covers of Mariah Carey's "Hero", Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", and David Bowie's "Heroes" have done in the last three years. This years effort tackles the Rose Royce original (and US #1 Cover Girls remake) "Wishing On A Star", enlisting past X Factor faves JLS and One Direction to help along, and thankfully no Jedward or Wagner to fuck it up. Proceeds from this year's single go to UK Children's Hospice..



Beyonce is surely not settling down in her um, pregnancy, since she has three singles currently being promoted in the US and abroad. Mind, none of them are doing the business that her previous work has, but these three are the best of her latest CD, with "Countdown" ruling the clubs, "Party" atop R&B radio, and "Love On Top" on pop radio and in Europe. Here's "Love On Top" - now when was this filmed?



Jamaican reggae star Sean Paul scored two #1 hits in America with "Get Busy" in 2003 and "Temperature" in 2006. His profile has dimmed considerably in the States for the past five years, but this year had a top-10 song in at least ten European countries with "Got 2 Luv U" with Alexis Jordan (including #1 in Switzerland), and follows that with "She Doesn't Mind", which is already a top-3 hit in France as well as another Swiss #1. Now for America to follow...



"Tiara Girl" Julissa Veloz from American Idol's eighth season follows her top 10 US club hit "Take Control" with the equally dominant "Predator"...



The final debut is the fourth single from Brad Paisley's This Is Country Music. He's back to his comic leanings with "Camouflage".



I'll be back with more recap of this year, but I hope everyone is enjoying safe and happy Hanukkah and Christmas season!