Pop Sweep: November 1, 2014...


It's time to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their way on to the singles charts in Billboard magazine this week. As always, I'll start off on the pop side of things, then move on to what's new in rock, R&B, country, and dance music. And away we go...

On the "big chart", the Billboard Hot 100, which combines tallies from sales, internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), and radio airplay from all genres, there's an all-female top-5 for the seventh week in a row, with Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" on top for that amount of frames...

With the top-selling song of the week, Taylor Swift enters all the way up at #18 with "Out Of The Woods", the second track released from her upcoming 1989 album. The first, "Shake It Off", is at #2 for its seventh week after dropping from #1. It sounds more like 1987, like T'Pau's "Heart And Soul", no?


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The next new entry doesn't come until way down at #82, as Norwegian R&B/pop duo Nico & Vinz follow up their top-5 hit "Am I Wrong" (which stands at #25) with "In Your Arms"...


British singer Jessie J arrives at #86 with "Burnin' Up", the second single from her Sweet Talker album. Her collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, "Bang Bang", moves back up to its peak of #3. This new single has a rap cameo from 2 Chainz, and I've got to say I love the intro/bridge much better than the cheerleader-style yell for the verses/chorus...


 Making a comeback at #90 thanks to people watching the video is country-pop legend Glen Campbell, with his first Hot 100 single in thirty-three years, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You". It's from the documentary of his final tour in 2011 as he battles with Alzheimer's disease, and trust me, it's a tearjerker. Back in the 70s Glen had two #1 pop hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Southern Nights"...


As YouTube star Bobby Shmurda's "Hot Boy" spends its second week in the top-10 with practically little airplay, his "Bobby Bitch" smacks in at #96. Really? Ugh. Mind-numbing braggart fare.


Canadian alt-hip-hop artist The Weeknd pops in at #97 with "Often". He's also on the chart as a featured credit on Ariana Grande's "Love Me Harder" at #57...


Country singer Lee Brice checks in at #99 with "Drinking Class". It follows "I Don't Dance", which peaked at #33 on this list...


...and now on to the pop radio format charts...

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, Iggy Azalea climbs to #1 for the third time with "Black Widow" featuring Rita Ora. Iggy previously won with her own "Fancy" and as a guest on Ariana Grande's "Problem"..

Irish indie-rock singer/songwriter Hozier has the sole debut at #39 with "Take Me To Church", which he performed on SNL two weeks ago. And his video has to be the frontrunner for video of the year on MTV next year...


Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" reigns for a fourth week...

As Train's "Angel In Blue Jeans" drops to #24 this week, their next single, "Cadillac Cadillac" drives in at #36. Did Sting write this? This sure sounds Police-adjacent...


Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson claims my "Pop Pick Of The Week" with "Afterlife" at #39. It's the follow-up to "Girls Chase Boys", which peaked at #6 at this format...


Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary, or "easy listening" radio chart, Magic! takes their lite-reggae "Rude" to #1...

Another former top-10 Hot 100 hit, the dance-pop of "Break Free" by Ariana Grande with Zedd, lands at #26. Her "Problem" is still on this list at its so-far peak of #16...


 That's all for the first part of today's musical trip...I'll be back in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio...











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