Pop Sweep: December 27, 2014...


Hey gang, it's time to kick off my five-part "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their debut on the various singles charts in Billboard magazine. After a week off (I was away in the Midwest), I'll start up again with the pop charts, and then later in the day move on to the newest on rock, R&B, country and dance radio.

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" remains on top for a fifth week, making it her longest stay at #1...

The highest new entry at #58 belongs to the newly-crowned winner of this season's The Voice, Craig Wayne Boyd, with the gospel standard "The Old Rugged Cross". Last week it was runner-up Jersey boy Matt McAndrew that scored higher at #40 with "The Blower's Daughter"...


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The artist with the #1 album in the U.S., hip-hop singer/rapper J. Cole, puts two new singles on the Hot 100 this week. First up at #73 is "Wet Dreams". He's had three top-40 pop hits so far, with "Work Out" reaching #13 in 2011....


 Back to The Voice, Matt McAndrew is back this week at #81 with a cover of the song that was the top debut of last week, Ed Sheeran's Sons Of Anarchy song "Make It Rain". The original came in at #34 and now stands at #56. I guess all three of Adam Levine's "team" suffered from splitting the vote, as the megachurch brigade phonebanked Boyd for sure. No matter, it's not like a lasting thing - just ask Tate Stevens...


 Sam Smith achieves the first Hot 100 placement for the holiday classic "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" as it enters the chart at #90. His current radio single "I'm Not The Only One" also climbs to #5...


Another track from Sons Of Anarchy gives The White Buffalo and The Forest Rangers their first hit as "Come Join The Murder" shoots in at #93...


 The second J. Cole debut at #95 is "No Role Modelz"...


The third-place finisher on The Voice, Chris Jamison, comes in at #98 with his version of Bruno Mars' #1 hit "When I Was Your Man"...


The final newbie on the Hot 100 at #100 is British pop singer/songwriter Charli XCX with "Break The Rules". It's the followup to her debut "Boom Clap", which peaked at #8....


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

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel Taylor Swift climbs to #1 with "Blank Space", making her fourth chart-topper at this format...

Defying the current pop music soundscape, the film score selection "The Hanging Tree" from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 by composer/conductor James Newton Howard and the movie's star Jennifer Lawrence enters at #32...


Pitbull climbs in at #37 with "Time Of Our Lives" featuring Ne-Yo. It's the fifth single from his Globalization album. He went to #15 here with the first, "Wild Wild Love"...


Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" comes in at #39. It follows "Don't", which made it to #2 and is currently at #4...


Sheeran also is featured on the song landing at #40, "All About It" by white-boy rapper Hoodie Allen. It's my "Pop Pick of the Week"....


Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format,  Maroon 5 spends a fourth week on top with "Animals"...

Selena Gomez enters at #32 with "The Heart Wants What It Wants". She went to #13 with "Love You Like A Love Song" with her old band the Scene...


The aforementioned "The Hanging Tree" also makes its appearance here at #35...

Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, Idina Menzel and Michael Buble reign for a second week with "Baby It's Cold Outside" (one of three versions of that song on the chart), while Sam Smith's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" rockets in at #15...

While a-cappella giants Pentatonix drop a notch to #9 with "That's Christmas To Me", their rendition of "Mary, Did You Know?" enters at #27...


Former tween-idol Kendall Schmidt from the band Big Time Rush lands his first solo hit with the seasonal "Blame It On The Mistletoe" at #30...


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














Comments

John said…
Hey...at least Tate sold a few records. Melanie Amaro never even got an album release!