the best of twostepcubchart 2011, part 6...

Hey folks, we've reached the halfway point of my recap of the biggest songs on my weekly list for 2011, and this week we have a British dynamo that went to #1 on my chart, a judge from my favorite TV singing competition that still is not J-Lo, and a couple of Blacks...

50. Uncharted - Sara Bareilles (from the CD Kaleidoscope Heart)

twostepcubchart peak: #5 (one week)
US Adult Pop peak: #13
US Triple-A peak: #17

Bareilles continued her stint as judge on the Sing-Off, a singing competition featuring all acappella groups that far surpassed the quality of any of the other drivel on the tube, and although at times she appeared as the ditzy, Paula Abdul-esque member of the trio of judges, she has extensive background with choral singing, being a part of UCLA's Awaken A Cappella. "Uncharted", a highlight from her excellent CD, sports a video with cameos from co-worker Ben Folds, Sugarland's, Jennifer Nettles, Maroon 5, and Josh Groban.




49. Just Can't Get Enough - Black Eyed Peas (from the CD The Beginning)

twostepcubchart peak: #20 (2 weeks)
US Hot 100 peak: #3
US Adult Pop peak: #11
UK Singles peak: #3
French Singles peak: #1 (4 weeks)
German Singles peak: #9
Global Dance Tracks peak: #16

The Peas announced their hiatus this year, which would be their second following a four-year gap between 2005 to 2009. Their latest CD, The Beginning, didn't produce the duo of megahits like their last, but did manage two top-5 songs between their Dirty Dancing hijacking "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and this more subdued number, which is as close to a ballad as BEP is gonna get. The video was shot in Japan a week before the horrible tsunami that struck there, and included a plea to donate to the Red Cross.




48. Hello - Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette (from the CD Smash)

twostepcubchart peak: #8 (2 weeks)
US Hot 100 peak: #46
US Dance Club Play peak: #1 (one week)
US Dance Airplay peak: #1 (2 weeks)
US Adult-Pop peak: #30
UK Singles peak: #13
French Singles peak: #5
German Singles peak: #5
Global Dance Tracks peak: #1

Parisian DJ Martin Solveig (nee' Picadet) had his biggest hit ever with this simplistic yet inescapable earworm that featured Canadian duo Dragonette. Besides being exposed to AT&T commercials, the song hit #1 in four European countries (Austria, Holland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic), and was the biggest non-Guetta true "DJ dance" song this year.




47. Train - Marry Me (from the CD Save Me, San Francisco)

twostepcubchart peak: #9 (one week)
US Hot 100 peak: #34
US Adult Pop peak: #4
US Adult Contemporary peak: #3
US Triple-A rock peak: #8

San Franciscans Train went full-wedding-anthem mode on this tender ballad, which took a mature group like them to avoid total smarm.




46. The Black Keys - Tighten Up (from the CD Brothers)

twostepcubchart peak: #4 (2 weeks)
US Hot 100 peak: #87
US Rock Songs peak: #1 (10 weeks)
US Modern Rock peak: #1 (9 weeks)
US Triple-A rock: #12

Ohio-born rock duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were the lil' band that could in 2010, with this song that hung around to 2011. "Tighten Up" won the Grammy for best rock duo/band record, and rightfully so, with their 'bigger than two' sound and hipster casualness that wasn't forced.




45. The Band Perry - You Lie (from the CD The Band Perry)

twostepcubchart peak: #5 (4 weeks)
US Country Singles peak: #2
US Hot 100 peak: #42

"You Lie" was the family trio's followup to their multiformat success "If I Die Young" (coming up later in the list) and became their second top-5 country hit.




44. Marsha Ambrosius - Far Away (from the CD Late Nights & Early Mornings)

twostepcubchart peak: #2 (2 weeks)
US Hot 100 peak: #74
US R&B Singles peak: #3
US Adult R&B peak: #1

British soul singer Ambrosius had her first hit outside of R&B duo Floetry with this powerful and emotional song inspired by a friend who took his life. The video was also one of the best of the year, approaching the topic of being gay in the African-American community, something totally hushed in the mainstream, and she conveyed it flawlessly.




43. Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over (from the CD Lungs)

twostepcubchart peak: #1 (one week)
US Hot 100 peak: #21
US Adult Pop peak: #11
US Rock Songs peak: #9
US Modern Rock peak: #8
US Triple-A Rock peak: #1
US Dance Club Play peak: #4
UK Singles peak: #23
Global Dance Tracks peak: #39

Another British critics' darling, Florence Welch broke through in America this year with a Grammy nomination for new artist, and her performance of "Dog Days Are Over" as well as its exposure on Glee propelled it into the US top 40. It also sported one of the most surreal videos of the year.




42 Colbie Caillat - Brighter Than The Sun (from the CD All Of You)

twostepcubchart peak: #8 (2 weeks)
US Hot 100 peak: #60
US Adult Pop peak: #4
US Adult Contemporary peak: #13

Caillat's second entry on my year-end list is a Sheryl Crow clone of a tune, but a sunny respite from the angsty dance and frantic rock that was ruling this summer.




41. Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (from the CD Mylo Xyloto)

twostepcubchart peak: #6 (one week)
US Hot 100 peak: #14
US Rock Songs peak: #5
US Modern Rock peak: #4
US Adult Pop peak: #8
US Adult Contemporary peak: #23
UK Singles peak: #6
French Singles peak: #20

Coldplay, arguably the biggest current rock band in the world (the Foos may be giving them a run for their money) released their fifth full-length studio effort this year, previewed by this epic track that curiously interpolates Peter Allen's "I Go To Rio".




Next post we'll enter the top 40 for the year, with the first sign of Katy Perry, Rihanna's big fetish, and Enrique getting really rude. Ciao!