twostepcub's music chart for May 18, 2012...

Hey folks, it's time for my weekly list of my top-100 tunes. This week Jason Mraz takes over the top spot, while British boybanders One Direction (pictured above) finally make it into my top-10. Singles by the Swedish House Mafia, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Linkin Park make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red), while two hits by Olly Murs drop out (wah-wah). Link-o-Rama is still in effect, so you can click on any of the artist names below to go to their official website. Let's get going!

This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses)
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1. I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz (3)
2. Rumour Has It - Adele (2)
3. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye f/Kimbra (1)
4. We Are Young - fun. f/Jonelle Monae (4)
5. Glad You Came - The Wanted (5)
6. Feel So Close - Calvin Harris (7)
7. Part Of Me - Katy Perry (8)
8. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction (12)
9. Wild Ones - Flo Rida f/Sia (9)
10. Drive By - Train (10)
11. Turn Me On - David Guetta f/Nicki Minaj (11)
12. Payphone - Maroon 5 f/Wiz Khalifa (26)
13. Over You - Miranda Lambert (18)
14. Bully - Shinedown (6)
15. Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson (15)
16. Starships - Nicki Minaj (21)
17. Set Fire To The Rain - Adele (13)
18. Good Girl - Carrie Underwood (24)
19. Run - Matt Nathanson f/Sugarland (20)
20. Give Me All Your Luvin' - Madonna f/Nicki Minaj & MIA (14)
21. Domino - Jessie J (17)
22. Titanium - David Guetta f/Sia (22)
23. Dancing Away With My Heart - Lady Antebellum (23)
24. Girl Gone Wild - Madonna (28)
25. Tonight Is The Night - Outasight (19)
26. A Woman Like You - Lee Brice (16)
27. Gold On The Ceiling -Black Keys (37)
28. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen (50)
29. Fine By Me - Andy Grammer (33)
30. Banjo - Rascal Flatts (30)
31. Drink On It - Blake Shelton (31)
32. Eyes Open - Taylor Swift (38)
33. Levels - Avicii (29)
34. Naked - Dev & Enrique Iglesias (34)
35. Next To Me - Emeli Sande (35)
36. Wild One Two - Jack Back f/David Guetta, Nicky Romero, & Sia (40)
37. No Hurry - The Zac Brown Band (39)
38. Brokenhearted - Karmin (47)
39. Love On Top - Beyonce (27)
40. Thank You - Estelle (41)
41. Tongue Tied - Grouplove (46)
42. Better Than I Used To Be - Tim McGraw (42)
43. International Love - Pitbull f/Chris Brown (25)
44. Midnight City - M83 (54)
45. Never Forget - Dave Aude f/Lena Katina (45)
46. Burn It Down - Linkin Park (61)
47. Shadow Days - John Mayer (49)
48. Respect - Melanie Amaro (32)
49. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees (59)
50. Fly Over States - Jason Aldean (51)
51. Even If It Breaks Your Heart - The Eli Young Band (53)
52. Lullaby - Nickelback (52)
53. Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men (65)
54. If You Ever Come Back - The Script (57)
55. Simple Song - The Shins (55)
56. Drunk On You - Luke Bryan (58)
57. These Days - Foo Fighters (44)
58. Springsteen - Eric Church (60)
59. Never Give Up - Phil B f/Debby Holiday (69)
60. A Thousand Years - Christina Perri (36)
61. Ai Se Eu Te Pego - Michel Telo (56)
62. You Don't Know Her Like I Do - Brantley Gilbert (64)
63. Greyhound - Swedish House Mafia (89)
64. Watching You Watch Him - Eric Hutchinson (68)
65. Famous - Audio Playground (66)
66. Time Is Love - Josh Turner (70)
67. Boyfriend - Justin Bieber (74)
68. Got My Country On - Chris Cagle (72)
69. Beers Ago - Toby Keith (79)
70. Rock The Boat - Bob Sinclar f/Pitbull (71)
71. Favorite Song - Colbie Caillat f/Common (75)
72. Sweeter - Gavin DeGraw (76)
73. Ships In The Night - Mat Kearney (73)
74. Live To Rise - Soundgarden (DEBUT)
75. Climax - Usher (80)
76. Share My Love - R. Kelly (84)
77. This Ole Boy - Craig Morgan (78)
78. Lonely Boy - Black Keys (48)
79. Feel Like A Rock Star - Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw (83)
80. Somethin' 'Bout A Truck - Kip Moore (81)
81. Dance Again - Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull (DEBUT)
82. Boom Boom - Rye Rye (DEBUT)
83. Too Close - Alex Clare (93)
84. (Kissed You) Good Night - Gloriana (88)
85. Body On Mine - Eva (87)
86. Give Your Heart A Break - Demi Lovato (90)
87. You're On My Mind - Kem (91)
88. Let's Go - Calvin Harris f/Ne-Yo (DEBUT)
89. We Found Love - Rihanna f/Calvin Harris (67)
90. Real Love - Eric Benet (92)
91. Love You Like A Love Song - Selena Gomez & The Scene (77)
92. Free - Graffiti6 (DEBUT)
93. Look Around - Red Hot Chili Peppers (97)
94. Hold On - Alabama Shakes (DEBUT)
95. Can't Say No - Conor Maynard (95)
96. I Follow Rivers - Lykke Li (96)
97. Laserlight - Jessie J f/David Guetta (98)
98. Tage Wie Diese - Die Toten Hosen (DEBUT)
99. La Sens De La Vie - Tal (DEBUT)
100. Beekeeper's Daughter - All-American Rejects (RE-ENTRY)

There are eight new songs on my chart this week (highlighted in green), and here they are, along with a little about the artist, with links to their previous hits on video in orange.

The highest debut marks the return of grunge pioneers Soundgarden. Led by Chris Cornell, the band came together in the mid-80's, but it wasn't until the early 90's that they broke through nationally with the crossover mass appeal of the genre. Their third major-label album, Superunknown, has sold over 5 million copies, and gave them their biggest hit, the #1 rock track "Black Hole Sun". The group split in 1997, with Cornell forming Audioslave with members of the band Rage Against The Machine. They reunited in 2010 with their first shows in a dozen years, and releasing a retrospective of their work. They are working on a new album that's expected to be released this spring, but for now Soundgarden has a song on the soundtrack to the dizzyingly popular Avengers movie, "Live To Rise"...

Jennifer Lopez's career slump was righted with help from American Idol, and her single "On The Floor" with Latin rapper Pitbull. As she's coyly publicly debating whether she's staying on with Idol, she's riding the publicity train and enlists Pitbull again for her latest single, which just hit #1 on Billboard's Dance Club chart. Here's "Dance Again"...

Baltimore native Ryeisha Berrain, or Rye Rye, follows up her top-20 Dance hit collaboration with Robyn, "Never Will Be Mine", with a song that extrapolates the 1999 Vengaboys hit "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom". Rye Rye only needs half the "Boom" though on "Boom Boom"...

Scottish DJ/Producer Calvin Harris said recently he's done with singing on his own records, like the worldwide smash (and top-10 on my list) "Feel So Close". His third album is expected to be released this year, and for the third single already released from it, Harris recruited R&B singer/songwriter  Ne-Yo, who has had two #1 albums as well as a #1 hit of his own, "So Sick", along with his appearance and co-writing credit on Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" last year. Their new song has already hit #2 in the UK, and is in the current top-10 Global dance tracks, and it's "Let's Go"...

London-based indie-rock duo Graffiti6 includes Tom Danvers, whose resume includes production work on both this year's breakout hit "We Are Young" by fun as well as 1991's "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. There's diversity. Paired with singer/songwriter Jamie Scott, Graffiti6 has their first rock hit with "Free"...

Americana rock group Alabama Shakes is appropriately from northern Alabama, and got great exposure from performing on David Letterman's birthday show. Their first CD went top-10 in the US, and the first single from it, a top-5 Triple-A hit, is "Hold On"...

German punk group Die Toten Hosen (which translates loosely to the "Dead Trousers") have been around since the early 80's, and had a #1 song in their homeland in 1996 with "Bonnie & Clyde". They're still going strong and have helped fight the scourge of nationalism in their country, and their newest song is a #2 hit there, "Tage Wie Diese" ("Days Like These")...

Crossing the border into France, singer Tal was born in Israel, but since the age of one calls Paris her home. She's been active as a spokesperson for MTV France's campaign against AIDS, Sidaction, and her third charting hit has become a top-5 hit there. The video for "Le Sens De La Vie" ("The Meaning Of Life") was shot in New York City, and the song also is a #1 hit in Belgium.

Have a great weekend, and Happy Birthday to my sister Kim. Big hugs!