Pop Sweep: December 15, 2012...

Hey gang, it's time to kick off today's "chart sweep" of the latest songs making their debut on the weekly music singles charts at Billboard magazine this week. I'll start with the latest on the "pop" side of things....

On the big chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which ranks songs based on monitored radio airplay, sales, and internet subscription streaming, "Diamonds" stays at #1 for the third week for Rihanna...

The big debut on this chart is the latest by Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am, who recruits X Factor judge/somewhat recovered basket case Britney Spears for "Scream & Shout" at #12. It's the top-selling single in the US, and frankly I don't get it. This is the third song released from his upcoming fourth album #willpower, after the musical abortion that was "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" with J-Lo and Mick Jagger and the incrementally better "This Is Love" with dance vocal powerhouse Eva Simons, which even missed the Hot 100, though was huge worldwide. With "Scream & Shout", it seem solely in existence for camp value, as will.i.am trades off his 20-word song vocabulary with Britney (I think, I mean I see her) spouting off Brit-Brit memes from the last five years. Is this just a nod to tweaking 30-year-old A&F wearers? Can we retire "It's Britney, bitch!" now? You decide. Consequently, this is now will's biggest hit as a lead solo artist, he has one #1 featured credit to his name, on Usher's "OMG"...

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Another rapper fighting to stay relevant, 50 Cent, rockets in at #27 with the help from another TV singing competition judge - this time The Voice's Adam Levine on "My Life". With mentor/label head Eminem in tow, Fiddy now has his highest-charting single since "Ayo Technology" five years ago. He has topped the Hot 100 three times as a lead artist, the last time in 2005 with "Candy Shop". This is the second single from his upcoming Street King Immortal album (the first missed the top-40 even with Alicia Keys on the track). Obvs the reception of this is thanks to Adam's Q-factor, which bookends the two rappers over a funky cool bassline. Gotta say, not bad, considering... (NSFW)

Speaking of The Voice, two more performances from the show make the top-100 (as opposed to Idol or X Factor, sales aren't hidden from the charts). In an ironic twist, the higher one at #94 belongs to one of the finalists who was eliminated from the competition this past week (since the charts track the week before in sales). 17-year-old Melanie Martinez from Long Island is here with her version of Alex Clare's dubstep-rocker "Too Close", which reached #7 on the Hot 100 earlier this fall. Melanie's delicate yet emotional take of the song was definitely the highlight of the night...

...and one rung below Melanie at #95 is Hey Monday defector and Voice "ringer" front-runner Cassadee Pope, with her cover of Michelle Branch's "Are You Happy Now?", which went to #16 on the chart in 2003. As usual, Pope combined her much-practiced spot-on "power-notes" with pitchy singing almost everywhere else, but her fans (and Blake) were eating it up as usual...

After resolving his legal dispute with his former label Curb Records, Tim McGraw is back at #96 with his newest single, "One Of Those Nights". Since 1994 Tim has placed 23 of his country hits into the pop top-40 (and three more in a "featured" credit), with three of them making the top-10 (his highest at #3 was his featured credit on Nelly's "Over & Over" in 2004). But like his "Truck Yeah" single earlier this year, it seems like he's now chasing the new crop of rock-country hybrid hunks instead of following his own path, with the more adult themes he was exploring earlier.

As Ludacris' venture into dance music, "Rest of My Life", re-enters the Hot 100 at #83, his hip-hop contribution to his upcoming album, "Representin'" featuring Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland, pops in at #97. This resembles Rowlands' own "Motivation" with the roles reversed in focus and POV. It's a glad respite from the inane chanting shit prevalent in rap right now. (NSFW)

The final new entry on the Hot 100 is British singer and former UK X Factor finalist Cher Lloyd, whose "Want U Back" broke her in the States, reaching #12 earlier this year. At #99, "Oath" features American rapper Becky G (without the video, I couldn't tell them apart), and builds from the funky faux-street Radio Disney-vibe that crossed her over in the first place, though Jessie J's "Price Tag" called, it wants its everything back...

Meanwhile, over on the Adult Top 40 radio format chart, "One More Night" by Maroon 5 clocks up a seventh non-consecutive week at #1...

The only debut on this list this week is by Taylor Swift, with her non-country "dubstep-lite" single "I Knew You Were Trouble" which jumps in at #29. She's obvs grown as a performer, though the public's tolerance for her off-record shenanigans may not last as long as she'd like. So far her biggest Adult top-40 success is "You Belong With Me", which went to #2 back in 2009...

Finally, over on the Adult Contemporary (soft-rock, or "easy") radio format list, Rod Stewart spends a second week at #1 with "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"...

As the conversion of this format to Christmaspalooza is almost complete, all five of the new songs are holiday tracks, as are 18 of the 30 songs on the chart. Leaping in at #10 is Kelly Clarkson, which her take on "I'll Be Home For Christmas", which appears on her Greatest Hits: Chapter One album. She's charted one other Xmas song here, a cover of Amy Grant's "Grown Up Christmas List" which went to #17 in 2003's holiday season. Kelly's version here is straightforward and endearing, though not definitive...

Colbie Caillat brings her California sunshine to "The Christmas Song" featuring Hawaiian singer Justin Young, who opened for the singer on tour. So far no clip for the song, but I can say owning the record that its a solid B-level holiday album effort.

Two more of Rod's tracks from his best-selling holiday album (so far this year's winner for the best-selling Xmas CD) show up...first at #23 is "Merry Christmas Baby" with Cee-Lo Green (who will be making his own appearance on one of the later "sweeps")...Again, no clip yet for this...Boo! Humbug!

...while at #28 is Rod with last year's big Christmas winner, Michael Buble', on "Winter Wonderland"...

Lastly, newcomer Franklin McKay debuts at #30 with an original song titled "This Christmas" at #30. It's a little generic but earnest and perfect for non-offensive holiday partying (and kudos for the fun chord-changes)...

That does it for the first part...I'll return in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio... until then you can check out my top-100 tunes for the week by clicking here...