Pop Sweep: March 8, 2014...
It's time to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making the singles charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'm starting out on the "pop" side of things, then moving on to the rock, R&B, country, and dance charts..
On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which tallies radio airplay, sales, and internet streaming, Pharrell Williams scores his first #1 as a lead artist with "Happy"...
The top entry on the chart comes down at #88; it's the fourth single taken from New Zealand singer/songwriter and Grammy darling Lorde with "Glory And Gore". It follows up "Team", which climbs to a new high of #7 this week..
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British breakbeat artist and producer Naughty Boy (Shahid Khan) debuts at #98 with "La La La" featuring blue-eyed soul singer Sam Smith on vocals. The song went to #1 in both England and Italy last year...
The third song on this week's Hot 100 that has a chance to win an Oscar on Sunday, "Ordinary Love" from the documentary Mandela: Long Road To Freedom by the Irish modern rock titans U2, arrives at #99. It's their first appearance on the big chart in four years. In 1987, they had back-to-back #1 pop hits with "With Or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"...
The last new song on the main pop chart at #100 is country singer Justin Moore, with the second single from his Off The Beaten Path album, "Lettin' The Night Roll". It follows "Point At You" which reached #53 last year...
And now on to the pop radio charts....
On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" spends a third week at #1...
Coming in first at #37 is British neo-house act Disclosure with another vocal appearance for Sam Smith with "Latch". The record made it to #11 in their home country in 2012...
New York-based electro-house duo the Chainsmokers drop in at #38 with the hilarious soon-to-be-viral hit "#SELFIE"...
"Swag-pop" duo Karmin land at #39 with "I Want It All". It's the follow-up to the New Yorker's "Acappella", which peaked at #34...
Rounding it out is Daughtry with "Waiting For Superman" at #40. Last week the record topped out at #11 on the Adult Top-40 list...
Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera hang on for a second week on top with "Say Something"...
Coming in at #37 and my "Pop Pick of the Week" is Ingrid Michaelson with "Girls Chase Boys". In the last decade the singer-songwriter from Staten Island placed two songs in this chart's top-20, with "Maybe" reaching #14 in 2009...
NONONO, a Swedish alternative rock band, went to #22 on the modern rock chart last year with "Pumpin Blood". Now they cross over to the Adult Pop format at #38...
Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy-listening") chart, Katy Perry's older single "Roar" sits in for a fourteenth non-consecutive week at #1, and there are no songs making their way on the chart...
That's it for the start of today's musical journey...I'll be back in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio...

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