Pop Sweep: September 13, 2014...

It's time to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making the various singles charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start out on the pop side of the house, then later in the day move on to what's new in rock, R&B, country, and dance....

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which combines tallies from radio airplay from all formats as well as sales and internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), Taylor Swift holds at her #1 debut position for a second week with "Shake It Off"...

The top debut of the week at #22 pairs up aggro-rapper Eminem with Australian singer-songwriter Sia for a song taken from the Denzel Washington reboot movie of The Equalizer. "Guts Over Fear" will be on Eminem's forthcoming Shady XV album. Now the thing is there was quite an uproar from the LGBT community for the bisexual singer when she collaborated with him on his last album on "Beautiful Pain", which reached #99 in 2013. With another track on the set, "Rap God", containing blatant homophobic slurs, Sia claimed she had no knowledge and donated her proceeds to gay/lesbian causes. So what makes her commit the same offense again? Money? Thinking everybody forgot? I'm kind of disappointed, but hey, I'm not red-hot over it. As for the song itself, it's a retread of his usual "overcoming my setbacks" shtick he's been peddling over and over again ("Lose Yourself", "Not Afraid", "Survival"). And Sia just sounds like she's cutting a demo for Rihanna...

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


After Beyonce's 15-minute performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, her "***Flawless" makes it on to the chart here at #82. It's the fifth track from her self-titled "visual album" to make the Hot 100; last year she went to #2 with "Drunk In Love", which won "Best Collaboration" on the show. While the album version has a cameo from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, there's also a remix edit with Nicki Minaj available. I've said before that the music on the set works better with the visuals, but in this case it's almost comical, like a Abercrombie and Fitch mosh session.

Another song that was performed at the MTV Awards makes the chart as Usher's "She Came To Give It To You" featuring Nicki Minaj arrives at #89. It's the follow-up to lead single "Good Kisser", which didn't do as well as probably he'd hoped, peaking at #65 and now sitting at #96 in its 17th week. This new one, co-written and produced by Pharrell Williams, certainly sounds like something off of his own solo album, with its vaguely-retro sparseness and percussive emphasis, but damn it's a welcome change and an infectious single, even with its cribbing of the S.O.S. Band's "Just Be Good To Me" and all...

The fourth single from Australian country star Keith Urban's Fuse album, "Somewhere In My Car", enters at #91. The first two made the top-40 on this chart, with "We Were Us" with Miranda Lambert making it to #26. You know, I almost forgot he had a sorta-current album out when I saw this originally on the country chart, since his promotion has been mostly through his stint on American Idol which is in between seasons right now. Even though Keith thankfully doesn't partake in the "bro-country" vernacular that's turned the format into an endless commercial at times, but he does have his own rut he's kind of riding with this song - it sounds like a mash-up of several of his other singles about rain, running away, and cars. So there's that.

The last debut on the "big" chart is the first hit for south central L.A. rapper TeeFlii with "24 Hours" featuring 2 Chainz. He started out as a dancer, appearing in a Chris Brown video, which makes sense since this record sounds like one of Breezy's "harder" songs, like "Loyal" all over again. Meh. Enough with the cats already.

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

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, British pop singer/songwriter Charli XCX jumps to the top with "Boom Clap"...

Jason Derulo returns at #36 with "Trumpets", the fifth hit from his Talk Dirty album. He took "Talk Dirty" all the way to #1 on this format. This record's already been an international smash (it topped the chart in Australia), and it's one of the best from his record...

Teen-pop duo MKTO follow up their #8 hit "Classic" with "American Dream" at #38. With a squeaky-clean but earnest "it gets better" message, it's clearly market-tested for the Disney Channel crowd, though not as fun as "Classic" was (hell I heard that one in Provincetown at a bar). And the sorta-forced name-checking (like "Jack And Diane" in this one) sours me...

Swedish singer/songwriter Kim Cesarion lands his first hit at #40 with "Undressed", a song that's already made the top ten in Australia, Denmark, and his home country. I'm a big fan of Swedish pop, but this is a little jarring, especially the falsetto break in here. It sounds Auto-tuned, no?

Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" rules for a second week...

The second coming of the Pussycat Dolls, G.R.L., dances in at #37 with "Ugly Heart". Put together by leathery PD svengali Robin Antin, it's hard to tell which of them are really actually singing, considering the Dolls were basically a lipsync act behind Nicole Scherzinger, though since then Auto-tune technology has widened, so who knows. This sure isn't on here for much more than their looks. X Factor alum Simone Battle certainly seems to dominate the track here, though at least member Emmerlyn Estrada and Lauren Bennett have a singing history, with the latter getting a featured credit on LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" in 2010...

American Idol eleventh-season winner Phillip Phillips went to #7 on this chart with the first single from his second album, "Raging Fire". Now he's at #38 with "Unpack Your Heart". As much as this, like all of his similar-sounding singles, deviates from the Idol mold, it does sound ready-made for some ABC-Family show.

As Ariana Grande's former #8 "Problem" drops to #17, her latest jam, "Break Free" with EDM-lite producer Zedd, comes in at #39. I have to say, though this is as un-Mariah as she gets, its because Mimi wouldn't probably be caught with this one-note chorus intro. Demi, though...

Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary (or easy-listening) radio chart, Sam Smith is on top for a fourth week...

Brother/sister indie-pop quartet Echosmith enter at #26 with their breakthrough hit "Cool Kids". Another "indie" records in the sanitized ABC-Family variety, it does charm me over with its lack of pretension. The single already made it to #11 on Adult Top-40, #19 on Mainstream Top-40, and is in the top-40 on the Hot 100...

The last entry at #29 is by a hitmaker from the 80s, Richard Marx, with "Whatever We Started". The singer/songwriter had his first #1 on the AC chart back in 1989 with "Right Here Waiting". Marx, who is now 50 years old, proves he's still got his chops, and this simple easy-rock nugget is my "Pop Pick of the Week"...

That's it for the start of today's musical journey....I'll be back in 90 minutes with the latest in rock radio...